Death Social Story

Name: Death Social Story
SKU: death-social-story
Price: 14.99 GBP
Availability: InStock

A fill-in-the-blank social story walks a child through the death of a loved one, with photo placeholders and sentence blanks so an adult can personalise the narrative to the child's own family and loss.

Year groups: Nursery–Reception (Early Years), Years 1–3 (Key Stages 1–2)
File type: PDF
Preparation: Print ready

Updated Sep 27, 2026

Subject: Social Skills, Special Education Needs (SEN), Social Emotional Learning (SEL), Special Resources
Topic: Social Story, Difficult Discussions
Preparation: Print ready

From the author

About this resource

This 16-page printable social story describes a family death after illness and hospital care, followed by sadness and shared memories. It includes blanks for personal details and spaces for family photographs.

Review whether the narrative fits the child’s circumstances, complete the relevant spaces and read together with time for questions. A display book or laminated, bound pages can support repeated use.

Clipart images courtesy of Kari Bolt.

In the classroom

Teaching tips & learning objectives

Learning objectives

Discuss a loved one’s death and personal memories through a story adapted by a trusted adult.

Teaching tips

Personalise every blank (child's name, age, deceased person's name) and insert real family photos before using the story with a specific child.
Read the story one-on-one or in a small group setting with an adult who can pause for the child's questions.
Revisit the memory-focused closing pages separately from the initial explanation pages if the child needs the difficult news given first, then processed later.

Skills covered

Grief processing support — an adult uses the templated narrative to explain a death and normalise sadness for the child.
Personalised bibliotherapy — the teacher or caregiver customises names, ages, and photos so the story matches the child's real situation.