'Remember on Mother's Day' Bereavement Lesson Plan
Young children are naturally curious about death and dying, and are usually refreshingly open about the subject. Integrating the subject into daily school life helps children to view it as something not to be feared.
The Child Bereavement Charity considers that schools have a vital role to play in supporting and educating children about death and dying. Therefore a key part of the CBC Mother's day campaign is a new lesson plan designed to be used by teachers in primary schools.
Many teachers lack confidence to talk to their class about grief and bereavement. This sensitive, step by step lesson plan, based on an annual event familiar to children, offers an effective but simple tool to gently open the door on the subject, helping staff to take a proactive rather than reactive approach.
It links with SEAL (Social and Emotional Aspects of Learning) and PSHE (Personal Social and Health Education) programmes and meets Healthy Schools criteria.
The lesson plan is very much a celebration of mothers but also sensitively raises awareness that for children whose mother has died, this can be a difficult day.
The lesson plan supports inclusion and diversity, encouraging children to think about mothers in the widest possible sense, acknowledging that for some children this role is carried out by someone other than their natural mother. It is suitable for use with children with SEN (Special Educational Needs).
The activity is designed to encourage emotional literacy and empathy with grieving peers. It is not unusual for bereaved children to report being bullied at school. The Child Bereavement Charity Schools Coordinator encourages schools to talk in an open and honest way to pupils, explaining what it can be like when grieving. As a result, pupils are more understanding. Children are often most comfortable chatting about difficult things while busy doing something else; producing the painting creates opportunities for them to naturally discuss with one another, and their teacher, any thoughts they may have on the subject.
The lesson plan has culminated in circa 300 paintings from Dorney School, Bucks and St. Andrew's Primary, Oxford, West Wycombe Combined School, Bucks, and Maidenhead Nursery, Berks, being displayed at the prestigious Sladmore Contemporary Art Gallery in London on March 12th 2009. It is not a competition, every painting is displayed.
Dorney School in Buckinghamshire used the lesson plan as a whole school activity, producing 200 paintings. Paula Allen, Head Teacher, said:
"The Child Bereavement Charity's Mother's Day lesson plan gave us a platform to talk about things that maybe we do not make space for any more. We are under so much pressure to meet targets that we forget sometimes to make space and time for other things. "
"The staff felt that they got to know the children better through listening to the conversations that they were having with one other while doing their paintings. The children were quite naturally discussing why their mothers were special and why they valued them."
"Staff said that the lesson plan gave them a chance to reflect and that they felt more in touch with why they do this job."
To download the lesson plan click here [0]
The charity's website has a comprehensive schools section where lesson plans can be downloaded, alongside details of other resources, guidelines and useful information. Details of the charity's schools course: ‘Teaching Grief and Bereavement within PSHE and other curriculum areas' and the Schools Information Pack can also be found here:
www.childbereavement.org.uk/for_schools [0]
Other Information:
In 2008, the Child Bereavement Charity trained 230 schools, sold 313 Schools Information Packs and received 220 calls from schools seeking bereavement support.
For more information, contact the Child Bereavement Charity's dedicated Schools Training and Support Coordinator: jill.adams@childbereavment.org.uk [1] or tel: 01494 568900