Grief education in schools expert visits New Zealand
Grief education is about to be added to the UK school curriculum, and one of the architects of the change is visiting Auckland next week to discuss how the change has been achieved.
John Adams is the past-President of the UK equivalent of New Zealand’s Funeral Directors Association. His personal story of the loss of his mother when he was 12, and the support he wishes he had received to deal with that has sparked UK government and education sector support and contributed to the change.
Funeral Directors Association of New Zealand President, Bradley Shaw, says the topic resonates deeply with his member firms who last year agreed on a new vision for the Association of ‘Supporting positive grief journeys’.
“Research we have conducted shows the profound impact grief has on people’s lives. Learning how to have compassionate, caring responses to grief helps all society deal better with death and other grief events. It makes sense to start that education at a young age,” says Mr Shaw.
Both Presidents came into their roles as the youngest ever within their respective Associations and both have used modern platforms including video and podcasts to promote their messages.
“Funeral directors have traditionally been solid but silent rocks of society, but our lived experience of grief means these days we can offer so much more,” says Mr Shaw.
“We need to encourage conversations about death and dying and how to be resilient in the face of grief. Demystifying and opening up the topic is something I’ve personally been an advocate for over the last few years, and I’m excited to learn about how John has taken that even further in the UK context.”
Mr Shaw notes there is a new but growing movement to have grief literacy taught in New Zealand's schools, too. The Association will be sharing John’s messages with those involved while he is in NZ and will be discussing how the Funeral Directors Association might further support calls for grief education in New Zealand schools.
“But we agree specialist grief resources within the curriculum can only be a good thing to support the mental health of our rangatahi,” says Mr Shaw.
ENDS
NOTE TO EDITORS
John Adams is in New Zealand 24 – 27 February inclusive. Please contact Gillian Boyes below if you would like to talk to John while he is visiting.
John Adams is a fourth-generation funeral director, past President of the UK’s National Association of Funeral Directors (NAFD), and host of nationally recognised podcast Death: A Changing Industry. A passionate campaigner for societal change, John led the national petition to integrate bereavement education into the UK curriculum – a petition that was debated in Parliament and is now being shaped by cross-party policy work. Co-Author of the nationally recognised book, ‘Don’t Tell the Children’.
John also serves as Funeral Industry Advisor to Child Bereavement UK and is co-founder of Legacy Share, a digital platform helping individuals document their funeral wishes and personal legacies. He has spoken internationally on topics such as grief, leadership, and funeral sector reform, including keynote sessions in Vietnam, Sydney, and now Auckland.
John is driven by the belief that compassionate, open conversations about death can transform communities—and that funeral professionals play a vital role in leading that change.
MEDIA CONTACT:
Gillian Boyes
CEO | Funeral Directors Association
M: +64 29 200 8985
E: gillian@funeraldirectors.co.nz