Allyship in Action: Finding and Growing Allies in Education, Work, and Everyday Life
Written by Marie Manley
Marie Manley works for SEE Change Happens. She is an advocate for families and friends of Transgender individuals. She loves talking to customers about their DEIB requirements, explaining how SEE Change Happen can enhance organisations with all things DEIB-related. She comes from an administration and compliance background, she has strong analytical thinking, a love of processes, and a strict attention to detail.
Allyship is something I used to think of as a value – something you believe in. But over time, and through personal experience, I’ve come to understand that allyship is really about what you do. It’s how you show up, how you listen, and how you stand alongside others, especially when it matters most.
For me, this became deeply personal when my husband became my wife. That journey shifted not only how I see the world, but how I experience it. It opened my eyes to the quiet, everyday moments where allyship is either present or absent – in conversations, in systems, and in relationships. It also helped me recognise just how powerful true allies can be.
What I’ve learned is that allyship isn’t confined to one space. It travels with us – through education, into our workplaces, and into our closest relationships. And in each of those spaces, we have the opportunity to both find allies and become one.
Allyship in Education: Where It Often Begins
Education is often where we first encounter difference – different identities, perspectives, and lived experiences. It’s also where many of our beliefs about fairness and belonging start to form.
I’ve seen how powerful it can be when educators create spaces where people feel safe to be themselves. Allyship in education isn’t just about policies or statements; it’s about the everyday behaviours. It’s the teacher who challenges exclusion. The student who speaks up when something doesn’t feel right. The environment that makes space for everyone to be heard.
Finding allies in education often starts with noticing those small but important actions. Who is curious rather than judgmental? Who is willing to challenge bias? Who makes room for others?
But we can’t leave allyship to chance. It needs to be nurtured intentionally. When inclusion is embedded into how education works – from curriculum to culture – allyship becomes part of the norm, not the exception.
Allyship at Work: Moving Beyond Good Intentions
In the workplace, allyship becomes even more visible – and, if I’m honest, sometimes more challenging.
Many organisations talk about diversity and inclusion, but without active allyship, those words can feel hollow. Allyship at work is about what happens in the moments that aren’t scripted – who gets heard in meetings, who is advocated for, who is challenged when something isn’t fair.
Through my own work, I’ve seen that allies are not always the loudest voices. Often, they are the most consistent. They are the people who quietly but firmly stand for fairness, who follow through, and who are willing to learn and adapt.
When my own family experience changed, I noticed these allies more clearly. The colleague who checked in. The leader who made space. The friend who didn’t assume but asked. Those moments mattered more than any formal policy ever could.
That said, organisations do have a responsibility. Allyship shouldn’t rely on individuals alone. It needs to be supported by leadership, embedded into systems, and reinforced through accountability. When that happens, allyship becomes part of how work gets done – not an extra.
Allyship in Family and Friendships: Where It Gets Real
If I’m honest, the most complex space for allyship is often our personal lives.
Family and friendships are where we feel safest – but they are also where bias can go unchallenged. When my husband became my wife, I saw this firsthand.
SEE Change Happen – Fireside chat is an example of finding Allyship:
https://seechangehappen.co.uk/speaking-library/the-making-of-me-joanne-maries-story/
Some people leaned in with openness, curiosity, and love. Others struggled, sometimes without realising the impact of their words or assumptions.
Allyship in these spaces isn’t about having all the right answers. It’s about being willing. Willing to listen. Willing to learn. Willing to say, “I might not fully understand, but I’m here.”
It’s also about courage. Speaking up when something doesn’t sit right. Gently challenging language or behaviour. Choosing connection over comfort.
Resources from organisations like Stonewall (https://www.stonewall.org.uk/) can be incredibly helpful in guiding those first steps, especially for people who want to be supportive but aren’t sure how.
What I’ve come to appreciate is that allies in our personal lives don’t need to be perfect. They just need to be present, open, and committed to growing.
Growing Allyship – Together
Across all these spaces, one thing stands out to me: allyship is deeply human. It’s built on trust, consistency, and care.
It’s not about getting everything right. It’s about being willing to try, to learn, and to keep showing up.
If we want to grow allyship, we need to create environments where people feel safe to ask questions, to reflect, and to be challenged. We need to recognise and value inclusive behaviours. And we need to hold ourselves – and each other – accountable.
This is something I’m incredibly passionate about in my work, and it’s why organisations like SEE Change Happen (https://seechangehappen.co.uk/) exist – to support people and organisations in turning intention into meaningful, lasting change.
A Final Reflection
Allyship has become something very real to me. It’s not theoretical. It’s not abstract. It’s personal, and it’s ongoing.
It shows up in the colleague who creates space. The friend who listens. The family member who is willing to learn. And sometimes, it starts with us – choosing to be that person for someone else.
So, I often come back to a simple question: How am I showing up for others today?
Because when we ask that – and act on it – allyship stops being something we talk about and becomes something we live.
Understanding the Experiences of Black Teachers in London: Why Mattering Matters
Written by Tara Elie
Tara Elie teacher, psychologist, lecturer and coach. Tara has diverse experience in education and Learning and Development spanning over decades. She is renowned for her engaging training delivery, both face-to-face and virtually. Her performance background, alongside her passion for supporting individuals and organisations to flourish and thrive, characterise her delivery style. Tara has completed research on Black Teacher Mattering which she is delivering in keynotes. She is passionate about teacher wellbeing and uses the theories of Positive Psychology to inform her work with all clients with a proven record of success. Tara stands for social justice and social change. She appreciates and celebrates the individual, their differing backgrounds, cultures, experiences, perceptions, and values.
Introduction
Understanding the experiences of Black teachers is essential if we are serious about improving well-being, retention, and professional fulfilment in education. Conversations about diversity in schools often focus on pupils, yet far less attention has been given to the psychological experiences of teachers themselves. One concept that offers a powerful lens for exploring this is mattering – the sense that we are valued and that what we contribute has value.
Psychologist Morris Rosenberg (1985) described mattering as an individual’s belief that they are important to others and able to make a meaningful contribution. When applied to the experiences of Black teachers in London, this idea moves the conversation beyond statistics and into the lived realities of belonging, recognition, and professional identity. Understanding whether teachers feel that they matter – to colleagues, to leaders, and to the wider system – may help explain why some remain in the profession while others leave.
Why Representation Still Matters
The relative scarcity of Black teachers makes this question particularly important. Representation in education is not only about fairness in employment; it also has wider implications for students, schools, and communities. The Black Teachers in London report, commissioned by London Mayor Ken Livingstone, highlighted a clear relationship between the success of Black teachers and positive outcomes for Black pupils. In some London boroughs, nearly half of pupils were Black, yet only a small proportion of teachers shared that heritage. Increasing diversity across all levels of education – from classroom teachers to leadership and governance – was identified as essential for improving representation, aspiration, and achievement.
However, addressing the shortage of Black teachers requires more than recruitment initiatives. It requires a deeper understanding of how teachers experience their professional lives, how valued they feel, and whether they believe their presence makes a difference. Without this understanding, efforts to improve diversity risk focusing only on entry into the profession rather than on belonging within it.
A Gap in UK Research
Much of the existing research on mattering in education has focused on students, particular subject areas, or the education system in the United States. In the United Kingdom, despite ongoing concerns about a lack of diversity in the teaching workforce, relatively little research has explored the experiences of Black teachers themselves.
This gap is especially significant in London, where teacher shortages have historically been higher than in other parts of the UK and where the student population is among the most diverse in the country. Exploring the lived experiences of Black teachers in London can help build a clearer picture of what supports – or undermines – their sense of belonging, confidence, and professional fulfilment. Understanding these experiences is essential if diversity efforts are to be meaningful rather than symbolic.
A Positive Psychology Perspective
This research approaches the topic from a Positive Psychology perspective, the scientific study of individual, group, and community flourishing (Hefferon & Boniwell, 2011). Rather than focusing only on problems, Positive Psychology asks what enables people to thrive. Applying this perspective to teaching allows us to consider how feeling valued influences motivation, self-esteem, and commitment to the profession.
When teachers experience a strong sense of mattering, they are more likely to feel engaged, resilient, and able to sustain their work over time. For Black teachers, the experience of mattering may be shaped by factors such as representation, recognition, relationships with colleagues, opportunities for progression, and the extent to which their perspectives are heard. These factors are closely linked to recruitment and retention, but also to well-being and professional identity.
Beyond Recruitment: The Importance of Belonging
Teacher shortages are often explained through workload, accountability pressures, and working conditions. While these are important, psychological factors such as belonging and value may be just as significant. Exploring mattering offers a way to understand inclusion at a deeper level. Policies can increase diversity, but they cannot by themselves create environments in which teachers feel respected, listened to, and able to contribute fully.
Listening to the lived experiences of Black teachers in London can help develop a more nuanced understanding of what supports their flourishing and what undermines it. This understanding is essential if schools are to move beyond representation alone and towards genuine inclusion.
Why This Matters for the Future of Education
Improving diversity in education is not simply about numbers. It is about creating professional cultures where teachers feel that they matter – where their presence is recognised, their work is valued, and their contribution is meaningful. When teachers experience this, the benefits extend beyond the individual to pupils, colleagues, and the wider school community.
Understanding mattering is therefore not only a psychological question, but an educational one. If we want a teaching profession that is diverse, sustainable, and capable of supporting all young people, we must pay attention to whether those within it feel that they truly belong.
What do school governors need to know about DEIB?
Written by Hannah Wilson
Founder and Director of the Belonging Effect (formerly Diverse Educators).
School governors play a strategic, not operational, role in DEIB (Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Belonging). What they need to know can be grouped into purpose, legal duties, oversight, and culture.
- What DEIB means in a school context
Governors should understand that:
- Diversity: The range of identities and experiences in the school community (e.g. race, ethnicity, gender, SEND, religion, socioeconomic background).
- Equity: Fairness, not sameness – recognising that different pupils and staff may need different support to succeed.
- Inclusion: Creating systems and practices where everyone can participate and thrive.
- Belonging: Pupils, staff and families feel respected and safe in the school.
DEIB is not an add-on – it affects outcomes, wellbeing, safeguarding, staff retention, and reputation.
- Legal and statutory responsibilities (UK-focused)
Governors must ensure the school complies with:
- Equality Act 2010: Protects nine characteristics (e.g. race, disability, sex, religion). Requires schools to eliminate discrimination, advance equality, and foster good relations.
- Public Sector Equality Duty (PSED): Schools must show due regard to equality in decisions and policies.
- Safeguarding duties: Discrimination, bullying, and exclusion can be safeguarding risks.
- Ofsted expectations: Inspectors look at inclusion, behaviour, curriculum breadth, and how well vulnerable groups are supported.
Governors do not deliver DEIB – but they are accountable for whether it is happening effectively.
- Strategic questions governors should ask
Governors should be able to challenge leaders with evidence-based questions such as:
Pupils:
- Are there attainment, behaviour, attendance, or exclusion gaps between groups?
- How does the school support pupils with SEND, EAL, or from disadvantaged backgrounds?
- Do pupils report feeling safe and that they belong?
Staff:
- Is recruitment and promotion fair and transparent?
- Are there disparities in staff retention, progression, or disciplinary action?
- Is staff training in equality and inclusion effective and ongoing?
Curriculum & culture:
- Does the curriculum reflect diverse voices and experiences?
- Are incidents of bullying, racism, sexism or homophobia recorded and acted upon?
- How does the school engage families from different backgrounds?
- Policy oversight (not micromanagement)
Governors should ensure the school has clear, up-to-date policies and that they are working in practice, including:
- Equality and accessibility plans
- Behaviour and anti-bullying policies
- SEND policy and provision
- Admissions and exclusions
- Complaints procedures
They should look for impact, not just paperwork.
- Data literacy and proportionality
Governors need confidence to:
- Interpret equality and pupil outcome data without jumping to conclusions
- Understand that unequal outcomes don’t always mean discrimination – but always warrant investigation
- Balance DEIB work with the school’s context, avoiding tokenism or box-ticking
Good governance focuses on patterns and trends, not isolated incidents.
- Tone, language, and leadership
Governors set the tone. They should:
- Use respectful, inclusive language
- Avoid politicising DEIB or treating it as “optional”
- Model curiosity rather than defensiveness
- Support leaders when DEIB work attracts challenge or misunderstanding
Silence or avoidance can be interpreted as indifference.
- What governors should not do
- Do not manage individual cases unless part of a formal panel
- Do not impose personal ideology
- Do not expect quick fixes – culture change takes time
- Do not delegate all DEIB responsibility to one staff member
- Continuous learning
Effective governors:
- Undertake regular training on equality and inclusion
- Stay aware of local community needs
- Reflect on their own board’s diversity and skills mix
In short:
School governors need to understand DEIB well enough to ask the right questions, meet legal duties, hold leaders to account, and ensure every pupil and staff member has a fair chance to succeed and belong.
Shaping Intention into Impact: How Belonging Creates a Lasting Effect
Written by Hannah Wilson
Founder and Director of the Belonging Effect (formerly Diverse Educators).
We often underestimate the power of small actions. A word spoken. A behaviour modelled. A decision made with – or without – care. Yet time and again, research and lived experience show us that impact rarely begins with something loud or grand. It begins with intention.
To understand how intention becomes impact, it helps to explore three interconnected ideas: the Ripple Effect, the Butterfly Effect, and what we call the Belonging Effect.
The Ripple Effect: Intentional Actions That Travel
The ripple effect describes how a single action creates a chain reaction of consequences, spreading outward like ripples from a stone dropped into water. A kind gesture can inspire another. A thoughtful idea can spark collective change. Equally, negative behaviours can ripple just as far, reinforcing harmful patterns if left unchecked.
This phenomenon appears across economics, sociology, leadership, and personal development because it reflects a simple truth: our actions do not exist in isolation. Every choice – especially those made by leaders, educators, and organisations – sets something in motion.
Ripples are visible. They move outward in predictable ways. We can often trace them back to their source.
The Butterfly Effect: Small Moments, Unpredictable Outcomes
The butterfly effect takes this idea even further.
Originating in chaos theory and popularised by meteorologist Edward Lorenz, it suggests that a small change in initial conditions can result in large, unpredictable outcomes later. Metaphorically, a butterfly flapping its wings in one part of the world could influence a storm system elsewhere.
Here, the emphasis is not just on reach – but on sensitivity. Tiny moments matter more than we think. A brief interaction. A missed acknowledgement. A single experience of inclusion – or exclusion – can alter a person’s trajectory in ways we may never fully see.
Unlike ripples, these effects are often invisible. But they are no less real.
The Belonging Effect: Where Intention Becomes Human Impact
This is where the Belonging Effect comes in.
The belonging effect describes the profound influence that a sense of belonging has on human wellbeing, motivation, and performance. When people feel they belong, they are more engaged, resilient, creative, and committed. When belonging is absent, the outcomes are equally powerful – anxiety, disengagement, poor performance, and diminished wellbeing.
Decades of research across schools, workplaces, and communities show that belonging is not a “nice to have.” It is a fundamental human need. In educational settings, a strong sense of belonging is linked to higher achievement and retention. In workplaces, it drives engagement, collaboration, and psychological safety. Across all contexts, it supports better mental and physical health.
Belonging does not happen by accident. It emerges when people feel seen, valued, safe, and connected through meaningful relationships.
Shaping Intention Into Impact
The Ripple Effect reminds us that our actions spread.
The Butterfly Effect reminds us that small moments can change everything.
The Belonging Effect reminds us who those moments land on.
When intention is grounded in belonging, impact becomes sustainable.
A leader who intentionally creates space for voices to be heard doesn’t just improve a meeting – they shape culture. An educator who signals “you matter here” does not just support a student – they alter a future. An organisation that prioritises belonging doesn’t just retain people – it unlocks potential.
This is the heart of the Belonging Effect: intentional actions that create human impact, often far beyond what we can measure. Because when people belong, the ripples are positive, and the butterfly effects change lives.
Permeable Minds: How Omission Forms Meaning
Written by Rachida Dahman
Rachida Dahman is an international educator, a language and literature teacher, and an educational innovator. She started her career in Germany as a teacher trainer advocating the importance of relationships above academics. She then moved to Luxembourg where she teaches German language and literature classes to middle and high school students. She is an award-winning poet, co-author of the best-selling book, ATLAS DER ENTSCHEIDER Entscheiden wie die Profis- Dynamik, Komplexität und Stress meistern.
Judgment Formation and the Ethics of Attention in the Classroom
In classrooms where books are read and texts are discussed, students absorb invisible hierarchies of attention and recognition. They learn not only from what is articulated, highlighted, and rewarded, but also from what is omitted, overlooked, or left unspoken. Meaning moves through the room, through the questions asked and the questions avoided. It shapes perception long before students can fully name what they are absorbing.
Schools often articulate strong commitments to inclusion, wellbeing, and safety. These commitments are serious and necessary. Yet institutional language alone does not guarantee coherence in practice. Posters are displayed. Assemblies are convened. Mission statements are published. Classrooms, however, are governed less by rhetoric than by attention. Every emphasis, every silence, every interpretive choice participates in shaping what students come to trust, recognize, and regard as real.
The ethical management of attention in classrooms determines whether institutional commitments become formative realities or rhetorical contradictions.
Policy and Practice
A structural tension exists between policy ambition and classroom practice. Policy speaks in generalities; teaching unfolds in particulars. It is in those particulars, especially in the study of literature, that judgment is formed. Choices about naming, framing, or highlighting elements of a text carry consequences beyond the immediate lesson.
Serious education has never prioritized comfort. What matters is judgment: the capacity to perceive complexity, to recognize human dignity in its specificity, and to interpret without erasing. When this discipline falters, the erosion is quiet but cumulative. Students internalize patterns of recognition and omission long before they can articulate them.
Naming and Omission
When identities within a text are left unnamed in discussion, students learn more than the assigned content. They learn which dimensions of human experience are treated as central and which as peripheral. A novel may be analyzed for structure, language, or historical context. Its craft may be examined in detail. Yet if the marginalized identities shaping its characters’ positions remain unacknowledged, students absorb a hierarchy of relevance.
In classrooms where misogynistic rhetoric is analyzed as a stylistic device but not named as misogyny, some students fall silent, others detach. The discussion continues, yet something has shifted. The omission itself communicates.
Not all silence is harmful. At times, restraint creates space for reflection rather than hierarchy. The distinction lies in pattern. Occasional discretion differs from consistent omission. When particular dimensions of human experience are repeatedly left unnamed, they become less thinkable. What becomes less thinkable gradually becomes less real within the intellectual life of the classroom. Recognition requires courage. Silence is often easier.
Permeable Minds
Developing minds are permeable. Adolescents are not passive recipients of content; they are active interpreters, scanning for relevance, legitimacy, and recognition. Permeability is not fragility. It is the very process of formation.
Educational environments shape judgment through repeated signals of importance and marginality. Over time, these signals accumulate. Institutional language cannot substitute for interpretive practice. The ethics of education resides not only in declared commitments but in the disciplined management of attention within the classroom.
Teachers and school leaders carry responsibility for what students see, hear, and internalize, for what is named and what remains unspoken.
The Double Bind
Schools frequently emphasize care, belonging, and safety. Yet everyday pedagogical practices may convey a different message: indifference, irony without scaffolding, or humiliation without commentary. Students encounter structural contradictions, what Gregory Bateson described as a double bind: two incompatible messages delivered within a relationship that cannot easily be exited or openly challenged.
- Students are told their wellbeing matters.
- They are simultaneously expected to endure unexamined provocation.
- Students are told inclusion is foundational.
- They encounter subtle forms of elitism that reproduce exclusion.
A school may hold a wellbeing assembly, then require students to analyse a text containing degrading rhetoric without space to acknowledge discomfort. The institutional message is “your wellbeing matters.” The pedagogical message received may be “your response is irrelevant to serious analysis.”
When students are instructed to “separate personal feelings from intellectual rigor,” the lesson conveyed can become that emotional experience disqualifies serious thought. The result is rarely open rebellion. It is more often a quiet destabilization, a subtle erosion of trust in the coherence of adult authority.
The Erosion of Trust
The most serious consequence is not offense. It is the gradual erosion of trust. Trust in the teacher’s coherence. Trust in institutional language. Trust in the alignment between word and action. In socially polarized contexts, this erosion matters. Authority experienced as inconsistent cannot stabilize conflict. When institutional language loses credibility, its capacity to guide and de-escalate diminishes.
Research consistently underscores the importance of perceived fairness and relational trust. Students’ sense of psychological safety depends less on the absence of challenge than on predictable and ethical adult authority. Young people do not reject rigor. They struggle when the signals they receive contradict one another.
Coherence as Professional Responsibility
Pedagogy does not promise comfort. Challenging texts and unsettling questions are essential. The question is not whether students encounter difficulty, but whether difficulty is framed within coherent ethical practice.
Public commitments to wellbeing must be mirrored in classroom decisions. Text selection cannot be merely private taste. Provocation cannot be detached from responsibility. Critical distance cannot become an alibi for indifference. Ignoring queerness in texts about queer lives, failing to address antisemitism in Jewish literature, or omitting misogyny in feminist texts constitutes erasure. Erasure teaches students that certain realities do not merit acknowledgment within serious intellectual work.
Teachers operate under real constraints: time, curriculum mandates, community expectations, and political scrutiny. Ethical attention does not require exhaustive commentary on every identity dimension. It requires awareness of pattern. The question is not whether everything is named, but whether repeated omissions accumulate into hierarchy.
Influence in classrooms is inevitable. What circulates within that influence must therefore be examined.
“All one-sidedness remains one-sidedness and carries its own suffering within it. Whoever reduces, constricts. And whoever constricts, causes harm.” – Carl Jung
From Reflection to Action
The dynamics described here have direct implications for practice and policy.
For Teachers
- Name identities deliberately. Where relevant, acknowledge historical context, ethical tensions, and marginalized positions within texts.
- Distinguish restraint from erasure. Consider whether silence creates space for thought or unintentionally signals irrelevance.
- Reflect on attention patterns. Notice which perspectives are consistently elevated and which remain peripheral.
- Model moral attentiveness. Demonstrate that intellectual rigor and ethical recognition are not opposing commitments.
For Policy-Makers
- Align language with classroom reality. Commitments to inclusion and wellbeing must be actionable within pedagogy.
- Support teacher agency. Provide professional development focused on interpretive ethics and moral formation. Enable educators to name identities responsibly without fear of reprisal.
- Evaluate coherence, not only compliance. Assess how students experience recognition and omission in daily classroom life.
Closing Reflection
Classrooms are not neutral spaces. Every discussion, every interpretive choice, every sustained omission participates in the moral formation of students. Teachers and policymakers share responsibility for the ethical conditions under which judgment develops.
When coherence is present, trust strengthens. When word and action align, authority stabilizes rather than destabilizes. By honouring the permeability of young minds, education can fulfil its promise of inclusion and prepare students to engage thoughtfully and thoroughly. In times marked by social fracture, that coherence is not an optional refinement. It is a professional necessity. Without trust, education cannot endure.
Wellbeing coaching for trainee teachers
Written by Amy Sayer
Amy Sayer is an associate, consultant, mental health trainer and content writer. She is a Leading Diversity advisor for the Chartered College of Teaching. She is the author of the book ‘Supporting staff mental health in your school’.
I have had the privilege of being a wellbeing coach for trainee teachers for the past three years. It gives me such hope that ITT providers are recognising the importance of providing this space for trainees to discuss how they are feeling and consider their wellbeing routines and priorities. It can be tricky for trainees to feel that they can be honest about how things are going for them with school mentors or their teaching hub leads who are ultimately judging their performance in one way or another. Having a neutral and confidential space for trainees to discuss their individual needs can provide a valuable extra level of support which can allow feelings to be validated and a bespoke wellbeing plan can be created.
I have been struck by the vast range of different people who want to train to teach, but also the enormous personal barriers that many are currently facing alongside the relentless demands of the teacher training year. I have worked with people who have previously been teachers in other countries, who have relocated their families to come and live in the UK, to become a teacher here. I have worked with people who have had a number of bereavements in their families. I have worked with menopausal trainees suffering from a wide range of awful physical and mental health symptoms as a result. I have worked with autistic trainees who are returning back to the setting which caused them upset and stress as a child. I have worked with people who have battled mental health conditions for most of their life. I have worked with people with physical disabilities who needed practical support on a day-to-day basis. Despite their differences, they all have a common thread. They all want to make a difference in their work. They all want to support young people to feel excited about learning their subject.
Often these trainees have not received support previously and are not sure what they can ask for or might feel ashamed that they will be judged for needing reasonable adjustments or different support options. Before starting teacher training, they might have had lives in which they have felt that they have just about managed to keep their heads above the water despite any difficulties or challenges. However, with the workload and vast amount of headspace and emotional impact, there are usually pinch points when they need wellbeing coaching. It generally tends to be at points when assignments are due, or their teaching load increases but it can also be when something specific such as a bereavement or illness occurs.
There are an increasing number of trainee teachers who are neurodivergent and they need the opportunity to discuss any reasonable adjustments from the very start of their training including during their initial interview. It is important that application forms have time and space to allow trainees to explain any reasonable adjustments that they have had to support their educational journey so far. It could be for example that they have dyslexia and they have been given particular software to use for their essays, and extra time for deadlines if needed. There needs to be a clear explanation about the reasonable adjustments that they can access at their interview and during their training year. This will then hopefully eliminate any shame or embarrassment or misunderstandings around what support they can expect from both their centre-based training days as well as their in school placements.
My advice for ITT providers is that they need to ensure that there are robust and tried-and-tested support policies and practices in place to ensure that trainees have adequate wellbeing support from the beginning of their training to reduce the likelihood of them reaching a crisis or burn out and needing to leave the training. Given the wide-range of adversity that many trainees have going on in their lives, providing safe spaces for them to discuss their needs regularly will be essential in allowing any reasonable adjustments to be put into place for them. We need to give trainees equitable opportunities to shine and be the best teachers they can be and reassure them that they both deserve and should expect this in their future careers.
Adoption Doesn’t End the Trauma
Written by Ian Timbrell
Ian has worked in education for 18 years, including as a teacher and deputy head teacher and now supports schools develop their provision for LGBTQ+ and adopted pupils. He is the author of 'It's More Than Flags and Rainbows', a guide to supporting schools become more LGBTQ+ inclusive.
When we adopted, I think I expected a sense of arrival. A feeling that we had reached the end of a long and intense process and could finally breathe. In reality, adoption was not an ending at all. It was the beginning of a very different journey, one that far fewer people truly understand.
There is a widespread belief that trauma ends at adoption. That once a child is safe and loved, the hardest part is behind you. Our experience, and the experience of many families I have spoken to, tells a very different story. Trauma does not disappear because circumstances change. It stays with children as they grow, shaping how they see themselves, their families, and the world around them.
What shocked me most was how quickly support fell away once adoption was finalised. During the assessment process, you are surrounded by professionals, advice, and scrutiny. Afterwards, it can feel as though the scaffolding is suddenly removed. Families are expected to cope, to manage complex behaviours and emotions, and to do so quietly, often while being told how “lucky” everyone is.
Adoption touches every part of family life. As children grow older, particularly during the teenage years, questions about identity and belonging resurface with force. Life stories are revisited. Feelings of loss, anger, and confusion come to the surface. These are not abstract emotions. They show up in daily life, in school, at home, and in relationships.
One of the least understood aspects of adoption is contact with birth families. For those outside the adoption world, this is often difficult to grasp. Contact is not simple or tidy. It carries hope and heartbreak in equal measure. For children, it can reopen wounds they do not yet have the words to describe. For parents, it can be painful to watch your child carry feelings you cannot fix or protect them from.
Schools and wider family networks often struggle to understand this reality. Behaviours are framed as poor choices rather than expressions of distress. Parenting is judged without recognising the context. There is an unspoken expectation that adopted children should be settled, grateful, or resilient. When they are not, families can feel blamed and deeply isolated.
As an LGBTQ+ adoptive parent, there are additional layers. Our families are often more visible, and that visibility can bring both connection and silence. Sometimes it feels as though acknowledging the challenges of adoption is seen as too complicated, or as though we are already asking enough of people simply by existing as a queer family.
Things are slowly changing, but more education, connection and understanding are still needed around the realities many adopted families experience. Adoption can be an incredible thing, but it does not exist in a Disney daydream.
I am writing this as an individual, shaped by my own experience as an adoptive parent. I am also the founder of More Than Flags and Rainbows, and these two parts of my life are inseparable. This reflection comes from moments of joy and pride, and from moments of exhaustion, fear, and uncertainty. It comes from recognising how many families are quietly navigating similar paths without enough understanding or long-term support.
That is why, through More Than Flags and Rainbows, we are working to build networks for adoptive families and LGBTQ+ parents that centre lived experience and community support. Our aim is to create spaces where families can connect, share experiences and feel less alone in the challenges they face.
If this resonates with you, you are not alone. And struggling does not mean you are failing.
A Curriculum for Connection: What the 2028 Reforms Mean for Belonging in Schools
Written by Chloe Watterston
Chloe is an educator, athlete, and advocate for inclusive, curiosity-driven learning, dedicated to creating spaces where every young person feels safe, valued, and empowered. Her work across mainstream and SEND education, community projects, and curriculum reform is driven by a passion for amplifying marginalised voices and breaking down barriers to learning.
The recently announced curriculum reform by the Department for Education (DfE) sets out a refreshed national curriculum for England, to be implemented from September 2028. GOV.UK+1 The changes include clearer structuring of subjects, stronger foundations in oracy, reading, writing, mathematics, inclusion of media/financial literacy, and a new ‘core enrichment entitlement’ (arts, sport, nature, civic engagement). GOV.UK+1
In discussing these changes, the theme of belonging – feeling valued, included, connected and confident in one’s place in school, learning community, and future society – merits explicit attention. When students feel they belong, they are more motivated, resilient, engaged and ready to learn. For learners who may feel marginalised, including those with additional needs (SEND), neurodiversity, gender/ethnicity minority status, or from disadvantaged backgrounds, belonging is especially critical.
Why belonging matters in the curriculum context
Belonging in a school setting means that students feel they are part of the community, their identities and contributions are valued, they have agency and voice, they see themselves reflected in the learning and expectations, and that the pathways ahead feel achievable and meaningful. Research shows that when belonging is strong:
- Pupils show higher engagement, better behaviour, more perseverance and stronger outcomes.
- Belonging helps mitigate the harmful effects of marginalisation, discrimination, or social isolation.
- A curriculum that simply transmits knowledge without fostering connection and relevance may fail to engage those who don’t see themselves in it.
In the context of the new curriculum, which emphasises knowledge, skills for life and work, enrichment in arts/outdoor/civic life, and digital/financial literacy, belonging becomes the lens through which these ambitions must be refracted: how do all pupils feel that this curriculum is for them, they can access it, succeed with it, and feel part of their school’s learning community?
For example, the government’s own press release highlights that enrichment activities and arts broaden confidence, social capital and resilience. (GOV.UK) The blog from the Education Hub emphasises inclusive support for children with SEND and stretching the most able. (Education Hub) Both show levers that can support belonging – but only if consciously leveraged.
How the new curriculum offers opportunities (and challenges) for belonging
Opportunities
- Wider access to enrichment
The ‘core enrichment entitlement’, guaranteeing every pupil access to arts/culture, nature/adventure, sport/physical activity, civic engagement and life skills, is a powerful vehicle for belonging. These are contexts where students can engage beyond exam-driven subjects, collaborate, explore identities, build peer connection and feel part of something bigger than school. Schools that deliver this well can foster strong community, inclusive opportunities and shared purpose. - Broader subject choice and removal of restrictive performance measures
The reforms signal the removal of the EBacc as the sole performance metric and encourage breadth (arts, languages, humanities) in student choice. This means more students may find subjects that resonate with their interests and identities, helping them feel ‘in the curriculum’, not excluded by narrow expectations. - Strengthened foundations and structured progression
The reforms emphasise clearer sequencing of knowledge, stronger foundations in oracy/reading/writing/math, and logical structuring of subjects. A well-sequenced curriculum supports all learners to feel they are building, succeeding and belong in the journey, rather than lost or left behind. - Focus on life/skills, digital/media/financial literacy
Recognising children as future citizens, consumers and workers, the curriculum includes media and financial literacy, computing/data science and climate education. When learners see relevance of what they are doing to their world and future, they are more likely to feel the curriculum connects to them, increasing belonging.
Challenges & caveats
- Implementation lag and teacher capacity
The final curriculum will be published in spring 2027, with first teaching from September 2028. During this transition period, there is a risk of uneven implementation or confusion, which can lead to pupils feeling disconnected if their experience is patchy. - Risk of ‘token’ enrichment without inclusion
Simply providing enrichment access does not guarantee belonging. If, say, arts or outdoor adventure are offered but some pupils feel they are not for “people like me”, or logistics exclude them (SEND needs, cost, transport, culture), then belonging may not be improved. Schools must ensure inclusive design. - Potential for widening gaps
The reforms point to stretching the most able, but also supporting all, including SEND. If schools focus solely on high-attaining students or areas they excel in, then pupils who previously felt marginalised may continue to feel outside the mainstream. Ensuring belonging means deliberately designing for all. - Balancing knowledge-rich and inclusive culture
A knowledge-rich curriculum is desirable, and sequential structure is important. But if it becomes rigid, high-pressure or alienating for some learners (including neurodiverse pupils, those with ADHD, autism, fibromyalgia etc), belonging may suffer. Teacher professional development, differentiated approaches, and culture matter.
Implications for teachers, schools and learners (with a focus on neurodiversity / SEND)
Given the curriculum changes, how should schools and teachers act to embed belonging and ensure that all pupils, including neurodiverse learners, benefit?
For teachers and curriculum leaders
- Audit enrichment and access
Ensure the five enrichment categories (civic, arts, nature/adventure, sport/physical, life skills) are accessible to all learners. Review whether those with additional needs are genuinely included, what barriers exist (physical access, cost, transport, timing, teacher attitudes) and plan accordingly. - Curriculum sequencing with connection
As the curriculum becomes clearer and machine-readable, use its structure to map how learners build their sense of belonging: early success, scaffolded progression, collaborative projects, peer mentoring. For neurodiverse learners, build patterns of success, visible progression, and opportunities for identity building in the community. - Inclusive pedagogy
With the greater emphasis on oracy, reading, writing, financial/media literacy, digital, arts and nature, it is essential to differentiate and scaffold for learners with SEND/ EAL. Flexible formats, multimodal tasks (visual, auditory, experiential), peer support, chunking of tasks and choice all foster belonging. - Student voice and representation
Belonging is strengthened when learners see themselves in the curriculum and have agency. Build in opportunities for pupil voice (which arts projects, which outdoor expeditions, which civic engagements). Ensure neurodiverse and historically excluded pupils are included in planning and leadership of enrichment. - Cross-subject and cultural relevance
The new curriculum emphasises modern issues: fake news, misinformation, media literacy, climate education. Teachers should link learning to real-life contexts that matter to pupils, including those from diverse backgrounds. This helps pupils feel the curriculum is meaningful and they belong in it.
For learners (especially neurodiverse / additional needs)
- Visible pathways to success
When a curriculum is new or changing, clarity of “what next” matters. Learners (especially those with neurodiversity) often benefit from knowing how they progress, that they are part of a journey, and what success looks like. Teachers should make progression explicit (e.g., “we’re building our oracy, next we’ll apply it in project X”). - Affirmation of identity and belonging
Schools should affirm that learners’ identities, neurodiversity, mobility/disability, home backgrounds matter and add value. The curriculum enrichment (arts, outdoor, civic) is a chance for learners to engage in ways that connect with them and build confidence, agency and peer connection. - Choice and voice
With the broader subject choice promised (including arts, languages, humanities) there is more opportunity for learners to pick what resonates. Encourage pupils to choose and engage in subjects and enrichment that reflect their interests and strengths, helping bolster belonging. - Support and scaffolding
For neurodiverse learners, the stronger focus on oracy, reading, writing, sequential knowledge, digital/financial literacy means supports must be in place: clear structures, chunked tasks, accessible resources, options for alternative expression (e.g., oral presentations, drama, arts projects). This ensures the curriculum is inclusive rather than exclusionary.
Practical steps for embedding belonging ahead of 2028
Given that the new curriculum will start first teaching in September 2028, schools and teachers have time to prepare. Here are practical steps to embed belonging in the preparation phase:
- Whole-school ethos review
Use this period to revisit the school’s vision and ethos: does it emphasise belonging, connection, inclusion, aspiration for all? Use staff CPD to raise awareness of belonging especially for neurodiverse/SEND learners. - Mapping enrichment and equity of access
Create an audit of enrichment across the five domains (arts/culture, sport/physical, nature/adventure, civic engagement, life skills). Analyse participation by pupil subgroup (SEND, disadvantaged, minorities) and plan to remove barriers (costs, transport, timing, support). - Curriculum mapping with identity and progression in mind
As you begin mapping how the new national curriculum will roll out, embed opportunities for student identity expression, cross-curriculum projects, collaborative work, peer mentoring and enrichment that connects to pupil backgrounds and interests. Sequence so early wins build belonging. - Teacher professional learning in inclusive pedagogy
Provide training on how to differentiate, how to scaffold oracy and literacy for diverse learners, how to include neurodiverse and SEND pupils in experiential enrichment (outdoor adventure, arts, civic participation). - Student involvement and voice
Involve students now in shaping how the enriched curriculum will look at your school: what arts/culture projects they would like, which civic activities, how to make outdoor/adventure meaningful. Prioritise voice from pupils who often feel marginalised. - Monitoring belonging outcomes
Develop simple indicators of belonging (student surveys, participation rates in enrichment, cross-group peer relations, retention/attendance of vulnerable groups) and track ahead of and after implementation. Use this data to refine practice.
Conclusion
The new national curriculum announced by the DfE offers a timely opportunity not just to update knowledge and skills for life and work, but to embed a deeper sense of belonging for all pupils. When students feel they belong, that their identities matter, that they are part of a learning community, that the curriculum connects to them and the future, then the ambitions of stronger foundations, broader enrichment and modern life skills become much more likely to succeed.
For teachers, curriculum leaders and school systems, the key will be to move beyond what is taught to how it is taught, who it is for, and how pupils feel as they participate. Schools that intentionally design for belonging- particularly for neurodiverse and disadvantaged learners – will be positioned to get the greatest benefit from the reforms. With the new curriculum rolling out from 2028, there is time now to prepare- to map enrichment, strengthen inclusive practice, and ensure that belonging is not a side benefit, but a core goal.
Emotional Labour: Who Looks After the DEIB Leaders?
Written by Hannah Wilson
Founder and Director of the Belonging Effect (formerly Diverse Educators).
DEIB (Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging) leaders are often positioned as the moral and emotional anchors of their organisations. They are asked to hold space for harm, advocate for systemic change, educate others, and respond to crises – frequently while navigating their own lived experiences of marginalisation.
Yet a critical question is often overlooked: who looks after them?
As organisations expand their DEIB commitments, many are failing to invest in the sustainability of the people doing this work. The result is a growing pattern of compassion fatigue, burnout, and attrition among DEIB leaders – costly not only to individuals, but to organisations themselves.
The Unique Load DEIB Leaders Carry
DEIB leadership is not just strategic or operational work – it is deeply relational and emotional. DEIB leaders are often:
- Exposed to repeated accounts of trauma and discrimination
- Expected to respond calmly to resistance, denial, or hostility
- Asked to educate while also advocating
- Share their lived-experience honestly, vulnerably and generously
- Positioned as both insiders and outsiders within organisations
- Hold responsibility without proportional authority or resourcing
This cumulative load is rarely acknowledged in job descriptions, performance metrics, or wellbeing strategies.
Compassion Fatigue Is Not a Personal Failing
Compassion fatigue occurs when sustained exposure to others’ distress depletes emotional and psychological resources. For DEIB leaders, this can show up as:
- Emotional exhaustion or numbness
- Reduced empathy or motivation
- Cynicism about organisational change
- Withdrawal from relationships or work
Importantly, compassion fatigue is not a lack of resilience or commitment. It is a predictable response to prolonged emotional labour without adequate support.
Burnout and the DEIB Attrition Problem
When compassion fatigue is left unaddressed, it often leads to burnout – characterised by exhaustion, detachment, and a sense of ineffectiveness. Many DEIB leaders respond by leaving their roles, shifting careers, or exiting organisations altogether.
This attrition creates a revolving door effect on the DEIB strategy:
- Knowledge and trust are lost
- Strategies stall or reset
- Work is redistributed to other leaders to carry even more load
Organisations then misdiagnose the issue as a “pipeline problem” rather than a care and support problem.
Coaching, Mentoring, and Supervision as Sources of Support
Supporting DEIB leaders requires intentional structures, not just wellness slogans.
Coaching: Provides a confidential space focused on leadership development, boundaries, decision-making, and navigating organisational complexity. Coaches can help DEIB leaders reconnect with agency and clarity.
Mentoring: Offers relational support and wisdom-sharing, particularly valuable when mentors have lived experience or have navigated similar organisational terrain. Mentoring reduces isolation and normalises challenges.
Supervision: Creates structured reflective space to process emotional impact, ethical dilemmas, and role strain. For DEIB leaders, supervision can be critical in preventing compassion fatigue and burnout.
These supports are not interchangeable – and ideally, DEIB leaders should have access to more than one.
What Organisations Need to Do Differently
If organisations are serious about DEIB, they must be equally serious about caring for the people leading it. This includes:
- Funding coaching, mentoring, and supervision as core role supports
- Normalising emotional labour as part of DEIB work
- Building realistic expectations and boundaries into roles
- Sharing responsibility for DEIB across leadership – not isolating it
- Measuring sustainability, not just activity
Care is not a “nice to have.” It is a strategic necessity.
Looking After the People Who Hold the Work
DEIB leaders are often asked to model empathy, courage, and humanity in systems that do not always return those qualities. If we want DEIB work to endure – rather than burn people out – we must shift from extraction to care, containment, and collective responsibility.
Looking after DEIB leaders is not separate from DEIB work. It is DEIB work.