Family, mother and two daughters smiling sat in the hospice garden.

How we help children & families


Everything we do is about supporting families. Whether they’ve had bad news at a pregnancy scan or are living with a teenager with a life-shortening condition, we’re here to help.

We’ll listen, offer practical help, provide respite, help them de-stress, introduce them to other families, and walk beside them every step of their journey. We’ll even do some of the most challenging stuff of all: be there at the end, and help to make sense of life afterwards. 

Everything we do is offered free of charge to both you and the family. And we’re more than willing to work closely with you and offer training for your whole team. Find out more about how we support you.

In life…

People get the wrong idea about hospices: it’s about so much more than preparing for the end. We’re here for the long haul, too, often handing young people over to adult hospices when the time is right. We’re about laughter, rest, noise, sharing and so much more. For example, we offer:
  • creative therapy – using play, art, music and stories to help children express themselves
  • hydrotherapy – our fabulous pool, with sensory lighting, is great for supporting the body and soul
  • support for siblings – brothers and sisters get just as much fuss as the child with the condition
  • counselling – delivered however and wherever, from over a cuppa to a walk round our garden
  • advice – when families face difficult decisions, they may need someone to talk it through with
  • support groups – we run several, because talking to other people in the same boat can be a huge relief

…and in death

Sadly, not all of the babies and children we care for will win their fight. If that happens, we provide every possible emotional and practical support for the family. We will:
  • be there when bad news comes (or break it ourselves on your behalf), right from pregnancy
  • enable families to prepare by helping them to create special memories and photography
  • provide end-of-life care for the baby, child or teenager
  • be there at the death, and offer the family the choice of where and how that happens
  • give families the time and space they need to say their last goodbye (which may be in our Snowflake Suite)
  • arrange everything – from registering the death to dealing with undertakers and places of worship and/or the crematorium
  • provide a wide range of bereavement support
  • be there for the family forever, if that’s what they want, with no end-point to the services we offer

We’re here to help

We’ll do whatever we can to support you and your patients – just tell us what you need. Call us on 01484 411042 or email care@forgetmenotchild.co.uk. Please click here for details on how information you provide us with will be used.