A.W. Lymn and academy trust launch UK-first death education pilot
News of the initiative follows a national campaign led by former president of NAFD, John Adams, to add death, dying and bereavement to the National Curriculum
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A.W. Lymn and the Archway Learning Trust have launched a national pilot to teach children about death, grief and loss, in what is believed to be the first of its kind in the UK.
The family-run funeral provider and learning trust have also developed a dedicated learning module aimed at supporting pupils who are grieving.
News of the initiative follows a national campaign led by former president of the National Association of Funeral Directors (NAFD), John Adams, to add death, dying and bereavement to the National Curriculum.
A petition spearheaded by Adams was debated in the House of Commons in December, and highlighted the lack of a national register of bereaved children and the absence of a consistent teaching approach comparable to relationships and sex education.
According to data from Child Bereavement UK, an estimated 46,300 children under 17-years-old are bereaved of a parent each year – 127 each day. One in 29 children aged five to 16 has also lost a parent or sibling, meaning roughly one child in every classroom.
The new module, titled Healing Hearts: Navigating Bereavement, Grief & Loss, will initially be taught to key stage 2 (ages 7–11) and key stage 3 (ages 11–14) pupils within Archway Learning Trust schools. It has been co-designed with A.W. Lymn and tailored to suit each age group.
Matthew Lymn Rose, managing director of A.W. Lymn, said: “We talk a lot in today’s world about core skills, resilience and coping with adversity – and how these attributes are crucial to living a happy and fulfilling life.
“Yet we see in our line of work how children are often silent during the immediate aftermath of a death, witnessing the adults they love and trust in a state of vulnerability and pain.”
Sian Hampton, chief executive of Archway Learning Trust, added: “Children are taught about how life begins from an early age, and similarly, we should not be shying away from equipping children with the skills to comprehend death.”
The government is currently reviewing its approach to bereavement education following the December petition, which called for the subject to be added to compulsory relationships education.
