What Families of Neurodivergent Students Want Teachers to Know
Written by Tessa Dodson
Tessa Dodson is an education writer passionate about supporting teachers and fostering inclusive classroom environments. She specializes in covering classroom resources, educational trends, teacher wellness, and practical strategies to help educators succeed.
There is often a gap between what schools think neurodivergent students and their families need and what they actually need. Neurodivergence refers to differences in how the brain processes information and includes common conditions such as ADHD, dyslexia, autism spectrum disorder and dyspraxia. Neurodivergent children may have different day-to-day experiences at school depending on how their needs are met and understood.
While most schools may focus on formal plans and processes, parents and guardians tend to prioritise everyday understanding and clear communication. Here are some of the things that families want teachers to know and what they feel will most impact their neurodivergent child in school.
Seeing the Child Beyond the Label
Parents and carers want teachers to see neurodivergent children as individuals, rather than defining them by a diagnosis. Estimates suggest that one in seven students is neurodivergent, highlighting how common neurodivergent diagnoses are within the school population.
While diagnostic labels provide a good starting point to understand a child better, they can only describe certain traits. They don’t offer the full picture of a child’s school experience. For instance, two pupils with the same condition may have entirely different sensory profiles, communication styles and emotional needs. For this reason, educators need to remain curious and adapt their teaching methods based on ongoing observation rather than fixed assumptions.
Prioritising Acceptance
Families would want educators to go beyond awareness of a child’s condition and focus on accepting and supporting them as they are, including adjusting the environment to help them succeed. This approach often produces positive outcomes. For example, an autism centre that advocates this acceptance-based approach reports that 98% of parents observed an improvement in their child’s ability to start conversations with others.
Communicating Clearly
Families often emphasise regular, straightforward communication. Small, meaningful updates about daily experiences often matter more than formal review points. When communication is consistent across staff and settings, children are more likely to feel secure and understand expectations. Mixed messages, on the other hand, can create uncertainty and make school feel less predictable for neurodivergent learners.
Individualised education programs (IEPs) involve structured meetings that bring parents and educators together to formally map out a child’s individual support needs and learning goals. IEP meetings are a good example of how schools and families can work collaboratively to create more consistent and supportive learning environments for neurodivergent children.
Understanding Behaviour as Communication
Families understand that behaviour is often a form of communication rather than simple compliance or disruption. When a neurodivergent child becomes overwhelmed, withdrawn or reactive, there is usually an unmet need driving that response. What seems like erratic behaviour from a child with autism, for example, may reflect sensory overload or anxiety.
According to the Department for Education, 166,041 students in England are autistic, with over 70% attending mainstream schools. These figures highlight that many teachers are working with autistic pupils every day, often in classroom settings where they may encounter difficult behavioural responses linked to unmet sensory or emotional needs.
In these situations, approaches that explore the cause of behaviour, rather than focusing solely on managing the outward response, are often more effective and respectful of the child’s experience.
Providing Flexible and Responsive Support
Effective support is rarely one-size-fits-all. Adjustments that work well for one child may not suit another, even when their diagnosis is similar. What families value most is educators’ ability to adapt support in real time, depending on how the child is managing on a given day. Rather than relying on preplanned strategies, using responsive approaches for teaching neurodivergent students allows educators to recognise and meet children’s changing needs more effectively.
Creating Safe Environments for Learning
Guiding and teaching neurodivergent students successfully involves creating environments where children feel safe, understood, and supported in everyday classroom situations. Sensory needs, predictable routines and thoughtful transitions can all make a meaningful difference. For example, offering a neurodivergent child a quiet place to calm down when things get too noisy or overwhelming can help them ease back into learning.
The Right Kind of Support
What families of neurodivergent students consistently ask for is not more complexity, but greater clarity, responsiveness and understanding in school. When teachers combine professional expertise with attentiveness to lived experience, children are more likely to feel supported and able to access learning in meaningful ways.
Can We Teach That? RSE 2026 and LGBT+ Inclusive Education in Primary School
Written by Jack Lynch
Jack Lynch (they/them) is a writer, educator, and DEI specialist. As Co-Director and Workshops & Training Lead at Pop’n’Olly, they work with schools, educators, parents, and organisations across the UK to create more inclusive environments. Jack has delivered training to thousands of professionals and authored widely used resources that support good practice in diversity, equity, and inclusion in education.
“What can and can’t we teach about LGBTQ+ lives under this new RSE guidance?”
With the new Relationships and Sex Education (RSE) Guidance 2026 set to come into force in England from September, this has been one of the most common questions I’m asked when working with primary school leaders and educators, at the moment.
In our conversations with schools and educators, I am hearing two clear messages. Firstly, the language and messaging of the RSE guidance around LGBTQ+ inclusion is deeply concerning and that, alongside other consultations and revisions of legislation, it’s providing less clarity, more questions, and increased fear and division. Secondly, it’s making educators want to work even harder to ensure that every child feels like they belong.
With LGBTQ+ bullying significantly increasing and the mental wellbeing of LGBTQ+ young people at some of its lowest levels, I am working even harder to empower schools to continue to remain inclusive and show every child that they belong. After spending months scouring the legislation and working with our legal team at Pop’n’Olly to understand what the legislation does and does not say, I can say with absolute confidence that LGBTQ+ inclusive education is very possible under RSE 2026.
LGBTQ+ inclusive education at primary level is broader than simply teaching about LGBTQ+ identities. It’s about teaching children that families can look different but that all families are characterised by love and care. It’s about teaching children that we aren’t limited to speaking, behaving or dressing in certain ways because of our gender and, finally, teaching children that there are many different ways to be human. So let me break this down a little further.
Family and Relationship Diversity
This guidance calls specifically for schools to recognise that “families of many forms provide a nurturing environment for children, and can include single parent families, same-sex parents, families headed by grandparents, young carers, kinship carers, adoptive parents and foster parents/carers” and that “Teaching should illustrate a wide range of family structures in a positive way, and care should be taken to ensure that children are not stigmatised based on their home circumstances.”
This provides a clear message that teaching about family diversity should be truly representative of all families. This provides a brilliant legislative basis for this work, which is a cornerstone of inclusive education in the lower age groups of primary and is key to making sure that children from non-traditional family structures can see themselves represented. This positive representation at early ages has been shown to significantly increase the mental well-being of all children, providing them with the important messaging that, whatever their family looks like, they belong.
Tackling Stereotyping
The RSE guidance also targets stereotyping, and specifically gender stereotyping, stating that by the end of primary school pupils should know “how stereotypes can be unfair, negative, destructive or lead to bullying and how to challenge a stereotype” as well as saying that schools should “avoid language or activities which repeat or enforce gender stereotypes”.
This focus on challenging negative stereotypes already forms a key part of many schools’ inclusive curricula and is a key element of LGBTQ+ inclusive education, as we know that gender stereotypes often underpin homophobic, biphobic and transphobic bullying. When we teach about diversity, rather than binary gender stereotypes, rates of bullying based on protected characteristics are shown to decrease, which aligns perfectly with schools’ duties under the Equality Act 2010 and Public Sector Equality Duty to ‘eliminate discrimination, advance equality of opportunity and foster good relations between people who share a protected characteristic and those who do not.’
LGBTQ+ Identities
The RSE guidance section on lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender content is where the majority of the concerns we are hearing from schools lie. The section specifically states that “Pupils should also be taught the facts and the law about biological sex and gender reassignment” and that “schools should be mindful that beyond the facts and the law about biological sex and gender reassignment there is significant debate, and they should be careful not to endorse any particular view or teach it as fact”. Feedback we are hearing from schools, educators and, indeed, parents and families is that the wording here is ambiguous and lacks clarity as well as concerns about how trans and gender non-confirming pupils can be supported and included.
My intention in this article is not to tell schools how to interpret this wording, as that is not my place and every school will approach this differently based on their specific setting. However, what I can say is that at no point is this guidance saying that schools cannot teach that LGBT+ people exist. In fact, the guidance is clear that schools should teach pupils to “recognise that people with the protected characteristic of gender reassignment, as with the other protected characteristics, have protection from discrimination and should be treated with respect and dignity”.
Teaching about LGBTQ+ identities in primary can be done in a range of ways including (but not limited to) having books with positive LGBTQ+ representation, having diverse representation on display boards, not hiding someone’s LGBTQ+ identity when using role models (e.g. Alan Turing in a history lesson) as well as specific lessons that cover what LGBTQ+ means. Teaching about LGBTQ+ should always have a clear learning objective and align with the schools curriculum and values, showing clearly that LGBTQ+ topics are not an ‘add on’ or taught because of any personal agenda but have a clear educational purpose that is aligned with the guidance and legislation.
I want to be clear, the new RSE guidance and surrounding legislation does NOT mean we have to stop teaching about LGBTQ+ lives, it does NOT mean we have to stop supporting LGBTQ+ pupils. What is most important is that schools are clearer than ever before on how and why they are teaching about LGBTQ+ identities: how this aligns with their ethos, values, and educational objectives; how they are interpreting the guidance; and how LGBTQ+ education fits within their wider work on inclusion of other protected characteristics.
For more information on guidance and legislation that relates to LGBT+ education, Pop’n’Olly have recently released a ‘LGBT+ Equality Legislation: Guidance for Schools’ resource which outlines the legislation in England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland. This resource also provides information on what the legislation says about common areas of concern such as religious/belief conflicts and parents’ right to withdraw. You can download this for free at www.popnolly.com/free-resources
Disclaimer: This information is not a substitute for legal advice and is solely intended to support good practice by offering general information on the legal principles relevant to LGBT+ education in schools. It is the responsibility of schools to know their own legal responsibilities and independent advice should be sought where necessary.
AI in Education: Promise, Peril, and the Diversity Question We Cannot Afford to Ignore
Written by Betty Johnson
Betty Johnson is Director of Rinnovate Recruitment & Consultancy and founder of B3Inspire, a women's empowerment coaching brand. She is a School Improvement Partner, AI in Education advocate, and contributor to an upcoming Routledge publication exploring AI and primary school leadership.
Artificial intelligence is reshaping classrooms at speed. But if we are not careful, we risk automating the very inequalities we have spent decades trying to dismantle.
There is a moment I return to often. I was sitting with a group of teachers in South London, brilliant and committed educators, watching them use an AI writing assistant for the first time. The excitement was palpable. Then one teacher paused and asked quietly: “But does it know our children?”
That question has stayed with me. Because behind it lies the central challenge of our time in education: how do we harness the extraordinary power of artificial intelligence while ensuring it serves every child? Not just the ones whose experiences, languages and cultures it was trained on.
The promise is real
Let us start with what AI can genuinely do. Adaptive learning platforms can tailor content, pacing and assessment to individual learners in ways that even the most devoted teacher simply cannot replicate in real time when managing a class of thirty. Intelligent tutoring systems can offer immediate, personalised feedback. For students with SEND, for English as an Additional Language learners, and for children in under-resourced schools, this is not a trivial benefit. It is potentially transformative.
Research published in AI and Ethics (Fitas et al., 2025) confirms that AI can meaningfully support special needs provision and address language barriers, provided it is deployed thoughtfully and with equity at the centre of design.
The peril we are not talking about loudly enough
Here is the uncomfortable truth. AI systems learn from data. And the data that exists in the world reflects the world as it has been, not as it should be. When a model is trained predominantly on content that centres Western, English-speaking, middle-class experience, it does not arrive at the classroom as a neutral tool. It arrives carrying biases.
Research published in the International Journal of Artificial Intelligence in Education (Baker & Hawn, 2022) found that algorithmic bias in educational AI can produce systematically unfair outcomes across assessment and instruction, disproportionately affecting the very students who most need support. A 2025 review in Frontiers in Education confirmed that unchecked AI models can continue to amplify underlying social and cultural biases, impacting equity and fairness in both assessment and instruction.
“The environment the machine operates in is social in nature. It functions within the socio-technical system that encompasses the cultural values and beliefs of the people using it.”
Put simply: AI is not neutral. It is a mirror. And if we have not yet built a system that reflects the full richness of our children’s identities, we should not be surprised when the mirror distorts.
The digital divide: a growing fault line
There is a second, more immediate danger. Access to AI tools is not equally distributed. Schools in disadvantaged communities face significant challenges in investing in technology and establishing fair access policies. A 2025 study in Frontiers in Education warned explicitly that equitable access to AI tools is crucial to prevent educational inequalities from widening further.
Attainment outcomes continue to vary significantly between ethnic groups in England, with some communities continuing to experience substantial educational disadvantage despite decades of policy attention and intervention. Education Policy Institute data indicates that Gypsy, Roma and Traveller pupils experience some of the largest attainment gaps in England, equivalent to approximately 30 months of learning behind their peers by the end of secondary school. Meanwhile, Universities UK continues to report degree awarding gaps between White students and several minority ethnic groups across higher education.
If AI becomes the new frontier of educational provision and some children cannot access it, or access a version of it that does not truly see them, we will not close those gaps. We will cement them.
What can we actually do? Seven practical steps
- Ask the equity question first.
Before deploying any AI tool in your school, ask who it was trained on. Ask who it serves well and who it might underserve. Demand transparency from providers about their training data and bias testing. This is not a technical question. It is a values question.
- Use AI to reduce teacher workload, not to replace teacher relationship.
The most powerful protective factor for disadvantaged students is a trusted adult who knows them. Use AI to free up that time, for planning, marking and administration, so teachers can invest more of themselves in the human connections that matter most.
- Curate and contextualise AI outputs.
Do not present AI-generated content as given. Teach children and staff to interrogate it. Whose perspective is missing? What has been assumed? This is media literacy for the AI age and it is a diversity lesson in itself.
- Pair AI with inclusive curriculum design.
AI is a tool, not a curriculum. Ensure that what children are doing with AI reflects a genuinely diverse and representative body of knowledge, including authors, histories and contributions from across the global majority.
- Invest in staff training with diversity at the centre.
AI professional development must include bias recognition and culturally responsive pedagogy, not just technical skills. Teachers need to understand not only how to use these tools but when to challenge them.
- Amplify student voice in AI decisions.
Which students are at the table when your school decides how to use AI? If the answer is mainly those who already have power, change the table. Invite your most marginalised students into the conversation. They will see what others miss.
- Advocate beyond your school.
The decisions that shape AI in education are being made at government, policy and corporate levels. Join or create the conversations that push for representative datasets, diverse AI development teams and equity-first regulation. Your voice belongs in those rooms.
A word to women leaders in education
I want to speak directly to the women reading this, particularly those who, like me, came into this profession from communities that have historically been spoken about in education rather than listened to within it.
We are not incidental to this conversation. We are central to it. The research is clear that cultural and social context shapes how AI interacts with learners. We carry that contextual knowledge. We have spent careers navigating systems that were not built with us in mind and we have built extraordinary things within them regardless.
The question is not whether AI will change education. It already is. The question is who gets to shape it. The answer should include every teacher in every underfunded classroom, every headteacher in a school where the children look like the world, and every leader who has ever been the first, the only, or the one they did not expect.
“We do not get a fairer future by accident. We build it, deliberately, strategically and together.”
The next time someone asks whether AI is good or bad for education, resist the binary. The better question is simply this: good or bad for whom? Ask that question consistently and loudly, at every level, and AI in education may yet become the equaliser it promises to be.
References
Baker, R.S. & Hawn, A. (2022). Algorithmic bias in education. International Journal of Artificial Intelligence in Education, 32(4), 1052-1092.
Fitas, R. (2025). Inclusive education with AI: supporting special needs and tackling language barriers. AI and Ethics, 8(2), 115-129.
Education Policy Institute (2024). Annual Report: Ethnicity Gaps.
Universities UK (2019). Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic Student Attainment at UK Universities: Closing the Gap.
Frontiers in Education (2024). Promoting equity and addressing concerns in teaching and learning with artificial intelligence.
Embedding Inclusive Allyship into Critical Friendship
Written by Sarah Vogel
Sarah has been working in development and training since 1989. As a facilitator and coach she has enjoyed successful relationships with clients across a wide variety of sectors. Sarah is currently a trustee at Collaborative Education Trust in Solihull and chairs their People and Culture committee. She has also volunteered at Anawim: Birmingham’s Centre for Women, for 8 years delivering a Confidence Course for vulnerable women.
The role of a critical friend is central to effective governance. Whether serving as a trustee, governor, or board member, we are expected to provide both support and challenge. We build trust and psychological safety while also asking the difficult questions that improve outcomes and strengthen accountability.
But what happens when we combine critical friendship with inclusive allyship?
The result is a more powerful form of governance – one that not only seeks improvement but actively works to ensure that no individual or group is overlooked.
What Is Inclusive Allyship?
Inclusive allyship is the deliberate practice of using your influence to create more equitable outcomes. It requires us to examine our own assumptions, listen to voices that are often underrepresented, and challenge behaviours or systems that may disadvantage others.
Allyship is not about having all the answers. It is about being willing to learn, reflect, and act.
This can involve:
- Recognising our own biases and assumptions.
- Being mindful of language and identity.
- Educating ourselves and staying informed.
- Building relationships with people whose experiences differ from our own.
- Amplifying marginalised voices.
- Challenging inequitable behaviour when we see it.
- Remaining open to feedback, even when it feels uncomfortable.
Inclusive allyship requires courage, curiosity, and a willingness to move beyond our comfort zones.
Why Allyship Matters in Governance
In governance, allyship means intentionally using positional power to ensure that decisions consider a wider range of perspectives and experiences.
Too often, boards focus on overall outcomes without exploring whether those outcomes are experienced equally by different groups. Strong headline results can conceal significant disparities.
Inclusive governance requires us to look deeper.
This means asking questions about:
- Attendance patterns
- Exclusion rates
- SEND outcomes
- Staff progression
- Recruitment practices
- Complaints and concerns
It also means paying attention to boardroom dynamics. Who is contributing to discussions? Whose perspectives are missing? Are assumptions being challenged, or simply accepted?
Inclusive allyship is not separate from good governance- – it strengthens it.
Developing a Curiosity About Disparity
One of the most valuable habits governors and trustees can develop is what I call a disciplined curiosity about disparity.
When we identify differences in outcomes between groups, it is tempting to ask:
“Why are results lower for this group?”
However, that question can unintentionally place responsibility on those experiencing disadvantage.
A more effective approach is to focus on the system itself:
- What might be happening within the system that is producing this gap?
- What evidence do we have?
- Have we heard directly from those affected?
- What perspectives might be missing from our analysis?
These questions move the conversation away from blame and towards understanding.
Three Practical Skills for Inclusive Allyship
- Ask Equity-Focused Questions
When reviewing data, resist the urge to focus solely on overall performance.
Strong results can still mask inequities for specific groups. Looking beneath averages and examining disaggregated data can reveal patterns that would otherwise remain invisible.
The role of a critical friend is not simply to accept the data presented but to explore what it may be hiding.
- Interrupt Bias Using Influence
Bias often appears subtly in discussions and decision-making. As governors and trustees, we have an opportunity to challenge assumptions constructively.
A simple framework can help:
Notice – Identify what you are observing.
“I notice we are talking a lot about behaviour but not about support.”
Name – Gently surface a potential assumption.
“I wonder whether assumptions about certain groups are influencing our discussion.”
Nudge – Move the conversation towards evidence and reflection.
“Could we look at the disaggregated data before reaching a conclusion?”
Small interventions can have a significant impact on the quality of decision-making.
- Use Better Critical Friend Questions
Inclusive governance benefits from asking questions through different lenses.
Equity Lens
- Who benefits most from this decision?
- Who benefits least?
- Who may be disadvantaged?
Impact Lens
- How will we know this works for everyone?
- What would success look like for those most affected?
Curiosity Lens
- What assumptions are we making?
- What evidence supports our view?
- What perspectives are missing?
These questions help boards make more informed and inclusive decisions.
A Governance Responsibility
Inclusive allyship is not about political correctness or compliance. It is about precision.
It is about recognising that averages can conceal inequity. It is about identifying patterns before they become complaints, inspections, or crises. Most importantly, it is about ensuring that the interests of all pupils, staff, and stakeholders are visible within governance discussions.
Strong boards do not wait for problems to emerge. They actively seek evidence, challenge constructively, and make inclusion measurable.
As trustees and governors, we hold influence. Inclusive allyship simply means using that influence deliberately -ensuring that no voice is overlooked and no group becomes invisible in our oversight.
When allyship is embedded into critical friendship, governance becomes more insightful, more effective, and ultimately more equitable.
Beyond The Bookshelf: Creating Change Through Activism
Written by Maria Oprea
Maria Ariana Oprea is a Year 9 student at Caterham High School who wishes to have a future career in Law. She was part of Every Future Foundation 2026, Activism Academy.
When I first joined Activism Academy, I never imagined how much it would change me. I signed up because I cared about making a difference, but I came out with so much more: confidence, new friendships, valuable skills, and the opportunity to create real change in my school community.
My project is called Beyond the Bookshelf. The idea came from the simple question: Does everyone in our school feel represented in our school curriculum? I wanted to make our school curriculum more diverse, starting with the library.
For me, diversity in books is way more than just numbers. It means having authors from different ethnicities, cultures, and backgrounds. It means books with characters that people feel reflected in, whether it’s through experiences or identities. It means exploring stories, histories, and perspectives from around the world so that every student has the opportunity to learn from people who may be different from themselves, while also seeing their own experiences reflected in what they read. It also means helping others develop the same genuine love for reading that I found myself having from a very young age.
Through surveys, research, book sales, and presentations, I gathered the views of students and explored ways our library could become more inclusive. Seeing other students engage with the idea and recognising that their opinions mattered was one of the most rewarding parts of the project. It showed me that positive change can begin with listening, understanding different perspectives, and taking action. No matter how young you are, or how small the change may seem at first, every positive action has the potential to make a real difference.
One of the biggest things I learned is that activism does not always have to be loud or dramatic. Sometimes it starts with asking questions, listening to others, and finding practical ways to improve something that matters. Through Beyond the Bookshelf, I discovered that small changes can have a lasting impact.
I am incredibly grateful to Activism Academy and my amazing mentor, Hannah Wilson, for giving me this opportunity and supporting me every step of the way. This has helped me grow as a person, develop confidence in my voice, and understand that I can help shape the world around me. Most importantly, it showed me that when people come together with a shared purpose, positive change is possible.
Beyond the Bookshelf started off as a project about books, but it became a journey of learning, friendship, and empowerment – and one that I will always be proud of and grateful for.
What Happens When We Listen to Children About Peace?
Written by Jim Dees
Jim Dees is the headteacher of West Lodge Primary School. He is the co-founder of YESFest.
On 18th May, more than 70 primary-aged Young Ambassadors for Peace gathered at the House of Lords for An Experiential Peace Dialogue: Living Peace in Action. Hosted by Baroness Verma and attended by members of the House of Lords, including Lord Raval, the event brought together educators, researchers, sustainability leaders, policymakers and community partners to explore an important question: What role can peace education play in helping young people thrive in today’s world? The event brought together educators, researchers, sustainability leaders, policymakers and community partners to explore an important question: What role can peace education play in helping young people thrive in today’s world?
The Young Ambassadors for Peace (YAP) programme, organised by the Brahma Kumaris World Spiritual University UK, brings together primary school pupils to explore peace within the self, peace with others and peace with nature through reflection, dialogue, leadership and action. What stood out most was not the programme itself, but the children. Speaking about peace within the self, peace with others and peace with nature, pupils aged between nine and eleven shared their experiences with remarkable wisdom, clarity and authenticity. They spoke about self-regulation, empathy, interfaith understanding, leadership, sustainability and belonging. They led meditations, answered questions from invited guests and demonstrated that children are capable of far more than we sometimes assume.
One child explained that the programme should focus on young people “to make a better generation.” Another reminded the audience that children are capable of making a positive difference in the world today, not simply in the future.
The event reinforced a growing belief that peace education is not an optional extra. It sits alongside wider conversations around wellbeing, belonging, citizenship, sustainability and pupil agency. At a time when schools are navigating increasing complexity, there is a growing need to create opportunities for children to develop not only knowledge and skills, but also self-awareness, compassion, responsibility and a sense of connection with others and the natural world.
Perhaps most importantly, the showcase highlighted a shift that is gaining momentum across education and beyond: seeing children not as empty vessels to be filled, but as active contributors with voice, agency, insight and wisdom. When we create the conditions for children to lead, reflect and contribute, they often bring perspectives that adults can easily overlook.
Looking ahead, we are keen to strengthen the evidence base for peace education, build partnerships across sectors and communities, and connect practice, research and policy. We would particularly welcome conversations with researchers, universities, schools, charities and organisations interested in collaboration, evaluation and further development of this work.
The next stage of that journey takes place at the Young Ambassadors for Peace Festivals in Oxford (10 June), London (12 June) and Leicester (17 June), where pupils will share their learning through experiential exhibitions, presentations and performances. These events provide an opportunity not only to celebrate the achievements of the children, but also to engage in a wider conversation about the role of peace education in supporting wellbeing, belonging, citizenship, sustainability and positive social change.
Places at all three events must be booked in advance. If you would like to attend, please register at https://yapglobal.org/peacefest2026/. We would particularly welcome educators, researchers, community leaders, policymakers and potential partners who are interested in exploring how peace education can help develop more compassionate, connected and sustainable communities.
Perhaps the most powerful message from the House of Lords came from the children themselves. In a world that often underestimates young people, they reminded us that they are not simply the leaders of tomorrow, but active contributors today — capable of helping to build more compassionate, connected and hopeful futures if we are willing to listen.
Literacy matters: From Mirrors and Windows to Voice and Participation
Written by Amy Wilby
I am an experienced senior educational leader, currently serving as an Assistant Headteacher with responsibility for Curriculum, as well as a Trust-wide DEIB Champion, edublogger, and proud mum to a 21-year-old son. Since qualifying as a teacher in 2009, I have built a career rooted in both academic excellence and strong pastoral care. I bring extensive experience across middle and senior leadership, including roles as a Specialist Leader of Education (SLE) and Associate Assistant Headteacher. I hold an NPQSL and a master’s degree in educational leadership, and I am deeply committed to evidence-informed practice, drawing on educational research to enhance teaching, learning, and curriculum design.
Walk into most classrooms and you’ll see literacy everywhere, embedded in reading tasks, writing activities, and assessment criteria. It’s carefully planned, structured, and aligned to curriculum goals.
But there are deeper questions we don’t ask often enough:
- Who can actually access it, use it, and shape it, and who can’t?
- Does the ability to decode mean that students can fully understand the context?
- How can literacy build social and cultural capital?
- Does literate signal included?
In the same way that an inclusive curriculum depends on mirrors and windows, an inclusive approach to literacy depends on something equally powerful:
Access, voice, and participation.
If ‘Mirrors and Windows’ help students see, literacy determines whether they can engage, respond, and belong.
From mirrors and windows to literacy as power
The idea of mirrors and windows gives us a strong foundation:
- Mirrors: students see themselves reflected
- Windows: students understand others
But there’s a crucial next step.
Seeing is not the same as participating.
A student might recognise themselves in a text (a mirror), or learn about another perspective (a window). But without the literacy skills to interpret, question, and respond, their role remains passive.
Literacy is what turns:
- mirrors into validation
- windows into understanding
- classrooms into spaces of participation
Without literacy, inclusion risks staying at the level of representation. With it, inclusion becomes something students actively experience.
Literacy as access: who gets in?
Just as curriculum design asks whose stories are told, literacy asks:
Who can access those stories in the first place?
Who is advantaged and disadvantaged by the choices of text and the metaphorical language that is frequently used in education?
When literacy is secure:
- Students can engage with the full curriculum
- They can navigate complex texts, instructions, and ideas
- They can move confidently across subjects
- If they truly understand the text, they begin to understand the subtext, the meaning and the inference.
When it isn’t:
- The curriculum becomes partially inaccessible
- Learning is fragmented
- Students may disengage, not from lack of ability, but from lack of access and from cognitive overload!
This is where literacy builds directly from curriculum thinking. It ensures that mirrors and windows are not just present, but reachable.
Literacy as voice: who gets heard?
Mirrors validate identity, but literacy enables expression.
In an inclusive classroom, it’s not enough for students to see themselves reflected. They need opportunities to:
- articulate their thinking
- share their experiences
- challenge ideas
- contribute to discussions
This is where literacy becomes deeply connected to belonging.
Because belonging isn’t just about recognition, it’s about being heard and taken seriously.
Expanding literacy here means valuing multiple forms of communication:
- spoken language
- storytelling
- debate and discussion
- digital and visual expression
When these are embedded into classroom practice, more students find ways to participate meaningfully.
Literacy as participation: who gets to shape the learning?
Windows help students understand the world.
Literacy allows them to interact with it.
Through literacy, students:
- question what they read
- connect ideas across topics
- collaborate with others
- form and defend their own viewpoints
This shifts them from consumers of knowledge to contributors.
And this is where belonging becomes tangible.
A classroom is not inclusive because of what is displayed on the walls or listed in the curriculum. It becomes inclusive when students can actively take part in the learning experience, when they can influence it, respond to it, and see their role within it.
‘Without enough language – a word gap – a child is seriously limited in their enjoyment of school and success beyond’. (Harley, 2018, p. 2)
The risk: when literacy is overlooked
There’s a parallel here with the ‘add and stir’ approach to curriculum.
Just as representation can become tokenistic, literacy can become:
- overly focused on technical skills in isolation
- detached from meaning and purpose
- assessed more than it is lived
- Focused on written rather than oral assessment
When this happens:
- Students may decode text without truly engaging
- Writing becomes performative rather than expressive
- Participation is limited to those already confident
- Those with a word gap are continually disadvantaged, this is not inclusive; this does not increase a sense of belonging.
And again, students notice.
They can tell when literacy is something they do for school, rather than something that gives them power within it.
What this looks like in practice
Building on mirrors and windows, schools can strengthen inclusion through literacy by being equally intentional.
- Make literacy visible across the curriculum
Ask:
- Where are students reading, writing, speaking, and thinking deeply?
- Who is thriving in these moments, and who isn’t?
- Is there a large focus on extracts rather than rich and extended reading? This may feel more inclusive, however appropriately scaffolded pieces, allow all learners to build their vocabulary and feel more confident in their linguistic ability.
- Connect literacy to meaning, not just mechanics
- Use texts that matter
- Create purposeful writing opportunities
- Prioritise discussion and dialogue
- Focus on metaphorical language as well. Idioms and common metaphors, where not understood, can create a sense of isolation and ‘otherness’.
- Plan for participation, not just completion
- Build in structured talk across all subjects
- Use collaborative tasks
- Create space for multiple perspectives
- Scaffold up, don’t recue the reading to support students
- Value different starting points
- Recognise that students arrive with different literacy experiences
- Scaffold without limiting
- Maintain high expectations with appropriate support
- Keep student voice central
Just as with curriculum:
- Do students feel confident contributing?
- Do they feel listened to?
- What helps them engage—and what holds them back?
Expanding inclusion beyond representation
Mirrors and windows ensure that students can see.
Literacy ensures that they can:
- access what they see
- respond to it
- participate in shaping it
Without literacy, inclusion can remain symbolic.
With literacy, it becomes functional, lived, and sustained.
What you can do tomorrow
To build on your work around mirrors and windows:
- Review a lesson or scheme and ask: Where is the literacy demand here? Who might struggle to access it?
- Add one structured opportunity for student voice (discussion, reflection, or debate)
- Adapt a task so students are not just reading, but responding, making inferences, questioning, or creating. Do this in a subject other than English or the Humanities.
- Plan which common idioms can be used in different units, this may feel outdated, however they are often used in History, English and other GCSE and A level exams as we as in common discourse. Not knowing these can disadvantage and disengage!
Small shifts here can have a significant impact on participation and belonging.
Final thought
If the first question of an inclusive curriculum is:
“Do students see themselves and others?”
Then the next question must be:
“Can they do something with what they see?”
Because true inclusion isn’t just about visibility.
It’s about access, voice, and participation.
And that’s what makes literacy a superpower.
Further reading:
Harley
Harley, J. (2018) Foreword. In: Why closing the word gap matters: Oxford language report. Oxford: Oxford University Press, p. 2.
Burnett, Merchant & Neumann
Burnett, C., Merchant, G. and Neumann, M. (2020) ‘Closing the gap? Overcoming limitations in sociomaterial accounts of early literacy’, Journal of Early Childhood Literacy, 20(1), pp. 111–113. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1177/1468798419896067
Global Equality collective
Global Equality Collective GEC KnowHow Bookshop. Available at: GEC KnowHow Bookshop
Global Equality Collective 6 books to diversify your bookshelf (NCAFF). Available at: https://www.thegec.education/blog/6-books-to-diversify-your-bookshelf-ncaff
Kara
Kara, B. (2020) A little guide for teachers: diversity in schools. London: Sage Publications Ltd.
Quigley
Quigley, A. (2018) Closing the vocabulary gap. London: Routledge.
Wilby
Wilby, A. (2024) ‘Privilege, knowledge, and access: navigating education through cultural capital’, Global Equality Collective Blog, 12 September. Available at: https://www.thegec.education/blog/privilege-knowledge-and-access-navigating-education-through-cultural-capital
Worth-it (2021) How to build positive relationships in school, Worth-it Blog, 17 May. Available at: https://www.worthit.org.uk/blog/positive-relationships-school
Supporting Religiously Diverse Staff to Feel Safe and Included in Teacher Training
Written by Belonging Effect
Belonging Effect is committed to shaping intention into impact and supporting people with their Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, & Belonging strategy and training needs.
As schools and teacher training providers continue to build more inclusive environments, conversations about supporting staff from diverse religious backgrounds are becoming increasingly important. While much attention is rightly given to supporting pupils, creating a culture where trainee teachers and school staff feel safe, respected and able to bring their whole selves to work is equally vital.
Recently, a teacher training provider approached us seeking advice on how best to support a trainee teacher who has chosen to wear a niqab. Their question was thoughtful and proactive: how can we ensure she feels welcomed and supported, particularly when there are currently no colleagues within our school communities who wear a niqab?
The answer begins with a simple but often overlooked principle: inclusion is not about making assumptions. It is about creating conditions where people can tell us what they need and trusting them as experts in their own experience.
Start with the Individual
Every person’s experience of faith and religious expression is different. While some women who wear a niqab may choose to remove it in certain professional settings, others may not. Some may require specific adjustments, while others may not need any additional support at all.
The most effective starting point is a respectful conversation with the trainee herself. Rather than focusing on what challenges might arise, ask open questions about what would help her feel comfortable, safe and supported throughout her training journey.
This approach not only avoids assumptions but also demonstrates trust, respect and partnership.
Focus on the Environment, Not Just the Individual
When organisations think about support, attention often centres on the individual who may be perceived as “different”. However, in many cases the greatest opportunity lies in preparing the wider environment.
Religious literacy and awareness training can help colleagues better understand different forms of religious dress and practice. This is not about requiring staff to become experts in every faith tradition. Rather, it is about building confidence, reducing misconceptions and creating a culture where curiosity is respectful and inclusion is everyone’s responsibility.
Small actions can have a significant impact:
- Ensuring all staff engage with the trainee as they would any other colleague.
- Addressing questions or misconceptions through education rather than leaving individuals to explain or defend their choices.
- Encouraging respectful conversations about diversity and inclusion.
- Challenging stereotypes when they arise.
These everyday behaviours often have a greater impact on belonging than any formal policy.
Consider Practical Adjustments
As with any member of staff, there may be practical considerations that support comfort and wellbeing.
Potential adjustments could include:
- Access to well-ventilated spaces during warmer weather.
- Private or discreet spaces if required for personal comfort.
- Consideration of uniform or dress expectations where relevant.
- Opportunities to discuss placement-specific considerations before entering a new school environment.
The key is flexibility and dialogue rather than assuming that particular adjustments will be required.
Representation Matters
Inclusion is reinforced when people can see themselves reflected in their environment.
Schools and training providers may wish to review resources, displays, library books and curriculum materials to ensure they reflect a diverse range of religious identities and experiences. For example, when discussing Muslim communities, representation can extend beyond images of the hijab to include the diversity of ways Muslim women choose to express their faith.
Visible representation helps communicate an important message: you belong here.
Preparing for Questions from Parents and Communities
Inclusion sometimes involves preparing for questions from the wider school community. While most interactions are likely to be positive, schools may occasionally receive enquiries from parents who are unfamiliar with certain forms of religious dress.
Having clear, values-based messaging prepared in advance can help staff respond confidently and consistently. Responses should focus on professional standards, equality, respect and the school’s commitment to creating an inclusive environment for both staff and pupils.
Importantly, the burden of responding to concerns should never fall on the trainee herself.
Cultivating a Culture of Belonging
Ultimately, supporting religiously diverse staff is not about creating special treatment. It is about ensuring that everyone has equal opportunity to thrive.
For teacher training providers, this means moving beyond compliance and towards genuine inclusion. It means recognising that diversity within the teaching workforce enriches schools, broadens perspectives and provides valuable role models for young people.
When organisations focus on listening, representation, religious literacy and everyday respect, they create environments where all trainees can flourish—not despite their identity, but with it fully recognised and valued.
The question is not simply how we support one trainee teacher. The question is how we build school communities where every member of staff feels they belong from the moment they walk through the door.
Final Thoughts
Creating inclusive workplaces requires more than good intentions. It requires curiosity, listening, and a willingness to examine the systems, cultures and assumptions that shape people’s experiences. By taking proactive steps to support religiously diverse staff, schools and training providers can help ensure every educator feels valued, respected and able to thrive.
Call to Action
Please do get in touch if you have worked on an inclusive dress policy and would like to share best practice or if you have lived experience of wearing the niqab at work and would be willing to share your experiences.
Representation Starts Here: Developing Student Leadership Through a DEIB Lens
Written by Dwight Weir
Dwight is a Deputy Headteacher and Life Coach. He is also an inspector for British Schools Overseas. Dwight has a passion for coaching and leadership development.
Walk into many schools and you will see student leaders everywhere. Head students. Prefects. Ambassadors. School council representatives. The question is: who gets to lead?
Too often, student leadership reflects the same patterns we see elsewhere in society. The confident voices are heard. The popular students are selected. The pupils who already fit the image of a “leader” are given the opportunities. Representation starts here.
If we are serious about Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Belonging (DEIB), we must rethink how we identify, develop and celebrate student leaders.
Leadership Is Not a Look
Many schools unintentionally reward visibility over potential. Students who are articulate, academically successful or naturally outgoing are often first in line for leadership opportunities. Meanwhile, quieter pupils, students with SEND, disadvantaged learners, multilingual pupils and those from underrepresented backgrounds can be overlooked.
The result?
Student leadership becomes exclusive rather than inclusive.
A DEIB approach asks a different question: Whose leadership are we missing?
Expanding the Definition of Leadership
Leadership is more than standing on a stage or speaking into a microphone.
Leadership can be:
- The student who welcomes a new classmate.
- The pupil who advocates for accessibility.
- The young person who challenges injustice.
- The learner who quietly supports others every day.
- The student who demonstrates resilience in the face of adversity.
When schools broaden their definition of leadership, more students can see themselves reflected in leadership roles. And when students can see it, they can believe it is possible.
Equity Over Equality
Giving every student the same opportunity is not always enough. Some students need encouragement, coaching, mentoring or targeted development before they feel confident enough to step forward. An equitable approach recognises that leadership pathways should not simply be open; they should be accessible.
This might mean:
- Creating leadership programmes for underrepresented groups.
- Actively encouraging applications from students who would not normally put themselves forward.
- Providing coaching and mentoring.
- Removing unnecessary barriers to participation.
Equity is not lowering standards. It is widening access.
Representation Matters
Students are constantly scanning their environment for signals.
- Who gets chosen?
- Who gets listened to?
- Who gets celebrated?
- Who gets promoted?
When leadership teams reflect the diversity of the student population, powerful messages are sent. Students begin to see that leadership is not reserved for a particular gender, ethnicity, social background, ability level or personality type.
They see possibility…They see belonging…They see themselves…
Moving Beyond Tokenism
Representation alone is not enough. A diverse student leadership team without influence changes very little. Student leaders must have genuine opportunities to shape decisions, influence policy and improve school culture. Their voices should not simply be heard. They should be acted upon.
The most effective schools move from student voice to student influence.
The Leadership Legacy
Student leadership is not just about organising events or leading assemblies. It is about preparing young people for the world they will inherit. When schools develop leadership through a DEIB lens, they cultivate empathy, courage, advocacy, collaboration and social responsibility. They create young people who understand that leadership is not about power over others. It is about creating opportunities for others. Because representation does not begin in the boardroom. It does not begin in parliament. It does not begin in the workplace.
Representation starts here.
In our classrooms. In our corridors. In our student leadership programmes.
And in the belief that every young person has the potential to lead.
Belonging in Schools: From Staff Culture to Pupil Experience
Written by Belonging Effect
Belonging Effect is committed to shaping intention into impact and supporting people with their Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, & Belonging strategy and training needs.
Creating a school where every individual feels they truly belong is one of the most transformative goals a leadership team can pursue. But what does “belonging” actually mean in practice, and how do we move past buzzwords to build genuine, inclusive communities?
In a recent webinar hosted by Iona Kelliher, the Managing Director of Edurio and The Belonging Effect, experts Hannah Wilson and Zahara Chowdhury dug deep into these exact questions. Drawing from their extensive work with schools, they shared practical, actionable insights on how to transform school culture from the staffroom to the classroom.
- Navigating the Biggest Challenges in School Belonging
When it comes to cultivating belonging, school leaders often face roadblocks on two fronts: workforce demographics and communication barriers.
- Workforce Diversification & Retention: Hannah says, recruiting, developing, and retaining a diverse cohort of staff, leaders, and governors remains a major challenge. To overcome this, schools must move toward active listening. Hannah Wilson emphasizes the need for regular feedback loops, structured listening activities, and thorough exit interviews.
- Courageous Conversations: Zahara points out that many educators struggle with having uncomfortable conversations and knowing exactly what to say (and when to say it) in both classrooms and staffrooms.
The Solution: Overcoming these hurdles requires deep consistency. Schools must build a shared language, routine, and approach to belonging so that all students and staff feel secure within the school’s overarching identity – and their own individual identities within it.
- Extending Belonging Beyond the School Gates
Schools do not exist in a vacuum; creating a sense of belonging for children means engaging with families and the wider local community.
- Meet Communities on Their Terms: Zahara advises school leaders to physically step into the community. Go to community strongholds, local environments, or even the supermarket to engage with families where they feel safe and on their terms.
- Co-Create Solutions: True collaboration means enabling what the community actually needs, rather than what school leaders think they need.
- Celebrate Diverse Identities: Highlighting local initiatives that champion diversity can bridge the gap between home and school. For instance, looking at local community projects – like Bristol’s Black Joy Trail – can provide beautiful blueprints for celebrating diverse identities and fostering joy.
- First Steps to Take Right Now
If you want to immediately shift your school’s culture toward greater belonging, the experts recommend starting with these two tangible steps:
- Implement a Shared DEIB Calendar: Build a shared Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging (DEIB) calendar for all staff. Review your current assemblies and celebrations against it to see what might be missing, ensuring a healthy balance of focus across various awareness days, weeks, months, and religions.
- Just Ask (and Listen): Be explicit with your school community. Send a clear message stating that you want to ensure everyone feels included, and humbly acknowledge that you might not always get it right. Establish clear, transparent communication lines detailing how you will gather feedback, what you will do with it, and the timelines for action. Whenever possible, look for opportunities to co-create policy with your community, or experiment with frameworks like reverse mentoring.
- Designing a Neuro-inclusive Environment
Many neurodivergent pupils find themselves “tolerating” or masking at school rather than genuinely thriving. Because the traditional school model is highly systemic, reasonable adaptations alone are often not enough.
To address this, schools must look at neuro-inclusivity through a wider lens:
- Consistency in Adjustments: Staff and pupil training on neurodiversity is essential. Any reasonable adjustments made for pupils must be clearly communicated and clarified across the board so that application is consistent.
- Shift from the Individual to the System: Instead of focusing purely on modifying the minoritised student, look at the environment, the people, and the student experience around them. Investigate what everyone needs to learn and do to adapt, with the goal of creating a classroom and community that is universal by design.
- Investigate the “Toleration”: Don’t be afraid to ask students and parents exactly what they are tolerating. Examine the nuances – from transition periods and email communications to clubs and curriculum materials.
- The Danger of “Inclusion Bases”
Many schools utilise inclusion bases or separate spaces for specific pupils, but how does this impact a child’s sense of belonging?
Hannah warns that we must critically examine whether our inclusion efforts are actually forms of hidden segregation or exclusion – such as placing students in a different building, room, or table. Leaders need to act as their own “critical friends” and ask hard, reflective questions: Why are these pupils in that base? Have they been excluded? Do they actually feel more included there? Addressing these systemic questions is incredibly powerful when embedded directly into a school’s strategic development plan.
- Aligning Belonging with Inspection Frameworks (Ofsted)
Belonging is not just a pastoral nice-to-have; it sits squarely within modern inspection expectations. Under current inspection frameworks, Ofsted assesses belonging through the lenses of inclusion and personal development. Inspectors look past simply providing a “seat in the classroom” to evaluate several core areas:
- Curriculum Representation: Does what you teach reflect the diversity of your school’s community? Minority groups, pupils with SEND, and disadvantaged children should feel visible and respected in the curriculum.
- Relational Inclusion: Moving away from a strict reliance on rigid reward and sanction charts, inspectors look at how staff actively build trusting, emotionally safe relationships with pupils -particularly those struggling with behaviour or attendance.
- Pupil and Parent Voice: Evidence is gathered through surveys and discussions to check if learners truly feel they matter, have a voice, and are treated fairly.
- Safe Spaces for Dialogue: School leadership must demonstrate how they handle difficult conversations regarding discrimination and equality to foster peer-to-peer respect.
- Measuring Progress and Overcoming Pushback
How can school leaders ensure that their belonging and anti-harm work is genuinely shifting staff behaviour and building pupil trust?
- Track the Data: Utilising weekly pulse surveys provides a quick, regular check-in on school climate. Interestingly, after robust training, schools often see a temporary spike in reported incidents. Do not panic – this is usually a positive sign of increased consciousness and staff confidence in noticing and naming harm.
- Gather Qualitative Insight: Set up dedicated email inboxes and compile staff case studies to capture the nuances of the student experience. Remember, a wealth of research confirms that belonging and inclusion directly correlate with improved student outcomes and academic progress.
Navigating Community and Staff Pushback
When introducing topics like Pride or LGBT identities, leaders occasionally encounter friction from staff or students. While student voice is vital, areas that impact student safety and prevent harm cannot be ignored.
To move past “complicit compliance” or a snail’s pace, look at pushback with genuine curiosity. Ask yourself: Why is there pushback? Is it due to a lack of inclusion literacy, media influence, high workloads, or a feeling that other areas are being ignored? Often, friction is projected when staff or students feel a lack of belonging and wellbeing themselves. Introducing intersectional role models (such as showcasing that someone can co-exist within multiple identities, like being both LGBT and Muslim) can humanise these conversations and bridge cultural divides.
Looking to Deepen Your Practice?
Cultivating true belonging requires a continuous commitment to training, reflection, and structural change. For school leaders, governors, and trustees looking to further their development, The Belonging Effect offers a wealth of tailored toolkits, books, job boards, and specialised training frameworks – spanning inclusive recruitment, neurodiversity awareness, and governor DEIB oversight.
If you missed Part 1 of the series you can catch up here: Edurio – Belonging in Schools: From Staff Culture to Pupil Experience
Ready to take the next step in measuring culture across your school network? Stay tuned for Part 2 of the series: How to Measure Belonging in Your Trust on 6th July.