Supporting positive and empowering conversations
Many children’s lives are touched by cancer. Grandparents, parents, neighbours, pets, or, with 1800 children diagnosed with cancer in the UK each year, perhaps a friend?
It can be difficult to talk about cancer. But it is important to support children.
SuperDaisy offers a safe and empowering resource to support teachers and parents managing those challenging conversations.
Author Rebecca Smith has been visiting schools to share SuperDaisy.
SuperDaisy grips children of all ages. It is a story that uses themes of the power of identity, strength of character, kindness and courage in adversity to tackle the topic of childhood cancer in a way that leaves children feeling empowered. By emphasising different elements of the story, its inspiration and meaning, it can be used as a resource for a wide range of age groups.
SuperDaisy teaches children that there is power in your own sense of identity and that sometimes it is in the most challenging of circumstances that we find our deepest strengths.
SuperDaisy also provides an avenue into some of the practical questions around cancer such as time spent in hospital, medication and its effects, providing an opportunity for children to ask questions and share concerns.
Empowerment is an important aspect of any reading of SuperDaisy. SuperDaisy’s association with the Little Princess Trust allows children to feel empowered to help through support of the charity.
Author Rebecca Smith - a former teacher - describes her experience of sharing SuperDaisy in the classroom
“Children enjoy reading SuperDaisy. The story takes them on a journey through challenging themes and leaves them smiling and empowered to talk and to act.
On one school visit I spoke with 50 children, yrs3-6. At the end the children filed out and said thank you. Three children into the line a young boy stopped and said “my cousin had cancer”, from that point almost every child in the queue told me of someone they knew.
Back in the classroom the teacher picked up the conversation. All but 2 of the children in the class had been touched by cancer. “I had no idea,” she said. The children shared their experiences and concerns before choosing to support the Little Princess Trust and another cancer charity in their fundraising for the term.
It is so important to support children and give them the opportunity to help. We cannot ignore that cancer touches their lives.”
Children will have varying experience of cancer and it is important to support a positive reading of SuperDaisy.
It is recommended that schools inform parents of their intention to share SuperDaisy.
If it is known that a child has had a particular experience or is ill with cancer it is recommended to speak with the child and parents ahead of sharing SuperDaisy with a larger group.
The following school support pack has been designed to support staff in engaging children in a sensitive and empowering conversation about childhood cancer through reading SuperDaisy.
Activity Sheets
The following activity sheets are designed to support younger children in thinking about what inner characteristics make a superhero like SuperDaisy.