Mexican Day of the Dead/Día de Muertos in Secondary and Primary Schools: CPD training and Teaching Resources Toolkit
Celebrated annually on 1–2 November,Día de Muertos(Day of the Dead) is a vibrant and deeply meaningful tradition rooted in bothCatholic and Aztec beliefs. While it originated in Mexico, it is now embraced by communities across the globe, including in the USA, the UK, and beyond.
The celebration is marked byjoyful remembrance, as families honor the lives of departed loved ones through colorful and heartfelt rituals.Altars (ofrendas)are adorned with candles, marigolds, photos, and favorite foods of the deceased.
Tombs are lovingly decorated, and street events —featuring music, dance, and symbolic imagery likesugar skulls—bring communities together in a spirit of love and respect.
About Dr Jane Lavery
Dr Jane Lavery, Associate Professor in Latin American Studies at the University of Southampton, is leading a large-scale research project on the Mexican Day of the Dead, working closely with Mexican communities and artists based in the UK.
Her research explores how this vibrant tradition is celebrated by Mexicans living abroad and examines its cultural relevance for non-Mexican communities. She also investigates how the festival can be meaningfully integrated into diverse contexts such as schools, civic spaces, and social and healthcare settings.
A published author in Gender and Cultural Studies, Dr Lavery is particularly passionate about this project, which has attracted media attention—including interviews on BBC News and Radio. She has written two academic articles and is co-authoring a forthcoming book with Professor Nuala Finnegan, focusing on the impact of COVID-19 on Day of the Dead celebrations in Mexico, Ireland, and the UK.
A Research Project to Inspire Schools: Why is it important to teach the practice in schools in the UK?
Since 2022, Dr Jane Lavery has engaged over 7,500 children and teachers in Día de Muertos-themed educational activities. These initiatives have been carried out in collaboration with the Mexican Embassy in the UK, the Spanish Embassy’s Education Office (Consejería de Educación en Reino Unido e Irlanda), and the Langton Language Consortium at Simon Langton Girls’ Grammar School in Kent.
Drawing on debates around cultural appropriation, Dr Jane Lavery argues in her publications that British and North American mediascapes (Appadurai, 1990) have contributed to the commercialization and misrepresentation of Día de Muertos. This process—sometimes referred to as the “halloweenization” of the tradition—strips the celebration of its local roots, commemorative purpose, and religious significance, reinforcing the misconception in Britain that it is merely a “Mexican Halloween.”
In response, Dr Lavery advocates for greater cultural education in schools, and urges educators to teach students about the true meaning of Día de Muertos. She emphasizes that the festival is a distinct cultural and religious event, rooted in Catholic and Indigenous traditions, and calls for more sensitive intercultural engagement to combat mislabeling and promote sensitive interculturality.
The decline in GCSE language uptake in the UK is well documented, with modern foreign languages no longer compulsory in many schools. While arts-based engagement with Día de Muertos may not reverse this trend alone, it offers a powerful tool to inspire interest in language learning through creative and intercultural exploration.
Currently, the Spanish MFL curriculum tends to focus on Iberian topics, with Latin American content often treated superficially. Día de Muertos is taught in some British schools—particularly in MFL, Art, Design, and Photography departments—but provision remains inconsistent.
In Mexico and North America, Día de Muertos is widely celebrated in schools, reflecting the size and cultural influence of the Mexican-American diaspora. In the UK, the Mexican community is also vibrant and active, and many families continue to celebrate the tradition. Organizing related activities in UK schools not only fosters cultural inclusivity, but also helps students understand that Día de Muertos is not an extension of Halloween, but a meaningful cultural and religious event.
These school-based initiatives aim to promote interculturality, respectful cultural exchange, and community collaboration, particularly by inviting local Mexican artists and families to participate in educational activities.
CPD Training and Toolkit of Resources
To address gaps in cultural understanding and curriculum delivery, Dr Jane Lavery has developed innovative, research-led resources for UK secondary schools. Her work presents accessible materials for teachers and pupils in Years 7–13, particularly those studying Spanish, but also in subjects such as Art, Religious Studies, and Citizenship. These resources explore themes including Día de Muertos, interculturality, cultural appropriation, commemoration, and identity, showing how the tradition resonates with diverse communities.
Lavery also offers CPD and PGCE training opportunities for primary and secondary school teachers and trainees across the UK and the Republic of Ireland. These sessions provide cross-curricular, classroom-based activities centered on Día de Muertos and its broader cultural significance. For details on upcoming online and in-person sessions, educators can email mloutreach@soton.ac.uk.
Previous CPD sessions—delivered in collaboration with the University of Southampton, the Langton Language Consortium, and the Spanish Embassy’s Education Office (Consejería de Educación Española)—have received excellent feedback.
In 2025, the participants awarded excellent ratings of 4.87/5. The July session received 4.44 out of 5.
Upcoming CPD/PGCE Training: Día de Muertos and Intercultural Education
Dr Jane Lavery invites teachers from Modern Foreign Languages (MFL) and other departments to participate in her upcoming online CPD/PGCE training session in July 2026 (date TBC). The aim of this session is to promote decolonialising approaches to the curriculum.
The same two-hour session will be delivered twice on the same day:
Morning session in Spanish:Repensando creativamente el Día de Muertos en el currículo escolar: La apropiación cultural y la relevancia sociopolítica, cultural y activista del ritual para diversas comunidades
Afternoon session in English:Rethinking the Mexican Day of the Day in the school curriculum: Cultural Appropriation, and the sociopolitical, cultural and activist relevance of the ritual for different communities
This bilingual format is designed to accommodate varying levels of Spanish proficiency and to welcome educators from both MFL and non-language departments.
Workshop Focus
Based on Dr Lavery’s research into Día de Muertos in Mexico and its global adaptations, the workshop will:
provide a cultural and historical overview of the tradition.
address issues of cultural appropriation and the myth of Día de Muertos as a “Mexican Halloween.”
explore the festival’s role in sociopolitical identity, grassroots activism, and community expression.
introduce the calavera skull poetry tradition and its classroom applications.
offer curriculum integration ideas for KS3, GCSE, and A-Level, which tends to focus more on Iberian topics.
encourage cross-departmental collaboration and engagement with local Mexican communities.
The initiative aims to help decolonise the MFL curriculum. The workshops will empower teachers tochange perceptions and teaching practices. They will explore what the practice is really about – something culturally distinct underpinned by its own religious history, meaning and rituals, and not an extension of Halloween.
The changes to teaching practices will also focus on pupil perceptions and their critical thinking, fostering teacher and pupil sense of motivation and wellbeing.
Teacher Benefits
Free CPD session
Spanish language and/or subject refresher
Access to a copyrighted toolkit of classroom resources
New approaches to teaching Día de Muertos
Opportunities for cross-curricular collaboration
Enhanced teacher motivation and wellbeing
CPD certificate of attendance/achievement
Pupil Benefits
Jane will introduce exciting activities and opportunities for pupils such as:
A national altar video competition
Opportunity tocontribute to a literary compilation of literary calaveras as part of a national competition
Certificates of achievement for participating pupils
Boosted learning motivation, critical thinking, and cultural awareness
These initiatives are part of Dr Lavery’s broader research project on Día de Muertos, in collaboration with the University of Southampton and the Mexican Embassy in the UK.
The Day of the Dead learning toolkit
Through her research, Dr Jane Lavery aims to bridge gaps in how Día de Muertos is taught and understood in UK schools. Her work has been transformed into accessible, research-led resources for secondary school teachers and pupils in Years 7–13, particularly those studying Spanish, but also in subjects such as Art, Religious Studies, and Citizenship.
As part of the CPD training, Lavery will provide these resources and guidelines as a copyrighted toolkit for teachers to conduct activities in class. This will include support for schools wishing to participate in the altar video competition. It will also provide insights into the Calavera tradition and how to deliver sessions in class to prepare children to write poems for a compilation.
The initiative supports efforts to decolonise the Modern Foreign Languages (MFL) curriculum, encouraging schools to move beyond superficial representations and teach the festival as a distinct cultural and religious practice rooted in Catholic and Indigenous traditions. It also aims to foster critical thinking, improve teacher and pupil motivation, and promote wellbeing through meaningful cultural engagement.
Details on how to register for the resource toolkit will be provided on completion of the CPD to all attendees.
About the toolkit
Dr Jane Lavery’s repackaged research will be available through a suite of copyrighted resources and activities designed to support teachers in delivering engaging, culturally informed lessons. These offerings are suitable for Years 7–13 and span multiple subjects, with a focus on Spanish language and intercultural education.
Available Resources and Opportunities
Teachers can choose from a variety of formats, including:
Online and in-person CPD workshops
A copyrighted toolkit featuring:
CPD materials
Lesson plans and worksheets
A-Level presentation sheets
Links to pre-recorded and live lectures
Face-to-face workshops in schools or online
Collaborative workshops led by Lavery or co-delivered with teachers
Independent delivery options for teachers using provided materials
A UK-wide altar video competition (running since 2022)
A new Ireland/UK-wide skull poetry initiative, in collaboration with the Mexican Embassy in the UK
The toolkit also includes guidance on inter- and cross-departmental collaboration, helping schools integrate Día de Muertos themes across subjects such as Art, Religious Studies, Citizenship, and English.
Toolkit copyright and terms of use
The toolkit of resources is copyrighted and is the ideation of Jane Lavery. Lavery is not claiming copyright over the practice or the creative expression linked to it. She is claiming copyright over the resources which draw from her research and the curation of resources put together in this toolkit for the purposes of teaching these in schools.
Teachers can adapt material for teaching purposes only but any material used from the CPD or toolkit will need to acknowledge the work as Lavery’s work. Teachers or anyone may not chare the CPD, toolkit lecture/workshop recordings with anyone else or publish them online or social media. Where material or links to other resources has been used, attributions to the authors have been made and referenced correctly.
For teachers to be able to take part in the CPD training and benefit from the toolkit of resources, they will have to fill consent forms and read the participant information sheets. Similarly for the poetry and video competition children will also need to fill in the appropriate consent forms, and parents / guardian will need to opt in and read the participant information sheets.
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