Cultivating Belonging in Schools

It has been a busy month/ start to the year but in the middle of juggling multiple commitments and activities, this week I received a delivery of 200 copies of my new book – A Little Guide for Teachers: Cultivating Belonging in Schools (SAGE 2026). 

After all of the time and energy it took to write it, it is quite a small book, but I hope it will be a helpful addition to the conversation and give educators practical ideas of things to do for themselves, for their peers and for their learners. It is great that this contribution to the series sits alongside work by Bennie Kara, Amjad Ali, Yamina Bibi and Emma Kell.   

This is how I have structured the book:

• Introduction: Why should we care about DEIB?
• 1 Belonging in Society: How do we develop it?
• 2 Belonging in Schools: How do we change it?
• 3 Belonging in the Staffroom: How do we disrupt it?
• 4 Belonging in the Classroom: How do we foster it?
• 5 Call to Action: What do we do next?

In the opening I state:

“Belonging is the feeling that is created as a result of the work we do on DEI. I thus present it as an equation:

Diversity + Equity + Inclusion = Belonging

Why does this book use the word ‘cultivating’? I used to talk about building, creating and growing belonging, but for me ‘cultivating’ captures that there is ongoing work needed and that there are different variables that we need to pay attention to. DEIB is not a ‘one and done’ approach, belonging takes time and ongoing work in the form of commitment/investment.

So, let’s start peeling back the different layers of things to consider when it comes to belonging. And I apologise in advance if you are left with more questions than answers by the end of the book, but that is the nature of the work. It is not a clean nor a linear journey, we will never be done, we will never know it all”. 

Our Work on Belonging:

I wrote a blog last term about why I rebranded my business from Diverse Educators to the Belonging Effect. You can read it here. In short:

• “Belonging is the bridge between diversity, equity and inclusion – it is the emotional outcome of equity in action.  It is the moment when people stop trying to fit in and start being fully themselves.

• We chose The Belonging Effect because belonging is not just a concept; it is a ripple. When one person feels they belong, it impacts their team, their classroom, their community. It is an effect that multiplies”.

I also wrote a blog at the end of term about Belonging becoming a buzzword, a band wagon and at times a plaster being put on the problem of DEI to conceal it. It caused a bit of a fallout so it clearly hit a nerve! You can read it here. This was/is my provocation:

“There’s no denying the emotional resonance of belonging. Everyone wants to feel seen, valued, and part of a community. The word signals care and connection – qualities deeply needed in our schools.

Yet belonging, in its current popular use, carries a kind of neutrality that makes it especially attractive to those uncomfortable with conversations about race, power, and privilege. It sounds universal and non-political. It doesn’t demand that we ask who has been excluded, whose histories have been erased, or whose comfort is prioritized”.

So if this theme is of interest and you would like to find out more please see below my signposting to events, training, toolkits, books and blogs you can engage with. And if you do get your hands on a copy of the book, I would love to know what you think!  

Our Book Launches:

• In-person: 31/1/26 in person in Bath, 1.30-3.30pm. You can book to join us here.
• Virtual: 9/2/26 virtual, zoom or Streamyard dependent on numbers, 4-6pm.  You can book to join us here.

I am delighted to be joined by friends from the region (Domini, Edel, Tanisha and Will), academics from Bath University (Alison and Ceri) and members of my team (Amy, Bennie, Jo and Yamina) for both of these conversations as it is important to unpack belonging through multiple lenses to appreciate how it is impacted by different lived experiences.  

Our Belonging Training:

I have designed a session that can be delivered as a keynote or as a workshop which really provokes reflections and discussions on what belonging means to different people. Find out more here. We have sessions on Belonging in the Classroom and Belonging in the Curriculum designed and delivered by the BE team.

Our Belonging Toolkit:

Our BE Associate Zahara Chowdhury collated a toolkit on Belonging which I have been updating as I spot new resources and research. Find out more here.  

Our Bookshelf:

Check out Zahara’s book on Belonging in the Classroom and the other DEIB titles our team have published which explore belonging for different identity groups and in different spaces: https://www.thebelongingeffect.co.uk/our-books/  

Our Reflections on Belonging:

Check out these 10 blogs on Belonging from members of the BE network: 

1. Andrew Morrish: https://www.thebelongingeffect.co.uk/belonging-on-purpose/ 
2. Chloe Watterston: https://www.thebelongingeffect.co.uk/belonging-empathy-and-a-curriculum-that-sees-every-child/
3. Erin Skelton: https://www.thebelongingeffect.co.uk/belonging/
4. Hannah Wilson: https://www.thebelongingeffect.co.uk/when-belonging-replaces-equity-the-silence-of-white-male-educators/ 
5. Jennifer Johnson: https://www.thebelongingeffect.co.uk/getting-to-the-heart-of-inclusion-and-belonging/ 
6. John Doyle: https://www.thebelongingeffect.co.uk/unsettling-deficit-narratives-race-identity-and-belonging-in-english-schools/ 
7. Sarah Pengelly: https://www.thebelongingeffect.co.uk/building-belonging-in-primary-schools-with-human-values/ 
8. Tricia Taylor: https://www.thebelongingeffect.co.uk/seen-valued-and-able-designing-classrooms-for-social-and-academic-belonging/ 
9. Yasmina Kone: https://www.thebelongingeffect.co.uk/celebrating-esea-heritage-month-building-belonging-for-every-student-and-why-it-matters-right-now/
10. Zahara Chowdhury: https://www.thebelongingeffect.co.uk/belonging-in-the-classroom-responding-to-a-divided-world/