Mosaic supports children and young people, along with their families, across the county of Dorset.
We work closely with schools to ensure bereaved pupils, families and education professionals can access the right support and information following a death within the school community.
Bereavement is an emotional and challenging time for children and young people. It can also be difficult for school staff and other professionals who are supporting them. Although death is a subject many people find hard to talk about, it is an inevitable part of life and something every school will encounter at some point.
At Mosaic, we promote an open and honest approach to conversations about death and grief. Our aim is to help children, young people and their families find healthy ways to understand loss, express their feelings and build resilience.
What Mosaic Can Offer
Telephone support and advice
Guidance on making referrals
Counselling for children and young people
Activity days for children and families
Training for school staff
Bereavement Cafés – safe spaces for children to meet and have open conversations
Grief Education Training – aligning with new curriculum requirements from 2026
Grief Education Training
Grief education is a new and developing area of our work at Mosaic and it has been designed to support educational settings in Dorset, in response to upcoming changes, placing bereavement education within the PSHE / RSHE curriculum, commencing in September 2026.
The updated guidance states that pupils should understand “that change and loss, including bereavement, can provoke a range of feelings; that grief is a natural response to bereavement and that everyone grieves differently.”
We provide a free of charge, one hour training session that incorporates guidance and resources to support school and college staff feel confident in talking and teaching about grief, loss and bereavement in an age appropriate, sensitive and honest way.
This includes supporting staff to deliver learning that helps children and young people understand that bereavement is a natural part of life and that feelings associated with grief are normal.
Our training sessions focus on:
- Building confidence in having conversations about change and loss
- Helping pupils to understand that grief is a natural response to loss
- Exploring the range of emotions that may be experienced
- Using appropriate and honest language when discussing death, bereavement and grief
- Supporting open, sensitive and age appropriate discussions in the classroom
As part of grief education, we offer clear signposting and information about wider support available through Mosaic.
Our aim through this training is to enable school and college staff to feel equipped to approach this curriculum change with confidence and care.
This work is generously supported by the Thomas Deane Trust, a charitable organisation for which we are sincerely grateful.
For further details please contact our grief education manager Emily Osborn via email
emily@mosaicfamilysupport.org
Working hours: Monday 09:00 – 16:00
Tuesday 09:00 – 16:00
Friday 09:00 – 16:00
For more information, please visit our Grief Education Training in Schools page.
We have an experienced counsellors based at the Mosaic office together with a Referral team and are available to answer queries, offer guidance and provide support when needed.
As referrals come directly from schools, we encourage you to contact our Referrals team to ensure referrals are made at the most appropriate time.
Contact MosaicSupporting Schools
Our School Information Pack has been designed to support school staff with practical guidance on what to do following the news of a death. It includes advice on how to support a bereaved pupil immediately and throughout their time at your school.“Not knowing what to say” is one of the most common concerns we hear from those supporting bereaved children and young people.
Please do get in touch with us if you have any enquiries or concerns – we are here to help schools support students through the most difficult time of their lives.