Dear Families,
I write to you tonight with the saddest of news. You may have heard from your children that we have lost a member of our community today. Ibrahim Ali in Year 8 passed away in the early hours of this morning following a period of treatment in hospital. Our thoughts are with his family and the wider community at this most difficult of times.
Ibrahim will be remembered a popular student – he had a huge circle of friends in the Year Group. Those who knew him best would say that he was a kind young man with a caring nature who would always go out of his way to help others. Around school he always wore a huge smile on his face and could light up a room with his natural confidence and personality. He will be sorely missed by everyone who knew him at the school.
We have done what we can today to support both our student and staff bodies as they come to terms with the news. Greif can manifest in a variety of ways and is experienced differently by everyone. There have been additional counselling services on site today alongside our dedicated pastoral teams. Students have had access to a quiet reflection space and we are grateful to Mr Mushtaq for leading Friday prayers at lunchtime – we know this brought comfort to many of our community. We will continue to provide further support for those in need after the half term through additional services.
Please do monitor your child’s response over the next few days. Even if they do not know Ibrahim personally, a tragic event like this can stir up emotional responses that will need to be supported. Our Family Support Team have provided a number of links to services which I’ve pasted below this update who may be able to offer support over the half term break.
Given the circumstances today, I have chosen to delay the usual update and will share the information from that next week.
Take care of each other,
Scott Doyle
Principal
Young Minds
https://www.youngminds.org.uk/
To make sure all young people can get the mental health support they need, when they need it, no matter what. Whether they need a reassuring conversation, specialist mental health support, or simply the knowledge that they are not alone in how they are feeling.
Kooth
Online counselling and support for young people.
The mix
https://www.themix.org.uk/get-support/speak-to-our-team/the-mix-counselling-service
The Mix Counselling service is suitable for Young People if they are looking for short-term help with their mental health and emotional wellbeing. Their Telephone and Webchat counselling service is available to young people aged 25 years old and under. Their counsellors aim to support by listening to problems and helping youngsters find ways to cope in a confidential, safe space.
Shout
Shout is a free, confidential, 24/7 text support service for anyone in the UK who is struggling to cope.
To start a conversation, text the word ‘SHOUT’ to 85258
Samaritans
What to do if you’re not feeling okay. You can get in touch about anything that’s troubling you, no matter how large or small the issue feels.