Project breaks the silence around death in primary schools
A powerful new initiative is set to transform how children talk about death, dying, and bereavement. The project - a collaboration between the universities of Manchester, Bradford and Wolverhampton, Child Bereavement UK and the Child Bereavement Network - features brand new poems by legendary children鈥檚 author and former Children鈥檚 Laureate Michael Rosen, whose work has helped generations of young readers explore life鈥檚 most profound emotions with honesty and humour.
Funded by the Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC), the 10-month pilot will work with primary schools to create age-appropriate, creative, and compassionate ways to explore life, death, and everything in between.
Led by Professor Karina Croucher, Professor of Archaeology, Heritage and Wellbeing at the University of Bradford, the project uses archaeology to start conversations around death and bereavement. 鈥淚t鈥檚 about helping young people to talk about death, dying and bereavement, challenging what is almost a taboo in society,鈥� said Professor Croucher. 鈥淲e鈥檙e using archaeology and global practices to show how diverse our responses to death can be 鈥� and how we can celebrate life in the process.鈥�
Dr Jane Booth, Senior Lecturer in Sociology and Social Policy at the University of Wolverhampton, is part of the team delivering weekly workshops in two primary schools 鈥� Wycliffe CE Primary in Shipley, West Yorkshire and St Joseph鈥檚 in Sale, Manchester. 鈥淭he project is about normalising and validating feelings around death, dying, care-giving and grief resilience,鈥� said Dr Booth. 鈥淚t鈥檚 about saying it鈥檚 OK to talk about these subjects 鈥� and giving children the tools to do so.鈥�
Beloved children鈥檚 author and poet Michael Rosen is writing new poems to accompany the project鈥檚 workshops, helping children explore their emotions through creative expression.
We were delighted that Michael agreed to work with us,. He brings a unique creative compassion to the poems, which we hope will get children, parents and teachers talking 鈥� and writing 鈥� together.
The project will run from September 2025 and is open to pupils aged five to 11 as part of their PSHE (Personal, Social, Health and Economic) education. Children will explore not only bereavement but other forms of loss 鈥� such as the death of a pet or a friend moving away 鈥� through archaeology-inspired art and poetry. Parents will be invited to information sessions and can choose whether their children take part.
鈥楲ost and Found鈥� builds on the success of previous AHRC-funded projects, including 鈥楥ontinuing Bonds鈥� and 鈥楧ying 2 Talk鈥�, which used archaeology to support conversations about death in secondary schools. The new pilot will result in a workshop resource pack for other schools to replicate the approach.
This initiative also aligns with the UK Government鈥檚 recent inclusion of grief education in .
鈥楲ost and Found鈥� builds on nearly 拢100,000 in AHRC funding and follows two earlier projects: and . These initiatives explored how archaeology can support conversations about death, dying, and bereavement in non-medicalised, creative ways.
Continuing Bonds brought together archaeologists, healthcare professionals, and psychologists to explore legacy and loss, while Dying 2 Talk co-produced resources with secondary school pupils, using artefacts and workshops to help young people reflect on grief and caregiving through the lens of the past.