A bereavement charity for children will be able to run a 24-hour helpline for another year, thanks to a big donation.

Headington-based Seesaw was set up eight years ago to help children of all ages deal with losing a loved one.

The charity, funded entirely by voluntary donations, operates exclusively in Oxfordshire.

It helps grieving children by organising counselling sessions and working with parents and families to arrange activities, and also offers a school support programme for teachers who are dealing with a bereaved student.

The schools pack helps teachers recognise the signs of educational and behavioural difficulties that grieving children may experience and gives advice on how to deal with them.

Now Nominet, a communications company, has pledged £12,000 to the charity after a year of fundraising.

Workers at the company held several events over the past 12 months including a wooden spoon decorating competition — with an extra day off work to the winner — a Nintendo Wii competition and a bacon buttie cook-off.

The support line has been running since the charity was founded in 2000 and is available 24-hours-a-day, for one-to-one advice during office hours and via a monitored answering machine service in the evening.

Seesaw director Jane Elliot said she was glad employees of Nominet had taken fundraising so seriously.

She added: "We are really very grateful for the money.

"The phone line is very important to us as it means we can offer support — and not just for children.

"Often we speak to teachers who return to school after the weekend to find a pupil has lost a parent or sibling.

"And it can be very difficult to know how to deal with a grieving child.

"This is where we can offer help."

Treasurer Alun Evans said Nominet had been very generous. He added: "We have been supported by business in the past and we are always very appreciative of this.

"The relationship between us and Nominet seemed to work particularly well this year."

Jacqueline Campbell, who co-ordinated the Nominet fundraising, said this year's efforts had been their most successful to date.

She added: "It has been great to support Seesaw — I think everyone here feels it is really a worthwhile cause, particularly as some of our staff know someone who has been supported by the charity. As it is a relatively small operation we can see how much our donations meant, and that was very rewarding."