Scotty’s Little Soldiers has partnered with Anglia Ruskin University (ARU) to launch a new training module for Initial Teacher Training (ITT) providers designed to help trainee teachers recognise and respond compassionately to the needs of bereaved pupils.
Developed with ARU’s ITT team, the open-access training materials include three themed slide decks and lecturer guidance: Primary school settings, Secondary school settings, and Bereavement theory. The modules are designed to strengthen inclusive practice and improve teacher confidence in supporting pupils affected by grief – helping every child to achieve, belong and thrive.
The training was shaped by Scotty’s ground-breaking research, based on feedback from nearly 200 bereaved military families, which highlights the ways bereavement intersects with education. The research can be read in full at www.scottyslittlesoldiers.co.uk/education-research.
Findings included:
· 77% of bereaved children and young people had experienced at least one lesson containing content that directly related to or reminded them of their parent’s death.
· 52% had multiple experiences of potentially distressing content.
· Over one in eight students who had sat GCSE or A Level exams had been asked to answer a question directly related to, or reminding them of, their bereavement.
One young person shared:
“My sister had a very bad experience with her Science GCSE. Lots of questions on cancer. She cried a lot when she came home. When she finished her GCSE she went to English revision and they were revising grief and loss. My sister walked out of the classroom. Our dad passed away 5 months before all this.”
These findings come ahead of changes to the relationships and sex education curriculum, which from September 2026 will include bereavement education for the first time. Pupils will be taught that grief is a natural response to death and that everyone grieves differently, while teachers will be encouraged to create supportive and inclusive classroom environments where every child feels they belong.
ARU works with 500 schools across the Eastern region to train its student teachers. Across England and Wales there are 179 accredited providers of teacher training, training over 25,000 teachers nationally, but these resources can also be accessed further afield if appropriate. The resources are live and available for all to access at www.scottyslearning.com. To sign up, ITT training providers can request access via email to STRIDES@scottyslittlesoldiers.co.uk.
Scotty’s also plans to release self-directed online training for existing teachers in 2026, aligned with the new RSE curriculum, covering bereavement for primary and secondary children.
Rob Ilett, Head of the STRIDES education and personal development programme at Scotty’s, said:
“Alongside home, bereaved children and young people spend a large portion of their life at school. For schools to respond to their needs compassionately will make a significant difference to feelings of safety and belonging, improving their wellbeing and helping them to thrive in education. Children should not be disadvantaged by their bereavement.
“We hope that the teacher training resources will help trainees to feel confident in supporting bereaved children in their learning. Teachers cannot change the curriculum, but they can deliver it in a way that is compassionate to the needs of bereaved children as part of inclusive practice.”
Jenny Fogarty, Director of Initial Teacher Training at Anglia Ruskin University said:
“It has been a privilege to work with Scotty’s on this project, which was designed and developed with trainee teachers and ITT tutors at ARU. We are proud to be contributing open access resources, free to providers, to promote compassionate conversations about death and bereavement in classrooms. Our trainees told us the module content helped them feel more confident to support bereaved children whilst on placement and talk to their School Mentors about bereaved children in their class. We are looking forward to sharing learning with other providers who use the resources.”
The training has been reviewed against the NASEN Quality Framework for Inclusion, confirming that it meets high standards of accessibility, inclusivity, and representation for all learners.
The Scottish Veterans Commissioner recently published a report on support for the bereaved community which calls for educators to embed Scotty’s insights into guidance: https://www.scottishveteranscommissioner.org/report-bereaved-community/
Thanks to Armed Forces Covenant Fund Trust and Lloyds Patriotic Fund for funding which has helped make the training materials a reality.
