For the first time, beginning in the new school year, the topics of grief, death and bereavement will be discussed as part of the curriculum in English classrooms, fostering a sensitive space to explore feelings around loss.
In the updated guidance, there is a specific provision for schools to ensure that pupils are given the opportunity to learn ‘That change and loss, including bereavement, can provoke a range of feelings, that grief is a natural response to bereavement, and that everyone grieves differently’ in Relationships, Sex and Health Education (RSHE) lessons.
Also highlighted in the guidance is ‘How families and relationships change over time, including through birth, death, separation and new relationships.’
We have been a strong advocate for covering grief topics in schools, working directly with education settings and schools to train and equip teachers to sensitively and confidently support bereaved pupils in the classroom.
Most recently, the charity has worked alongside funeral director and former President of the National Association of Funeral Directors, John Adams, who spearheaded the campaign to include grief in the curriculum and drew on his own personal experiences of childhood bereavement.
As an advisor to the charity, John comments:
Death touches every family and every community, yet for so long it has been one of the few universal experiences that we have struggled to talk about.
Creating a dedicated space within education doesn't mean teaching children to be sad; it means teaching them to be compassionate, resilient and supportive of one another.
It also gives teachers confidence. Many educators have told me they desperately want to support bereaved children but are frightened of saying the wrong thing. Having grief and bereavement recognised within the curriculum provides reassurance that these conversations are not only acceptable but important.
Estimates suggest that there is a bereaved child in every classroom, suggesting that alongside being a sad fact of life as children grow into adults, education settings currently have grieving pupils in their community.
Fergus Crow, CEO of Child Bereavement UK comments:
We are pleased these crucial changes to the curriculum finally come into place from September. These are changes we have campaigned for over many years.
Through our work, we know how important it is for children and young people to learn about grief, loss and bereavement in safe, age-appropriate and planned ways.
Learning about the range of emotions that come with such difficult experiences means pupils will be supported over time to understand how people experience and express grief in different ways, and it will help them learn more about how to support friends and peers, and where to look for trusted help and support if they need it.
We need to put our trust in our teachers and schools to do this well, but we must also make sure they are equipped with the skills and confidence they need to teach sensitive topics like this, and that means more access to specialist training and resources.
Many schools already do this, and many children and young people are referred for help to charities like Child Bereavement UK by dedicated teachers and support staff. We hope this curriculum change means many more will now follow.
We provide training which has been specifically developed for teachers and professionals working within the education sector. See the full range of courses on our training page, or contact [email protected] to ask us about bespoke training for your school, nursery, college or educational setting.
