Hospice’s pioneering programme helps schools talk about death

23rd April 2026/
Helping schools talk about death and loss
  • St Luke’s Compassionate Schools Programme is helping schools across East Cornwall open up healthy, age‑appropriate conversations about death, dying and bereavement, building emotional resilience across whole communities.
  • Staff report major cultural shifts, feeling more confident supporting pupils and families, and creating safe spaces such as Bishop Cornish’s Snug Hub and adapted Compassionate Friends sessions.
  • Demand for the programme continues to grow, with more schools joining upcoming training cohorts and interest building across the Diocese of Truro and multi-academy trusts.

St Luke’s is helping schools have open conversations about death and loss

Schools in East Cornwall are opening up brave conversations about death, dying, loss and bereavement with children, teachers and families with the aid of a transformative community education programme created by St Luke’s Hospice Plymouth.

Instead of being avoided, these challenging topics are now being given space and time, allowing pupils, staff members and parents to talk more freely and share difficult feelings more confidently, while learning how to support each other well.

St Luke’s Compassionate Schools Programme lies at the heart of this cultural shift which is aimed at encouraging and training education establishments to support those who are going through loss, strengthening emotional resilience and understanding across the whole school community.

In January Bishop Cornish CofE VA Primary School in Saltash became the first primary school and first Church of England School in Cornwall to achieve St Luke’s Compassionate School recognition. They successfully aligned the programme with their Christian values, demonstrating its flexibility and relevance within faith-based education.

“It is all about enabling children to thrive and that’s what this programme is doing at times that as adults we find difficult to deal with,” said deputy headteacher Vicky Oakes. “It has really enhanced our provision for looking after children and families and the relationship we have with our community.

“We cannot take the hurt and sadness away because that is part of healing, but we can help to make the journey easier.”

Compassionate Schools

Saltash Community School

First ever SEN school to gain Compassionate School recognition

Fountain Head House School, also in Saltash, has become the first ever SEN school to gain Compassionate School recognition after adapting the programme for their pupils with additional needs.

Deputy headteacher Kate Buck said: “Teaching these types of topics to SEND children is extremely difficult. Staff and pupils alike now feel able to discuss the topic without hesitation, helping to remove any stigma that previously surrounded these conversations.”

The school has since offered to share its approach with other specialist providers, highlighting the programme’s growing relevance in different environments.

These two schools followed in the footsteps of Saltash Community School, which in 2023 became the first recognised Compassionate School in Cornwall.

St Luke’s championed the initiative in 2017 and there has been ongoing demand ever since. To date more than 30 education establishments, including primary, secondary, and higher education, in the city of Plymouth and in the surrounding communities, have engaged with the programme.

Momentum is continuing to build, with two more primary schools in East Cornwall preparing to join the next training cohort in April 2026. Partnership work is also growing.

Compassionate School conference

Further rollout of Compassionate Schools programme

Last December, St Luke’s Community Development team met with the Diocesan Director of Education for the Diocese of Truro, which oversees 44 Church of England schools across Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly. The Diocese expressed strong interest in offering the programme more widely, with the potential for further rollout across multi‑academy trusts.

Judy Horne, St Luke’s community development worker, delivers and reviews the Compassionate Schools sessions and awards in partnership with Tracy Stimpson, Director of Marbles Lost and Found CIC and who is also Mental Health and Disability Lead CB with Four Greens Community Trust.

“We’re excited to see the programme grow, strengthening St Luke’s role as a leader in compassionate community education and supporting long-term cultural change in how people approach death, dying, loss, and bereavement,” said Judy.

“As a charity serving the local community, St Luke’s strategy prioritises the implementation of the Compassionate Schools programme as a key part of our community development work to improve death literacy and build a more compassionate society.”

Bishop Cornish Primary School

Staff and children at Bishop Cornish CofE VA Primary School, Saltash

Making an impact on two school communities

Bishop Cornish CofE VA Primary School, Saltash

Vicky Oakes, deputy headteacher and mental health support lead at Bishop Cornish – where the vision is “To inspire through faith and love, that all may flourish” – says she and her colleagues recognised they could benefit from greater knowledge to help them support children who lose a close family member.

“The Compassionate Schools programme is very helpful and empowering,” she said. “Previously, when the parent of one of our children died, we wanted to guide the school’s response as best we could but didn’t always know how. We’re trauma‑informed, but bereavement wasn’t something our mental health team dealt with.”

From a personal point of view, Vicky was already aware of the heavy impact of bereavement and the importance of cherishing precious memories after her close friend’s son, Oliver, died aged just 11, and she wanted to do more.

Inspired by attending a training day in 2023 titled ‘Supporting Bereaved Children and those with Anticipatory Grief in a School Setting’, hosted by St Luke’s and the University of Plymouth, Vicky took things a step further by participating in a Compassionate Friends Awareness Session, then enrolling to become a Compassionate Friends Champion.

With those tools in place she was able share her knowledge with fellow teachers, teaching assistants and governors and align the programme with their Christian ethos. Now there’s a team of four leading the school’s response, and Bishop Cornish has been officially recognised as a Compassionate School.

“As a Church of England school we knew we would have to navigate the faith aspect and, as a primary school make sure it was right for younger children,” said Vicky.

An open‑door approach for parents soon led to more children and parents seeking support as staff grew more confident talking about death and loss. “It has become part of what we do.”

Bishop Cornish Primary School

Children in Years 5 and 6 are now being offered adapted, age appropriate Compassionate Friends sessions – with parental permission – so they can feel at ease talking with friends about loss and help to support their classmates. There is also a safe space in school called the Snug Hub where children facing loss or bereavement can take time out in a cosy and supportive environment.

Parents are supported too. “Talking about death has been taboo for generations,” said Vicky. “We reassure parents that it’s OK for children to feel upset and that simply listening helps. Parents have thanked us because they didn’t know how to have those conversations.”

From the parent of a Year 4 child:

“The bereavement support that my child received from school was incredibly nurturing and was invaluable for us as a family at the most difficult of times.”

From the parent of a Year 6 child:

“After his grandad’s death, the school offered Fred a safe and supportive space where he could understand and process his grief. Through this support he developed coping strategies that he now uses to help others.”

From a Year 4 child:

“It helped get rid of some of my sadness and Miss Quick was useful to talk to as she didn’t know my granny so didn’t get upset when I talked about her.”

From a Year 3 child:

“It was nice to tell other people how lovely my grandad was and to share some of the things we did together. That made me happy.”

Fountain House Head Special Education School, Saltash

Deputy headteacher Kate Buck and play therapist Vikki Freeman are leading the compassionate school programme at Fountain House Head School in Saltash.

They say using St Luke’s programme and adapting it to the challenges of the children they teach has made a significant and positive impact across the school community by fostering a much more open and supportive approach.

“We recognised that bereavement and loss can be especially challenging for Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) children to understand and process. These experiences often require sensitive, carefully adapted approaches that consider each child’s sensory needs, personal and social development, and interoceptive awareness,” said Kate.

“We now have a highly bespoke policy that highlights how bereavement and loss are taught across the school, and it has been carefully woven into our Personal, Social, Health and Economic education (PSHE) offer.”

Fountain Head House Schooln

Fountain Head House School

One parent praised the school for supporting her daughter after the death of her grandfather, saying:

“I feel the school have supported Frankie well with the recent bereavement. Frankie struggles to understand and display her emotions and read other people’s emotions. The school appears to be helping Frankie with this.”

Frankie agreed the school had helped her.

Kate explained: “I asked Frankie if the school helped her when she lost her Granddad. Frankie said ‘yes’. I asked her how or why and she said ‘smiling’. I think she may mean that staff have been smiling and it’s a positive environment. 

“I brought up about her wearing her T-shirt with her Granddad’s picture on. Frankie explained that it helped her remember him.”

If your school or college would like to know more about St Luke’s Compassionate Schools programme email community.development@stlukes-hospice.org.uk

Compassionate Schools

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