MPs support for children's bereavement lessons

A man campaigning for bereavement support for children has said having his petition debated in Parliament was "fascinating and surreal", but added there was still a long road ahead.

John Adams, a funeral director from Bridgnorth, who lost his mother when he was 12, wants to add age-appropriate education on death and dying to school curriculums.

It was debated in Parliament on Monday despite not reaching the 100,000 signature threshold, and was met with overwhelming support.

The petition will now be taken forward both by a cross-departmental working group and the Department for Education.

"It's been a long journey to get to this point, and hearing MPs talking so openly about their loss and grief and bereavement in the House of Parliament… it was a moment, a real special moment," said Mr Adams.

"I think they're starting to understand the importance of this."

The petition was discussed alongside another, which called for the number of bereaved children in the UK to be recorded to ensure they are supported.

"Last night, even having those conversations in Parliament, it’s not the norm," Mr Adams told BBC Radio Shropshire.

"But this is how we break down taboos, and I think death is one of the biggest taboos in the UK, in the western world.

"The conversations last night were really powerful, really positive, no one was against it."

MPs shared their own experiences with grief, including South Shropshire MP, Stuart Anderson.

His father, Samuel, who was 37, died when Anderson was eight years old.

"I remember going to school later in the day, because the teacher had to tell my class: 'Stuart’s dad has died, nobody mention it to him'".

"If I misbehaved it was put down as 'oh, he’s lost his dad, don’t say anything,' or 'How can we leave Stuart out?'

"If something went right or wrong, nobody knew how to deal it, from the teachers to the students."

He added that it was as if his father's death had never happened.

"It took me many years to deal with it myself, but if I had had that education and awareness, and it could have been spoken about openly," Anderson added.

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