Children’s funerals

Arranging a child’s funeral is probably the most difficult task any parent, carer or guardian can face. If you are in this position, we offer you our heartfelt sympathies but be reassured that we are here to help you through this difficult time. As a company, we understand that any family losing a child that is just starting out in life is unexpected, and finances may be limited. Therefore we provide all the elements of our services as set out below, without charge. Should you wish to alter any of the components included, a small fee may be involved, but we will always inform you of this before the funeral.  Many costs related to funerals for children are covered by the ‘Children’s Funeral Fund’, which is government funded.

N.B.  To be eligible for the CFF, a child must be under 18 at the time of death or stillborn after the 24th week of pregnancy, and the burial or cremation must take place in England.

The Airedale Funeral for Children 0 – 17 yrs

What’s Included

A dedicated Funeral Arranger to guide and support you through the arrangements and assist with all legal and administrative procedures.

• Collecting  your child or little one from the place of death (Normally within 15 miles of the
  funeral director’s premises) and bringing them into the care of our chapel of rest local to you.
• Care of your child or little one until the funeral, including dressing and embalming as requested.
• Providing either our ‘Rose’ coffin for babies or Swale’ coffin for children, supplied in a colour or finish of your choice.
• Use of funeral home facilities, including visiting the Chapel of Rest.
• The provision of a specially adapted vehicle (for little ones and babies) or a hearse for the occasion of the funeral.
• A funeral director and necessary bearers on the day to help and assist the family.
• A choice of date and time for the funeral, arranged in collaboration with the family.

What’s not included

• Bringing the deceased into our care beyond a 15-mile radius (an additional mileage charge will apply).
• Visits to the Chapel of Rest outside of normal working hours.
• A Limousine to follow the Hearse. (Limousines are available as required) .
• Third-party fees (disbursements)

*Attendance to other hospitals will incur a mileage fee of £1 per mile.
For a detailed explanation of the services and fees included or for an individual quotation, call us on
0808 292 1734 24hrs.

Below is a full breakdown of funeral costs and how they are covered:

• Cremation – The cost of cremation is usually covered by the Government’s Child Funeral Fund (CFF) and will be
  reclaimed by the crematorium, so you will not be charged.
• The cost for the interment of ashes with a memorial is also usually covered by the CFF.
• Burial – The cost of a grave, including interment costs, is usually covered by the CFF. This will usually be reclaimed by the council or the church, whatever is relevant to the grave’s location, and you will not be charged. If the location does not reclaim this cost, we will pay it for you and reclaim it ourselves. (This includes the cost for a third-party grave digger if required).
• Coffin – the price for a coffin is usually covered by the CFF up to £300. We will not charge you for this. We will reclaim the cost ourselves.
• Medical Certificate (for cremation) – The CFF usually covers this, and we will reclaim this directly, so you will not be charged.
• Celebrant or Minister – The CFF does not cover this cost, but we have several celebrants who are experienced with children’s funerals and do not take a fee for this service.
• Viewings – we will charge for a family to use our chapel of rest to visit their child while in our care during normal office hours.
• Church Service – while we cannot say what any given church may or may not charge for a child’s funeral, we will waive our usual cost for attending a church service. We can also arrange for the coffin to be taken home or to the church the night before the service at no additional cost during working hours.

Additional costs

Personal floral tributes
Fingerprint keepsakes
Casket and urns
Additional limousines
Specialised Hearse, i.e.a Horse Drawn Carriage.

Further information

You will find much of the Child Funeral Fund information and more if you visit www.gov.uk/child-funeral-costs. You will also have access to the relevant forms and documents for applying for funds and refunds online. Nothing can take away the pain of losing a child. All we can offer is the opportunity to say goodbye in a calm and supportive environment and take as much of the strain for arranging everything from you as possible.

If you do need additional support and guidance:

• Cruse Bereavement Care
• SANDS
• Child Bereavement UK