Stuart Anderson MP has joined calls for more support during childhood bereavement, as he spoke about the impact of losing his father at the age of just eight. Stuart made the intervention on Monday, 2nd December as part of a Westminster Hall debate in Parliament on children and bereavement. This comes during National Grief Awareness Week 2024, which is aiming to shine a light on the many outstanding bereavement services across the country.
The debate followed two petitions having collectively gained 22,746 signatures. A petition calling on the government to record the number of bereaved children to ensure that they are supported gained 11,424 signatures. It was initiated because, at present, there are no official estimates of the number of children affected by family bereavement.
A second petition requesting content on death, dying, and bereavement to be added to the National Curriculum gained 11,322 signatures. More than ten per cent of signatures, a total of 1,699, came from Ludlow, Bridgnorth, and the surrounding areas – demonstrating the importance of this issue for residents across South Shropshire.
The second petition was submitted by Bridgnorth funeral director, John Adams, who Stuart met before the debate. As former president of the National Association of Funeral Directors, John has been working with Child Bereavement UK and many organisations in the education sector including the Good Grief Trust to champion 'grief education.' It follows John’s own experience of losing his mother Maria when he was 12.
Co-author of ‘Don’t Tell the Children‘, John is campaigning for standalone provision grief education to be added to the National Curriculum. He said doing so would strengthen families when they need it the most, improve resilience in school communities, and mitigate the impacts of bereavement as an adverse childhood experience. It would also foster compassion and empathy in the classroom.
In his conversation with Stuart, John spoke of his commitment to making the necessary change for the very best outcomes for children, young people, and families who are dealing with death and grief. Stuart was pleased to endorse John's campaign, having personally experienced childhood bereavement since his father died when Stuart was just eight years old.
The campaign builds on research, which shows that children who are educated about grief before a traumatic experience can discuss their grief and have less anxiety about death. There is also a high proportion of young people in youth offending institutes who have suffered bereavement with inadequate support.
A survey of 31,000 school children showed that 57% wanted to learn how to cope with bereavement, 85% of teachers have experienced a death in the school community, but 90% of them have had no bereavement training.
The last government had launched a review on whether content on bereavement is needed within the statutory guidance and pledged to consider the points raised by the petition as part of it.
The consultation, which ran until 11th July, invited respondents to comment on proposed changes and propose additional changes for consideration. A General Election was called before the consultation has finished. So, Stuart is backing the campaign for the matters to be fully considered by the Department for Education.
Stuart Anderson MP said:
"I was delighted to meet John Adams, who’s campaign as a local funeral director to have grief education taught at schools is inspirational. Since my father died when I was just eight years old, I know just how much of an enduring impact childhood bereavement can have. I also know that many others in South Shropshire feel the same way, with almost 2,000 fellow residents having signed John’s petition calling for content on bereavement to be added to the National Curriculum. Schools can play an integral role in supporting children and families with the emotional impact of such a devastating loss. I believe that we must better equip schools with the resources that they need to support children with the emotional impact of such a devastating loss."
John Adams added:
"As a funeral provider and community-based co-operative that believes in the power of education, we believe that our society needs to talk more about death, dying and bereavement so that we can handle it when we’re affected by it. We advocate that to live better lives, we need to talk about, and understand death. This starts with education. 127 children a day are bereaved of a parent, 18 babies or children under 16 die every day but currently there is no requirement in the curriculum for schools to educate on grief."
To support schools to respond effectively to childhood bereavement and other matters, the previous government initiated a grant scheme offering £1,200 to all state schools and colleges in England to train a senior mental health lead who can put in place an effective approach to mental health and wellbeing - as well as support wider staff training.
Through the grant scheme, senior mental health leads can oversee a whole-school approach to mental wellbeing - ensuring there is a supportive school culture. This helps them to identify pupils or groups of pupils in need of mental wellbeing support and put in place effective support, working in partnership with specialists and families as needed.
The last government also provided £9.2 million of additional funding for mental health charities, including Young Minds - to support adults and children struggling with their mental wellbeing.
The Department for Education launched a mental health lead resource hub and a targeted mental wellbeing support toolkit, both of which signpost mental health leads and other school staff toward resources and guidance - including support for bereavement.
Further resources that can be drawn on to support pupils' mental health and wellbeing includes the MindED, Childhood Bereavement Network, Child Bereavement UK, Hope Again, and the Anna Freud Centre.
Stuart’s speech can be watched here: https://vimeo.com/1035294653
