Grief education will soon become part of the secondary school curriculum in Dorset, as part of the Relationships, Sex and Health Education (RSHE) subject, according to Jo Revill, CEO of Mosaic Family Support.
This follows national updates to the curriculum and growing recognition of the need for young people to understand bereavement, with the changes being introduced in September 2026.
Jo Revill and her team of volunteers are working closely with schools across Dorset to ensure teachers feel confident and prepared when teaching about grief and loss.
She said: “Grieving never really goes away but our aim is to make a child’s day manageable with that sense of loss.
“Things like staying at school and being part of friendship groups, so that they can still cope with some sense of normality.”
Mosaic Family Support is the only child bereavement service of its kind in Dorset. The charity provides specialist counselling and day camps with activities, such as sailing and musical workshops.
Founded 18 years ago, Mosaic supports children and young people aged five to 18 struggling to cope with bereavement.
A family support worker, who wished to remain anonymous, spoke about how important child bereavement services are.
She said: “Typically grief affects children and young people differently than adults, as they might have not had much of an experience with dealing with it.”
“It might be their first time, so in a way they don’t have any knowledge to inform them how to cope with the grief.
“One child of a family I was supporting, whose siblings were on end-of-life care, the mother was trying to prepare her son for this horrible event, and he couldn’t process it, he was very much in denial.”
Sumona D, 21, who lost her mother earlier this year, explained how child bereavement services have helped her.
“I think I find group sessions more beneficial to me, finding people that have gone through the same thing as me and having them relate to certain situations.”
If you or anyone you know is struggling with bereavement visit https://mosaicfamilysupport.org/get-support
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