Members' Business — S6M-11114 Stuart McMillan: Children’s Grief Awareness Week 2023

That the Parliament notes that 16 to 23 November 2023 is Children’s Grief Awareness Week; understands that more than half of children in Scotland have experienced bereavement of a close family member by the age of eight, according to a study by the Children and Young People's Centre for Justice (CYCJ) and the University of Strathclyde, which was published in 2020, before the impact of COVID-19 was taken into account; further understands that 62% of children in Scotland have lost a close family member by the age of 10 according to the Childhood Bereavement Network; acknowledges that the theme for 2023 is The Shape of Your Support, with the focus being on the people around a bereaved child or young person, beyond their friends or family, who can be there to support them through their grief; further acknowledges that the key question that is being asked is "Who else can you ask for help or support beyond your friends and family?"; welcomes what it sees as the great work being undertaken in Inverclyde by the Inverclyde Bereavement Network and former Clydeview Academy pupil, Ben Kane, who set up a support group in the school for children who are dealing with bereavement and has held talks with Inverclyde Council about expanding the service to all Inverclyde schools; recognises the work of Child Bereavement UK and its national development coordinator for Scotland in supporting young people when they are dealing with grief, and believes that the efforts of all organisations working in the sector are making a meaningful impact to Scotland's young people during what it considers to be such a difficult period in their lives.