Parents are furious as children left distraught after being asked to draw dead relatives

Since the class the school has been inundated with complaints

CLASSROOM CLOSER

by Closer staff |
Published on

The parents of pupils from Camden primary school in Fife are furious after a lesson on grief left their young children in tears.

The class of nine and ten year olds had been asked to draw a member of their family that had passed away as part of an exercise to understand the process of grieving.

According to some parents, they had not been told the lesson was going to take place - in which a video showing young children talking about their dead relatives was also played.

One angry parent, Adrian Marshall, whose ten year old son was in the lesson, feared some of the class could be left facing 'dark memories'.

He added to the Mirror: "What I take issue with is that there were no letters sent out to us seeking our permission for the class to go ahead or ask us if we would like to attend to comfort our kids."

According to the school, the lesson is part of the Curriculum of Excellence but Andrew thinks it could have been handled better.

"There's never a good time to teach kids about this," he said. "But I think they could have done with the emotional support of their parents when learning about death."

Angela Logue, Education Officer for Fife Council, said that the lesson had given the children a chance to share their experiences of someone who was important to them.

She said: "In Primary Six, we help pupils explore issues and emotions around grief, looking at skills and strategies which will help them deal with change and loss.

"In this case, the class had the opportunity to share their experiences and memories of someone special and support each other through discussion.

"The school recognises that parents should be informed before their children discuss potentially sensitive topics in class and we'll make sure that this happens in the future."

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