2. 6 scenarios

Scenario 1: Staying in touch

Read the situation below and choose the best response.

You are a teacher. One of your students, who is 14, has told you her mother is in prison. She is very distressed. She has not been able to speak to her mother, doesn't know how she is and can't concentrate at school or sleep at night. Once you have got permission from her and her carer, do you:

  • Contact your local probation office to see if they can help?
  • Try to ring the prison but after several unsuccessful attempts, give up and tell your student you are sure her mum will be in touch when she can?
  • Pursue contact with the prison and think about how you might develop links to make this process easier for other staff and children in the school who may be affected?
Click here to see a video extract that portays the impact that imprisonment of a parent can have on a child. This video is reproduced with the kind permission of Barnardo's Northern Ireland.