Meeting RSHE 2026 Grief Education Requirements
Complete, training to deliver statutory grief and bereavement education with confidence. From September 2026, every school in England must teach about grief—we show you exactly how.
Implementation Deadline: September 2026
Schools have until 1st September 2026 to implement the new statutory grief curriculum. Our training equips you to meet this requirement with confidence, competence, and care.
The Statutory Changes
What the RSHE 2026 Guidance Requires
In July 2025, the Department for Education published revised statutory guidance for Relationships, Sex, and Health Education. For the first time, grief, loss, and bereavement are explicitly included as mandatory curriculum content.
Understanding Grief
Schools must teach that bereavement causes a range of emotions, that everyone grieves differently, and that grief is a natural response. Cultural perspectives on death must also be addressed.
Supporting Peers
Children must learn how to recognise when someone is grieving, age-appropriate ways to offer support, and the importance of compassion and patience with bereaved classmates.
Accessing Help
Pupils must know where to get support if they're bereaved, which adults in school can help, relevant external organisations, and when and how to ask for help.
Age-Appropriate Delivery
Content must be developmentally appropriate, delivered proactively (not just reactively), using sensitive trauma-informed approaches with confident, trained teachers.
Direct Alignment
How The STILL Method Meets Every Requirement
Our Child Grief Coach Training is enhanced to equip education professionals with everything needed to deliver the new statutory grief curriculum.
| RSHE 2026 Requirement | How STILL Method Training Delivers |
|---|---|
| Understanding that grief is natural and everyone grieves differently | Complete module on developmental grief patterns from ages 3-18, explaining how grief presents differently across childhood stages |
| Teaching about different cultural perspectives on death | Cultural sensitivity training and guidance on navigating diverse family beliefs respectfully |
| Helping children support bereaved peers | Practical tools for peer support, scripts for difficult conversations, classroom management strategies |
| Providing information on accessing support | Comprehensive referral pathways, safeguarding protocols, and when/how to escalate concerns |
| Age-appropriate, trauma-informed delivery | Evidence-informed frameworks grounded in neuroscience, polyvagal theory, and developmental psychology |
Complete Training Programme
What's Included in the Training
The STILL Method Child Grief Coach Training is a comprehensive 3-day accredited programme providing everything you need to deliver statutory grief education confidently and effectively.
Complete 6-Week Programme
Ready-to-deliver lesson plans for Key Stages 1-4 with age-appropriate activities and discussion prompts
Developmental Understanding
How children grieve at different ages and what they need from adults at each stage (ages 3-18)
Neuroscience of Grief
What happens in the brain after loss and why traditional behaviour management fails
Conversation Scripts
What to say (and avoid) when talking about death, plus scripts for answering difficult questions
Creative Activities
Body-based and expressive tools for children who can't or won't talk about grief
Safeguarding Protocols
When to refer for specialist support and clear pathways to mental health services
Whole-School Approach
Creating bereavement policies and building grief-informed school cultures
ACCPH & IPHM Accredited
Nationally recognised certification meeting professional CPD standards
Ready to Meet the Statutory Requirement?
Don't leave it until the last minute. Training takes time. Integration takes planning. The schools getting this right are starting now.
Implementation Timeline
Your Path to RSHE 2026 Compliance
NOW - JULY 2026
Prepare & Train
- Audit current grief education provision
- Identify staff training needs
- Complete Child Grief Coach Training
- Develop/update bereavement policies
- Engage parents about curriculum changes
JULY - AUGUST 2026
Plan & Integrate
- Finalise RSHE curriculum planning
- Integrate grief education appropriately
- Brief all staff on new requirements
- Prepare resources and materials
SEPTEMBER 2026 ONWARDS
Deliver & Refine
- Full implementation required
- Deliver statutory grief curriculum
- Monitor, evaluate, and refine approach
- Support bereaved students proactively
Common Questions
Frequently Asked Questions
For Residential Care Settings
Supporting Bereaved Children in Care
While RSHE 2026 statutory requirements apply to schools, children's homes and residential care settings play a vital role in supporting bereaved looked-after children.
Why This Training Matters for Care Settings
Although RSHE 2026 does not legally apply to children's homes, the reality is that looked-after children experience significantly higher rates of bereavement and complex grief than their peers.
Children in your care will encounter grief education at school
Most children in residential care attend mainstream or special schools. From September 2026, these schools will be teaching about grief, loss, and bereavement. Care staff need to:
- ✓ Understand what children are learning about grief in the curriculum
- ✓ Support children processing grief education lessons
- ✓ Work collaboratively with schools around grief topics
- ✓ Respond to questions and emotions that arise from school-based grief work
Looked-after children carry complex grief
Children in residential care often experience:
- → Multiple bereavements and cumulative losses
- → Traumatic or sudden deaths
- → Ambiguous loss (parents who are alive but unavailable)
- → Disenfranchised grief that was never acknowledged
- → Grief compounded by placement moves and attachment disruptions
Residential care staff are often the most consistent adults in these children's lives. Having trauma-informed grief support skills is essential - not just desirable.
Our training equips care staff to:
- ✓ Recognise complicated and cumulative grief patterns
- ✓ Use trauma-informed approaches with children who cannot or will not talk
- ✓ Support children through RSHE grief lessons at school
- ✓ Know when grief becomes complicated and requires specialist referral
- ✓ Create emotionally safe environments for bereaved children
- ✓ Work collaboratively with schools, social workers, and mental health professionals
Training Options for Residential Care Settings:
Individual staff can join our public training dates, or we can deliver bespoke training for your entire care team. We regularly work with children's homes, secure units, and residential special schools.
Enquire About Training for Care StaffLearn more: Supporting Grieving Children in Residential Care and Foster Settings
Don't Wait Until September 2026
Schools that start preparing now will deliver grief education with confidence. Schools that wait until the last minute will struggle. Which will you be?
Questions? Contact us for a free consultation call