Nelson’s Journey, Norfolk’s childhood bereavement charity, welcomes new guidance for schools to teach about Grief and Bereavement
New guidance published by the Department for Education regarding Relationships, Health and Sex Education (RHSE) lessons, sets out that Grief and Bereavement should be included by schools from September 2026 or earlier.
Simon Wright, Chief Executive of Nelson’s Journey, said: “As a Norfolk charity, we’ve been working closely with local schools to promote discussion and understanding of issues of grief and bereavement. This week for example, several Norfolk schools are holding Purple Picnics to help raise awareness of the support available to bereaved children in the county through Nelson’s Journey. We’ve also supported 1,000s of professionals in the county, most of who work in schools, through child bereavement awareness raising; and engaged with schools through our Friends of Nelson’s Journey initiative which encourages good practice.
“We strongly welcome all initiatives to promote discussion and understanding of grief and bereavement, and its fantastic news that schools across Norfolk will be looking at their lesson plans over the next year.”
The guidance states that children are taught 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.”
To find out about the charity’s work with schools at https://nelsonsjourney.org.uk/schools/
