Hampshire charity says grief education "long time coming" as it's announced to be introduced into schools
A Hampshire charity have been campaigning for the introduction for over 20 years
A Hampshire charity says that the grief education introduction into schools is a "long time coming".
It will be added to the curriculum of schools.
Simon Says, is a Hampshire-based child bereavement charity that supports children and young people up to the age of 18, when they've experienced the death of somebody close to them.
Debs Adams, Education Lead at Simon Says, said: "Grief comes into the classroom, it sits down and tries to focus and often we don't even know it's there.
"So what we need schools to do is to have this open conversation with children and young people so that they don't feel alone; so that their friends know how to speak to them and support them."
Ms Adams added that they hope it isn't a small part of the curriculum.
She said: "The champion programme in Hampshire that we're doing goes further than just putting it on the curriculum.
"We want staff to be trained, so we go and train all the staff in knowing how to support a child."
Simon Says support teaching staff to help to make schools mindful of grief.
Ms Adams told us what a child needs when they're bereaved.
She said: "Having routines in place will help a child, but giving them that choice, that option, that space, to come out of a lesson, if they're feeling overwhelmed.
"We know that when children grieve, they puddle jump.
"So one minute, they're in a grief puddle, feeling very upset, and then they've jumped out and they're able to get on.
"So it's understanding what grieving looks like in children.
"It's useful for staff, and then about allowing children to process and normalise all these difficult feelings they're having all jumbled up inside them."