As grief, death and bereavement become part of the school curriculum from September 2026, the resources use the experiences of social animals as an imaginative starting point.
Inspired by the ways elephants, giraffes, monkeys and others share their grief, it supports children to explore grief, death, bereavement and how we care for ourselves and one another.
Building on the original participatory art project, it offers teachers an opportunity to approach these important subjects through creativity, curiosity and conversation.
View and download the classroom resource: https://heyzine.com/flip-book/...
View and download the teacher's presentation: https://heyzine.com/flip-book/...
View and download the Grief helpline book: https://heyzine.com/flip-book/...
Adults can often find it difficult to talk to children about death and grief. One of the reasons for this is that adults are keen to protect children from pain and distress. However, what we have learned from working with Child Bereavement UK is that avoiding the subject of death and grief can unfortunately cause confusion, shame, and ultimately more distress for the child.
Beginning this academic year, the UK Government made it mandatory to teach children about the subject of grief within a school setting, to better equip children with the knowledge and strategies to cope with grief and support others.
The How to Look After a Grieving Elephant (and Other Social Animals) teacher’s resource aims to help children talk about death and grief in a fun and creative setting even if they have not experienced bereavement in their own lives. We encourage children’s curiosity and agency by calling them animal investigators and encouraging them to become experts in animal grief behaviour.
The resource also reminds children that grief can create uncomfortable emotions but that these emotions are normal and natural - even some other members of the animal kingdom experience them! It encourages children to think about how we can be kind to someone experiencing grief. We hope that these ideas will help to tackle cases of bullying which many grieving children have reportedly experienced in school settings.
The resource is not designed to replace specialised bereavement support, nor is it designed for use by children in crisis. We recommend that any children who are struggling with a recent bereavement seek out support via Child Bereavement UK.
Credits
How to Look After a Grieving Elephant (and Other Social Animals) was created by artist Jenny Gaskell, commissioned by ourselves and Wonder Arts, created in close collaboration with children who have experienced grief, Child Bereavement UK, Willowbrook Hospice and Allanson Street Primary School in St Helens.
The school’s resource and book were designed by Cultivate Creative, illustrated by Macy Lowry Cassells Lee and Johanna Wilson.
Formerly called Citadel Arts, Wonder Arts is a children and families organisation operating exclusively in non-traditional spaces in the public realm.
Providing high quality arts experiences for a-typical children and family audiences who would not otherwise engage with the arts, Wonder Arts are based in St Helens. They began their life as Citadel Arts Centre in 1988 and changed their name in 2022.
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