St Columba’s Hospice and Edinburgh-based charity Fischy Music have been working together on an innovative project to help hospice patients and children from Victoria Primary School explore issues around death and dying.
The children have been meeting with patients in the hospice to discuss the impact of life-limiting conditions, explore thoughts and feelings through the arts and to write songs that can be shared with the rest of the school, the hospice and the wider community. The project culminated in an exhibition outlining the creative process with a performance of the finished songs. We had a fantastic turn out for this important community project and in addition to being aired on STV News (6pm, Friday 14 June), we’ll be featured on BBC Radio and have had coverage on Third Force News and the Edinburgh Reporter!
Head Teacher, Laura Thomson at Victoria Primary, Newhaven Edinburgh, said:
“Many still consider death a taboo subject for children but it is vital that we talk to children about death. Most children will be affected by the death of someone in their family or family friends and they need to know what this means practically and how to deal with this emotionally too. We enjoyed performing our songs and developing resources for schools across the city to share.”
