School is so gay
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.
I remember seeing bullying when I was at school. I remember the names, the laughter, and the way certain words landed harder than others. I also remember how normal it all felt at the time, not because it was harmless, but because nobody really stopped it.
Years later, when I became a teacher, I genuinely believed things would be different. Society had moved on, language had evolved, and schools were far more aware of safeguarding and wellbeing. But standing in classrooms and corridors, I found myself hearing the same phrases, watching the same patterns, and feeling the same familiar knot in my stomach.
What devastated me most was not just that bullying still existed. It was how often it was excused.
“That’s so gay.”
“They don’t mean it like that.”
“It’s just a saying.”
“There are bigger issues we need to focus on.”
I heard these comments repeatedly. Sometimes from pupils, but far more painfully from adults.
For LGBTQ+ people, language like this is never neutral. It carries weight, history, and memory. When a word connected to who you are is used as shorthand for something negative, it teaches you very early on that your identity is something to be laughed at, minimised, or ignored.
As a pupil, that message hurts deeply.
As a teacher, watching it be passed on to another generation is crushing.
Over time, I became increasingly frustrated by the idea that tackling homophobia was somehow an “extra”. Something to get to if there was time. Something that sat below academic outcomes, behaviour targets, or inspection priorities. I watched schools work tirelessly on countless tick-box initiatives, yet hesitate when it came to properly challenging harmful language, often out of fear of backlash or because it was seen as controversial.
But bullying linked to sexuality or gender identity is not less serious because it is verbal. It is not less damaging because it is common. And it is not less urgent because some people are uncomfortable talking about it.
I reached a point where I could no longer accept that this was just how things were. Leaving teaching was not an easy decision, but it became a necessary one. I set up More Than Flags and Rainbows because I wanted to challenge the idea that inclusion is optional and that addressing homophobia is somehow a distraction from “real” education. It is not. It is central to it.
I have worked with children who learned to make themselves smaller to feel safe. I have listened to young people who stayed silent because drawing attention to themselves felt dangerous. I have seen how unchecked language creates cultures where exclusion becomes normal and cruelty becomes background noise.
This work matters because words shape environments. When harmful language goes unchallenged, it sends a clear message about whose feelings matter and whose do not. When schools, and wider society, treat this as a low priority, LGBTQ+ young people pay the price.
This is not abstract to me. It is personal. I have lived it, witnessed it, and ultimately walked away from a career I loved in order to keep challenging it in a different way. And I believe deeply that when we stop making excuses for harm, we create spaces where young people do not just survive, but belong.
Understanding Why Mattering Matters for Black Teachers
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.
A Gap in the Research
As I explored the literature on mattering and education, one issue became increasingly clear: there is very little UK-based research exploring how Black teachers (BTs) experience mattering within schools. Existing research has focused on Black students (Howard-Vital, 1991; Scott, 1996), or on teachers in specific curriculum areas such as Physical Education (Gaudreault et al., 2018). Research specifically examining BTs has largely come from the United States (Milner, 2006; Love, 2016; Carey, 2019).
This gap matters. Conversations about diversity in education often focus on recruitment statistics or representation targets, but much less attention is given to how Black teachers actually experience school environments once they enter the profession. For me, this raises important questions about belonging, recognition, and professional identity. Do Black teachers feel valued? Do they feel seen? Do they feel that what they contribute genuinely matters?
What Does “Mattering” Actually Mean?
Psychologically, mattering refers to the experience of feeling valued by others and believing that we add value to the lives of others. Rosenberg (1985) connected mattering to self-esteem, describing it as being treated with respect and having one’s value acknowledged. Elliott (2009) similarly described mattering as the belief that we make a meaningful difference.
What I find particularly powerful about these definitions is that mattering is not simply about praise or confidence. It is relational. It is about whether people feel psychologically significant within the spaces they occupy.
For Black teachers, however, this experience can become more complicated when viewed through the lens of race. Elliott (2009) identifies awareness — being noticed and distinguishable from others — as an important component of mattering. Yet Jensen’s (2011) research on Black men in Denmark suggests that visibility is not always experienced positively when connected to racial “othering”.
This feels especially relevant within education. Black teachers may be highly visible within predominantly white institutions whilst simultaneously feeling unheard, stereotyped, or professionally overlooked. Visibility alone does not create mattering. In fact, being visible without being genuinely valued may deepen feelings of marginality.
Dignity, Fairness, and Recognition
The literature repeatedly highlights dignity and fairness as central to mattering. Prilleltensky (2019) describes dignity as “the backbone of mattering”, whilst Perryman and Calvert (2020) connect worthiness to fair and just treatment.
I think this is particularly important when considering the experiences of BTs. If teachers experience stereotyping, inequitable treatment, or exclusion from opportunities, this can undermine not only confidence but also their sense of professional worth.
Recognition also matters deeply. Ryan (1985) argues that positive feedback strengthens motivation and well-being, whilst Prilleltensky (2014) suggests that feeling valued increases people’s confidence to contribute actively within their communities. In schools, acknowledgement from colleagues and leaders can reinforce a teacher’s sense that their work is meaningful. Conversely, a lack of recognition can contribute to invisibility.
Relationships, Belonging, and Authenticity
One theme that appears consistently throughout the literature is the importance of relationships. Gaudreault et al. (2018) found that relationships and support formed the foundation of teachers’ experiences of mattering. Although their research focused on Physical Education teachers, I believe the findings resonate strongly with the experiences of BTs.
Teaching is deeply relational work. The quality of relationships with students, colleagues, and leaders can shape whether teachers experience schools as places of belonging or exclusion.
Belonging itself appears closely linked to mattering. Warstadt, Daly and Bjorkland (2021) found that teachers with higher well-being often experience a stronger sense of belonging within their school communities. This supports Baumeister and Leary’s (1995) argument that the need to belong is a fundamental human motivation.
For BTs working in predominantly white educational spaces, belonging may carry even greater significance. Experiences of isolation or tokenism can weaken professional attachment, whilst authentic inclusion can strengthen resilience and professional identity.
I was also particularly drawn to Deci and Ryan’s Self-Determination Theory (1985), which suggests that people thrive when they experience competence, autonomy, and relatedness. For Black teachers, the opportunity to work authentically — without suppressing aspects of racial or cultural identity — may be central to experiencing mattering.
Mattering, Burnout, and Retention
The literature also suggests a strong connection between mattering, burnout, and retention. Barrenechea (2022) found that teachers who feel valued and able to add value experience higher levels of mental health and self-efficacy, reducing the likelihood of burnout. Conversely, Perryman and Calvert (2020) identify workload and work-life balance as key drivers of teachers leaving the profession. For BTs, however, these pressures may be compounded by experiences of racial marginalisation, limited recognition, or diminished belonging.
The racial dimension of mattering feels especially important in the context of the #BlackLivesMatter movement, which increased awareness of Black marginalisation and the importance of Black mattering more broadly (Carey, 2019). Within education, Kohli and Pizarro (2016) argue that BTs committed to social justice frequently experience structural and interpersonal racism, contributing to burnout and, in some cases, departure from the profession altogether.
Representation data reinforces this concern. The Department for Education (2023) reported that 85.1% of teachers in England were white British, despite significantly greater ethnic diversity within London. This underrepresentation potentially increases experiences of marginality for BTs and may undermine their sense of mattering within schools.
Progression and Professional Value
The literature also suggests that race can shape access to leadership opportunities. Miller (2016) argues that Black educators often require “white sanction” to progress professionally, whilst Wallace (2020) found that Black male teachers in London were frequently channelled into racialised roles yet blocked from senior leadership progression.
What I find striking here is the tension between praise and progression. Teachers may be valued symbolically whilst still being denied genuine access to power, influence, or advancement. Francis’ (2021) work on Black female teachers similarly found that race often had a more negative impact on professional experience than gender.
Despite these challenges, many BTs enter teaching because they genuinely want to make a difference. Perryman and Calvert (2020) identify this as a key driver for teachers, whilst Dinkins and Thomas (2016) found that some Black educators were motivated by their own difficult school experiences and a desire to become positive role models for future generations.
Conclusion
Ultimately, the literature suggests that mattering is central to understanding the experiences of Black teachers. Feeling valued, recognised, supported, and able to contribute authentically may influence not only well-being, but also retention, progression, and long-term commitment to the profession. For me, this is why mattering matters. If schools are serious about inclusion, then representation alone is not enough. We also need to ask whether Black teachers feel that they genuinely belong, whether their voices are heard, and whether their contribution is truly valued within the profession.
The LGBT Educators Report 2025
Written by Ashley Robyn Harker
Ashley Harker is a North London based Trans humanities teacher. She is a trustee of the national Woodcraft Folk and Vice-Chair of Epping Forest District Museum.
The LGBT+ Educators report highlights the prevalence of othering and discriminatory treatment of LGBT+ and particularly trans teachers working in England and Wales’s education sector.
From a survey of over 50 LGBT+ educators in the National Education Union (NEU) 78% had seriously considered leaving the teaching profession as well as 60% believing queerphobia to be on the rise in their schools and half believing that it was treated as a lesser form of discrimination by their school leadership.
Major issues found are a lack of support, trust or respect for LGBT+ educators’ identity, experiences or contributions in schools as well as repeated cases of targeting and poor treatment of LGBT+ individuals.
In terms of recruitment and retention:
- 85% of cis LGBT+ educators reported they felt they faced greater difficulties in getting a job compared with straight cis teachers.
- 40% of LGBT+ educators believed that school employers negatively considered LGBT+ candidates.
- A third of LGBT+ (40% of trans) educators had the role they applied for changed after it was offered (most usually going from a permanent role to temporary).
- Trans and Black educators on average had to interview for nearly 3 times as many roles compared with white and cis LGBT+ educators and Trans Women often have worked in more than 3 times as many schools as cis LGBT+ educators.
- 57% of binary trans educators had started their current role in the past 12 months and 80% of LGBT+ educators leaving or potentially leaving their school at the end of the academic year were trans (with 66% not securing a role).
In terms of treatment in schools:
- 45% of LGBT+ educators believed they were treated differently in the workplace, with 1/3 stating they were treated differently by colleagues including being told not to come out or hide their identity by SLT.
- 90% of LGBT+ educators had heard homophobic and transphobic language used in schools. Educators were more likely to hear and be subjected to Transphobic language than Homophobic language from colleagues.
- Only 47% of LGBT+ educators had received any form of training on LGBT+ topics in an educational setting, with only a third who had requested such training for their school having it delivered.
- Only 33% of trans educators stated they were able to use the toilets and changing facilities that aligned with their gender. 78% of trans educators had had to argue for access to school toilets.
- 93% of LGBT+ believed that how their schools acknowledged LGBT+ topics had little to no impact and 50% of educators who had attempted to include LGBT+ topics in their curriculum had been ignored or told not to.
- 18% of LGBT+ educators had not been included in school trips or residentials because of or in part because of their LGBT+ identity.
The report also highlights the impact recent and historic decisions against LGBT+ equality have had on the education sector:
- 50% of LGBT+ educators believed that their school was still impacted by Section 28 and 100% believed something similar could be put in place in the near future.
- 88% of LGBT+ (including all trans) educators reported that their mental health had deteriorated following the For Women Scotland Supreme Court ruling with 44% stating that this had impacted their ability to work. 50% reported the decision had had a negative impact on pupils.
- Only 25% had been approached or supported by colleagues following these decisions. A quarter stated that their schools had already made changes such as removing gender neutral toilets, amending pupil’s school data or denying trans staff access to toilets following the Supreme Court ruling.
The survey for the LGBT+ Educators report was carried out between May and August 2025.
The research was led by Ashley Harker and covered LGBT+ Educators experiences of recruitment, perception, policy, curriculum, bullying, training and opportunities in education.
Empowering Young People to Change the World
Written by Nicola Wetherall
Nicola is an RE teacher by training, but a specialist and Lead Practitioner for Holocaust, genocide and human rights education at Royal Wootton Bassett Academy, she curates the Empowering Young People to Change the World teacher conference series. She combines her part time role at RWBA with her Associate Professor (Teaching) role at the UCL Centre for Holocaust Education, specialising in curriculum, pedagogy and school development by supporting the Quality Mark process and Beacon School alumni engagement. Nicola founded the Holocaust, their family, me and us schools project.
This year’s DEIB Showcase for #EYP2CtW26 session felt like an expansion – a widening of what we pay attention to in schools, and a reminder that belonging is not an optional extra but a foundation.
We began with Hannah Wilson, who was joined by, and introduced us to, colleagues from the Belonging Effect (formerly Diverse Educators) network, who each brought a richness of experience, context and lived insight that was both energising and deeply grounding. But before I turn to each contribution in turn, I want to say a special thankyou to Hannah, an ally and leader who has supported #EYP2CtW26 conference for many years now, and once again curated a session for us today that was compelling, generous and full of practical wisdom.
So first we welcomed Yassar Hussain – from the UAE – who talked us through GEMS Metropole’s DEIB journey, referring to a range of scholarship that had informed that process, the importance of intentionality, student voice and agency. Yassar’s section was a powerful reminder that belonging doesn’t happen by accident, it’s built through deliberate choices around staff awareness, curriculum representation and student voice. His ‘journey’ within this work, reminded me how small, consistent actions across a year can shift culture, confidence and connection. I think that Yassar’s story offered a practical challenge for all of us: What would it look like to map our own DEIB journey across a year (staff learning, curriculum audits, student voice, community engagement) and treat it as a cycle of listening, acting and refining? For me, his contribution offered #EYP2CtW26 delegates (and me) us a template for intentional, sustainable progress, a next step be it short, medium or long term.
Next, it was a privilege to invite Monia Sahar Zahid and Claire Shooter – from HABS Elstree – who rather beautifully reminded us that belonging isn’t something you switch on in a crisis, it’s the product of the culture you’ve built long before tensions surface. Their emphasis on intellectual humility, visible inclusion and shared experiences offered a powerful blueprint for how schools can create the conditions for safety, trust and connection, even when global events hit the school gates, with a focus on the pastoral and safeguarding rather than the politics or teaching. I was struck by their noticing – their check-ins with staff and students, the human connections and deep rooted respect that revealed. I know several of the anecdotes shared, resonated powerfully with the 460+ educators accessing the session live – and the sense of thanks and gratitude for highlighting those moments was palpable in the chat forum spaces. My takeaway was need to reflect on our own readiness: Do we have the frameworks, shared language and staff confidence to hold difficult conversations before they arrive at our door? The SAFE framework they shared with us and emphasis on defensible decision‑making offer practical starting points for schools wanting to strengthen their approach to belonging, identity and conflict‑sensitive practice. So this was great to share.
Last but not least we were pleased to host Azuraye Williams from the Transform Trust, her contribution brought us back to something deceptively simple but deeply important: belonging starts with people, not paperwork. Her trust‑wide work showed how culture, connection and relationships must come before policies if we want DEIB to be lived rather than laminated, a reminder that systems only shift when humans do. Colleagues were taken with the meaningful and purposeful work undertaken to engage governors, but for me Azuraye left us a practical challenge: How well do we really know the belonging story of our own school? Her trust‑wide approach (surveying every child, engaging DEIB leads, and focusing on each school’s unique context) offered a clear starting point for any setting wanting to move from intention to impact.
It was that intentionality across the session was noticeable and built upon Hannah’s introductory remarks and concluding framing of belonging as a human need. Each contribution built on the last: from GEMS Metropole’s DEEI journey, to navigating global conflict at HABS Elstree, to trust‑wide belonging work at Transform Trust, and throughout, the examples shared (curriculum audits, microaggressions training, belonging surveys, pupil‑led research, ‘people before policies’) reminding us that belonging is not a slogan. It is a practice. A culture. A way of showing up for one another in schools.
In a climate where DEIB work is sometimes misrepresented or politicised, today was a powerful reminder that this work is not about ideology. It is rights‑respecting, dignity‑affirming, and safeguarding‑aligned. It is about ensuring that every child (and every adult) feels safe, seen, valued and able to bring their whole self into a school community. Nothing more complicated, nothing more controversial than that – and yet, the work can feel lonely, induce anxiety and expose vulnerability. I am deeply grateful to Hannah, Yassar, Claire, Monia and Azuraye, for their time, expertise and generosity of sharing, and this thread and spirit continues across the rest of the week.
If you missed this year’s DEIB Showcase for #EYP2CtW26 you can catch up here: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL5Qv_qeF-NpWPGep25cYsrp0zuYDEPH9c
I’m reminded again that when educators gather with honesty, courage and care, we don’t just learn, we widen our circle of belonging, and in doing so, we create the conditions for empowered young people to do the same.
Supporting refugee students in UK schools displaced by war and conflict zones
Written by Muna Mitchell
Muna has held Senior Leadership positions in Pastoral, SEND and Safeguarding along with teaching Science in secondary schools across Botswana, Oman and the UK. She Studied for an M.Ed. in Inclusion and Diversity with a focus on supporting Refugees in Education.
As described by the UNHCR “A refugee is a person who has been forced to flee their country due to war, violence, or serious threats to their life, and who requires international protection.”
A total of 117 million people at the end of 2025 were displaced from their homes due to conflict and violence and of those 42 million people became refugees of which approximately 20 million are children. The UNCRC (2000) clearly states that “Every child has a right to an education” however, UNICEF research has shown that children and their subsequent educational chances pay a heavy price during conflict. Education suffers through damage to school buildings by bombing and gunfire, the death or injury of teachers and support staff and the use of school buildings by soldiers. In a war zone, the education system is not the priority as families struggle to find food, shelter, and safety. This means that the education pathway of refugee children may have been interrupted for many years prior to them seeking asylum.
Continued global humanitarian crises force people into countries that are often very dissimilar from their home cultures. Sheikh and Anderson (2018) describe how refugees suffer from profound culture shock on arrival in the UK and must undergo a period of acculturation. Sometimes as a refugee this acculturation occurs more than once depending on the individual person’s journey and the countries they have travelled through. Fuller and Hayes (2020) describe how the experiences a refugee encounters on first arrival are often just as traumatising as those experiences that were left behind. This interweaves the themes of past and present and suggests strongly that in education, for example the voices of child refugees need to be regularly consulted. It seems essential that we ensure that we are not making assumptions around which life experiences are causing distress and where our support needs to be focussed.
The UNHCR has acknowledged that young refugees often have high academic aspirations with education seen as a reliable way to escape less than ideal current circumstances and tertiary education particularly held in high esteem. It also states that higher education and skills are a critical link between learning and earning which allows for sustainable futures and enhanced social cohesion. Stevenson and Willott (2007) suggest that one of the main barriers to education is the initial struggle with academic language and refugees who are given multiple opportunities of English language training with an academic focus are much more likely to attend school. Lack of English language skills make it difficult not only for students to progress in their learning but to make emotional connections with other pupils and staff. The Bristol Refugee Rights impact report (2020/21) states that “There is a lack of strong English progression pathways and support into higher education. Much of the provision is unaccredited and the curriculum is not prescribed.” For schools, there are additional challenges to overcome to provide the right support and monitor student progress and attainment as there is often limited prior data for many refugee students. Education which had been completed in other countries is not always recognized. For example, refugee students may have English Language certificates from their home countries which in theory they could use to access university courses, but UK universities only accept a certificate of English language proficiency (IELTS) which can be expensive to complete.
Refugees who are aiming for Higher Education can sometimes be under tight time constraints to fit into a rigid school system in the UK. Bajwa et al (2017) concludes that refugees entering straight into the secondary school system have a lack of time to establish trust and can sometimes be mistrustful around public figures which impacts their ability to progress forward. As Gately (2018) concludes it is challenging in a short space of time to establish strong pupil staff relationships which could provide guidance for next steps and support refugee students in understanding the options available to them.
The Schools of Sanctuary (2021) network which includes stakeholders such as teachers, support staff, parents, governors, and community groups has as one of its central theme’s being pupil voice. Lawrence (2019) explains that “the voices of child refugees are forgotten, and young people are not regularly consulted about their needs or coping strategies” As mentioned above, the main difficulties of accessing education are language barriers, arrival point in terms of education, lack of informed choices and overcoming gaps in education created by conflict. The key turning point for these children and their subsequent entry to Higher Education seems to centre around their GCSE and A level choices. There are institutional barriers to higher education for students from ethnic minority groups, for students who are then also refugees these barriers are even higher.
Sexuality, privacy, and professional safety
Written by Emma Swift
Emma Swift is a Vice Principal and former trust-wide subject lead for a multi academy trust, specialising in science and initial teacher training. She is the subject lead for Physics for the National Institute of Teaching and Education.
On being visible, being private, and deciding what to carry at work
For some teachers, sexuality is something that barely enters their working life.
For others, it is something they think about constantly not because they want to, but because it shapes how visible, safe, or exposed they feel at work.
This difference matters.
Heteronormativity and the illusion of “not sharing”
Many heterosexual teachers will say they don’t talk about their sexuality at work and genuinely believe it.
But mentioning a spouse, a partner, a weekend plan, or a family photo on a desk is already a form of disclosure. It’s simply one that aligns with what students and colleagues expect, so it passes unnoticed.
For LGBTQ+ teachers, the same casual references can feel loaded. A simple pronoun choice can suddenly feel like a decision with consequences.
This isn’t about oversensitivity. It’s about risk awareness.
Being “out” is not a single decision
There is a persistent narrative that being out is an all-or-nothing state: either you are open, or you are hiding.
The reality is far more nuanced.
You may be:
- Out to colleagues but not students
- Out in one school but not another
- Open in some contexts and private in others
- Comfortable one year and cautious the next
None of these positions are dishonest.
They are strategic.
Teaching is not a neutral workplace. It is shaped by:
- Community attitudes
- School culture
- Leadership support
- Student maturity
- Media narratives
Your safety and wellbeing sit within all of that.
You do not owe visibility to anyone
There can be subtle and sometimes explicit – pressure on LGBTQ+ teachers to be visible “for the students”.
Representation matters.
But representation should never come at the cost of personal safety.
No individual teacher is responsible for fixing systemic inequality.
You are allowed to prioritise:
- Emotional safety
- Job security
- Mental health
- Professional focus
Choosing privacy is not a failure of courage.
It is an assessment of context.
The classroom is not a neutral space
Students talk. Families talk. Communities talk. What is said in a classroom rarely stays there. This is not paranoia – it is experience. Before sharing anything personal, it’s worth asking:
- How might this be repeated?
- How might it be reframed?
- How might it be misunderstood?
Once information enters the student sphere, control over it is lost. That doesn’t mean you should never share; no it means you should share deliberately.
Managing questions about relationships
Students may ask:
“Do you have a husband/wife?”
“Are you married?”
“Do you have a boyfriend/girlfriend?”
You are not required to correct assumptions. You are not required to disclose.
Neutral responses can include:
“I keep my personal life private.”
“That’s not something I discuss with students.”
“I’m here as your teacher.”
Some teachers choose gender-neutral language.
Some choose redirection.
Some choose openness.
The key is that you decide, not the moment.
Professional safety is not the same as secrecy
There is an important distinction between secrecy and privacy.
- Secrecy is driven by fear.
- Privacy is driven by choice.
You can be open with trusted colleagues and private with students. You can advocate for inclusion without narrating your life. You can support LGBTQ+ students without positioning yourself as evidence.
Your professionalism is not diminished by boundaries.
Who gets asked to do the work
In many schools, inclusion work doesn’t get distributed evenly. It often lands on the people most affected by it. I’ve lost count of how many times I’ve been asked to deliver the “LGBT assembly” or lead something for LGBT History Month. As a senior leader, I’m always willing to do an assembly that’s part of the role. But there’s an extra layer here that often goes unacknowledged.
When you are the one standing in front of a room talking about LGBTQ+ lives, you are also the one absorbing the reaction. The looks. The comments. The atmosphere. And when students express strong views which are sometimes openly homophobic, it is often the person most directly affected who is expected to manage that moment.
That carries a cost.
I still remember, around sixteen years ago, sitting in an assembly where a heterosexual male teacher spoke about Alan Turing his work, and what was done to him. It stirred something in me I wasn’t used to feeling in school. At the time, hearing LGBTQ+ lives acknowledged at all felt rare.
That moment stayed with me. And part of why it mattered was that it didn’t come from someone who had to carry the personal weight of it. There’s a difference between choosing to share and being positioned as the one who should. Even smaller moments of coming out can carry that same weight. Not just the big, defining conversations – sometimes it’s the quieter ones that stay with you.
I remember telling one of my A Level classes while working in North London. I wasn’t sure how they would respond, particularly given the strength of religious belief in the room. I had prepared myself for discomfort. Instead, they were warm, protective, and thoughtful. It meant a great deal.
Sometime after I left, one of those students wrote to me. She said she wanted to go into teaching and wrote: “I thought I wanted to be the teacher I needed. Then I realised I wanted to be the person I had.”
That stayed with me.
It’s also important to say that these experiences aren’t the same for everyone. As a lesbian, I’m aware that I may be navigating less immediate risk than some of my gay male colleagues. Context matters too – subjects, age groups, school culture. A PE teacher, for example, may face a very different set of challenges to a science teacher.
All of this shapes who feels able to speak, and when. Which is why inclusion work shouldn’t quietly default to the same people, again and again.
When schools talk about inclusion
If a school claims to value inclusion, that should show up in:
- Clear policies
- Leadership behaviour
- Responses to incidents
- How staff are supported, not showcased
Be wary of environments where inclusion is performative, but protection is absent.
A genuinely inclusive school does not pressure staff into visibility. It ensures that if staff are visible, they are safe.
A final thought
Sexuality at work is not about honesty versus hiding. It’s about context, consent, and control. You are allowed to change your mind. You are allowed to reassess. You are allowed to protect yourself. Professional safety is not selfish.
It is what allows you to keep doing the work well and to keep yourself intact while you do it.
AI Will Shape Education - But Who Gets to Shape AI?
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.
Artificial intelligence is already changing education. From lesson planning and assessment tools to tutoring platforms and student support systems, AI is becoming embedded in how schools operate and how young people learn. The conversation is no longer about whether AI will influence education. It already does.
The real question is this: Who gets to shape the future of AI in education?
Because AI is not neutral. Every AI system reflects the decisions, assumptions, priorities, and perspectives of the people who build it. The data selected. The questions asked. The problems chosen to solve. The voices included – and excluded – from the room.
If we are not intentional, AI risks reinforcing the very inequities education is trying to disrupt. And that matters deeply for schools.
We have already seen examples of AI systems producing biased outcomes:
- Recruitment algorithms favouring certain demographics
- Writing detection tools disproportionately flagging multilingual learners
- Facial recognition systems performing less accurately on darker skin tones
- Predictive technologies reinforcing historical inequalities rather than challenging them
Bias in AI is often not malicious. But it can become invisible, automated, and scaled at a speed education systems have never seen before. That is why educators must be part of shaping AI strategy – not simply responding to it after decisions have already been made.
Teachers, school leaders, inclusion specialists, youth workers, parents, and community voices bring something essential to this conversation: human understanding. Educators understand context: they understand belonging; they understand lived experience; they understand the difference between efficiency and equity.
If AI strategy is shaped only by technologists and commercial interests, we risk creating systems that optimise for speed and standardisation over humanity and inclusion.
But there is another possibility…
AI could become a powerful tool for accessibility, creativity, personalisation, and opportunity – if a broader and more diverse range of people are involved in shaping what responsible AI looks like in practice.
That means we need more diverse voices and thinkers involved: more perspectives; more challenge; more collaboration. We need people from different backgrounds, communities, cultures, identities, and professional experiences helping to shape the future of AI in education. Not because diversity is a “nice to have,” but because it is a safeguard against harm.
At The Belonging Effect, we believe belonging and equity must sit at the centre of conversations about innovation and technology. That is why we are inviting our network to get involved.
Over the coming months, we will be hosting a series of free webinars exploring AI, education, equity, and belonging. These sessions are designed to create accessible spaces for educators and leaders to learn, question, challenge, and contribute to the conversation – regardless of their starting point with AI.
We are also collaborating on a fully funded training programme with our partners at CVP Group for educators and professionals who want to deepen their understanding of AI, inclusive practice, and ethical leadership in this rapidly evolving space.
We are keen to amplify more diverse voices in this conversation as too often, discussions about AI are dominated by a narrow range of perspectives so we want to help change that. Therefore, we are actively looking to publish blogs, reflections, case studies, and opinion pieces from educators, practitioners, community leaders, and changemakers from diverse backgrounds who are thinking critically about AI, inclusion, belonging, and the future of education.
You do not need to be an AI expert. You do not need to work in technology. If you care about equity, representation, belonging, and the future young people are inheriting, your voice matters, because the future of AI in education should not be built for communities without them – it must be built with them.
This moment presents both a challenge and an opportunity as the decisions being made now will shape classrooms, opportunities, and experiences for years to come. We cannot afford for those decisions to be shaped by only a small group of voices. Disrupting bias in AI starts with diversifying who is involved in shaping strategy and that work belongs to all of us.
The future of AI is being written right now. The question is whether education – and the communities most impacted by these technologies – will help write the story.
To join one of our free webinars, apply for the fully funded training programme, or contribute a blog to our growing community of voices, connect with The Belonging Effect today. Our monthly newsletter will be out on Wednesday.
Together, let’s ensure the future of AI in education is inclusive, ethical, and rooted in belonging.
Teaching Students to Read the Room: Communication, Consent, and Cultural Competence
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.
Educators can foster diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging (DEIB). They must teach young learners about the nuances of people from different backgrounds to help raise a population that recognises the distinct body language, tones and facial expressions, which vary from culture to culture. These teaching techniques are among the most effective at empowering everyone with the tools they need to self-advocate and consider diverse student communication skills.
Scenario-Based Learning and Role-Playing
The UK’s increasingly diverse population makes cultural competence and empathy essential lessons from an early age. Students are more likely to deepen their cultural competence if they experience it firsthand. An educator can start by telling learners about differences in nonverbal communication, including that eye contact is impolite in some regions, such as the Caribbean and East Asia.
To make lessons stick, create a situation in which students must interact to act out responses to different patterns, such as navigating personal space or using direct language to make a request. Educators can also create cards to prompt students to simulate a gathering. Transforming classic games, including charades or Pictionary, is another way to get students to interact with other cultural phrases, physical movements and ideas.
However, it is essential to clarify what is and is not appropriate in these contexts, drawing on insights from the cultures being studied to ensure accuracy and sensitivity.
This activity allows students to speak, hear and witness how others would react, especially for people in marginalised communities. Learners may not regularly interact with these individuals, so shaping the environment is crucial to prepare them for that experience. Cross-cultural exposure and communication can positively affect students’ cultural competence.
Film and Media Analysis
Exposing students to diverse media is one of the best ways to make the content entertaining, engaging and stimulating. There is a low barrier to entry in visual media, making the content accessible and safe to consume, which is important when these topics can be intimidating. Also, it stretches students beyond their cultural echo chambers and challenges their stereotypes.
Teachers can source TV shows, movies, news broadcasts and music videos to display narrative in different ways, all focused on considerate communication, teaching consent and overcoming bias. Ask students to make notes about patterns they see between characters, such as:
- Body language
- Amount of physical contact
- Facial expressions
- Amount of transparency and honesty in conversation
- Level of formality
- Vocal tone
Students can also note any reinforced stereotypes they see, and educators can take them through exercises to dispel and unpack them. It will push learners to unravel their opinions about harmful and inaccurate stereotypes or generalisations in the safe, low-stakes format of media commentary.
Develop a “Reading the Room” Log
Inspire students to think critically about their cross-cultural interactions by recording them in a journal. This is a safe, nonjudgmental place for them to reflect on classroom exercises and real-world conversations. They can ask questions, such as “Did I remember to ask consent before going in for a friendly hug?” or “Did my excited curiosity and frequent questions make them uncomfortable?”
These exercises compel students to practice self-awareness and also celebrate wins when they learn something about another culture and successfully implement those communication skills in real life. The journals are records of every student’s growth as they learn how to interpret nonverbal cues and find reasons to advocate for themselves.
Many educators have used the Curiosity, Attentiveness, Respect and Responsiveness, and Embodiment (CARE) model for authentic cultural lessons, and reflective journaling is one of the best ways to produce cultural humility and mindfulness about DEIB topics. If students are struggling to think about what to write, here are some prompts to get them started:
- Describe a time when someone’s tone did not match their body language.
- Write about a time you reacted to a surprise. If you surprised someone else with a different personality and culture with the same thing, do you think you would get the same reaction?
- Reflect on the cultural stereotypes we discussed in class today and why it is important to overcome them.
- Describe a behaviour that is normal to you and your family, such as giving handshakes to visitors. Research how other cultures would view this practise.
Cultivating Empathy and Agency in Student Communication Skills
Everyone can read the room, no matter who is in there. Teaching consent, cultural sensitivity and intersectional thinking is a nonnegotiable skill in the modern era. These techniques make nebulous concepts tangible for learners of all ages. Eventually, these intentional lessons will craft a respectful society where empathetic communication and consent always come first.
Hidden neurodivergence in Headteachers: The cost of coping in school leadership
Written by Nadia Hewstone
Nadia is a certified executive school leadership coach. She left headship to start Destino Coaching and now supports school leaders with their own development as well as development of their teams.
I have worked with many neurodivergent headteachers and there are enough of us that it matters. It seems obvious to me that naming this would be a good place to start when exploring how we create cultures of true belonging in schools
Leadership in schools is still too often framed through a narrow set of criteria of what competence should look like. Headteachers are expected to be calm but not intense, visionary but not unconventional, relational but not emotionally honest, organised but without visible effort, resilient but never overwhelmed. It’s unrealistic if we are to make the role sustainable for anyone and impossible for colleagues who are neurodivergent.
For those of us whose minds work differently, leadership can become a lifelong performance of translating ourselves into something more acceptable. That performance has a cost.
There are many headteachers in schools who appear highly capable while privately they are running on fumes. I know this as I have coached quite a few headteacher who experience this. Headteachers can hold ten competing priorities in their mind at once, solve three crises before lunch and make brave decisions under pressure and we praise them for it (Isn’t that what we mean by ‘exceptional leader’?).
But what is less visible is the rebound. By this I mean the exhaustion after masking all day and the sleeplessness after carrying everyone else’s needs. The mental load of the constant self-monitoring is huge for neurodivergent headteachers and many also experience shame and emotional crashes in private. They become experts in coping so early and so well that no one notices they are coping at all.
Education rewards outputs. If deadlines are met, assemblies delivered, budgets balanced, decisions made and outcomes improved, few people ask what it took internally.
Working as a coach, together with my own experience, has taught me that ‘high functioning’ can simply mean functioning through adrenaline or anxiety while sacrificing health, relationships and rest. Some leaders build entire careers on emergency energy because praise becomes part of the trap.
Many traits associated with neurodivergence can be powerful assets in headship. To name a few:
- pattern recognition
- strategic thinking
- creativity under constraint
- moral clarity
- urgency and momentum
- hyperfocus in crisis
- deep empathy
- innovation
- willingness to challenge broken systems
- seeing what others overlook
Schools often need exactly these qualities in their leaders. Unfortunately, organisations often admire what leaders achieve but judge or try to correct the traits or ways of working that made those achievements possible.
I experienced this constantly as a headteacher. I was labelled ‘full on’, ‘intense’, ‘marmite’ and (a personal favourite) ‘too passionate’ by my colleagues. I was advised by my seniors to ‘tone myself down’ in meetings so that others would find me ‘less intimidating’.
I hear similar stories now in coaching conversations and often wonder what this says about our proximity to true inclusion in education.
For some of us, diagnosis arrives late. After years of wondering why things that looked easy for others felt disproportionately hard. Years spent overcompensating and assuming a personal flaw where there was, in fact, a different operating system.
My experience is that diagnosis brings relief, but also grief. Grief for the years spent mislabelled, for the self-criticism and for how many people benefited from my coping while my family and I paid for it privately.
I’m currently in the messy middle that is titration on stimulant medication. Titration can be challenging because finding the right dose often involves trial and error, and each adjustment takes time before you know whether it is helping. I’ve been dealing with side effects such as appetite loss, mood swings (my family are very patient with my impatience and short-tempered outbursts), anxiety and headaches. It is beginning to settle but I can see why many people give up part way through. I have wondered, more than once, if titration would be possible for a serving headteacher.
For some neurodivergent leaders, diagnosis marks a shift in relationships too. Our colleagues (and sometimes our friends and family) only knew the endlessly available version of us and become less comfortable with the updated version that starts to emerge. More brutally put, some people were more comfortable while our distress remained invisible.
When you begin to ask for clarity, rest, support, flexibility or space, you may be told you have changed. And in some ways, you have. All of this can be very confusing and sad.
If education wants sustainable leadership, we need to widen our understanding of professionalism and wonder what it might look like to start recognising neurodivergence in senior leadership, not just pupils?
This starts with ending the glamorisation of overwork and a shift towards valuing different communication styles. For colleagues with ADHD, we must reduce unnecessary bureaucracy that drains executive function. For autistic colleagues, we need greater understanding that consistency can look different across nervous systems. For all headteachers, we must prioritise recovery, not just performance.
This requires governors and trusts to commit to inclusive leadership cultures, because we cannot preach inclusion for children while punishing it in our adults.
I drafted this poem about my difference and my friend and colleague, Tessa encouraged me to share it with you, which is where the inspiration for this article started. So here it is:
A Different Current
I was not made defective,
just distinct.
The fault is not within my mind,
but in a world that asks
every mind to fit the mould.
A star is not inappropriate
for shining brightly.
My thoughts move like rivers,
wild, winding, bright,
carrying storms and clarity
in the same breath.
I am not broken
for blooming in my own season,
I am not less
for feelings bigger
and bolder
than you understand.
Let the world grow wider.
Let it make room
for minds that leap,
wander, wonder
and expand into our own light.
I am still here,
still learning, still becoming,
still wholly my own.
Meet me gently,
join me if you dare.
To the Headteacher reading this at 11:47pm. The one with the tabs open, replaying a meeting from earlier and wondering why everything feels harder than it seems to for everyone else.
I want to tell you that I see you carrying brilliance and fatigue in equal measure. You are not failing because leadership feels costly. You have simply been succeeding in an environment that charges you double.
There are headteachers whose schools have been held together by minds that do not fit the mould. The next chapter of school leadership should not require those minds to break themselves in order to belong anymore. We were not meant to all be the same and so perhaps the bravest leadership of all is no longer pretending otherwise.
If we want schools that recognise and cater for difference rather than schools that try to ‘manage’ inclusion, then we need spaces to think differently together. We need to find ways to sustain rather than deplete our headteachers.
That is why this June we are gathering leaders, educators and changemakers for Destino Live: Creating Inclusive Change, our first ever Destino conference. We will help you formulate a plan for building a genuinely inclusive culture in your school. We are not interested in inclusion slogans; we want to talk about inclusion as practice and courageous change.
I believe that the future of education cannot be built on burnout, masking and outdated definitions of professionalism. People willing to widen the path have to drive the change that is needed.
Breaking Barriers Together: How Teachers Can Use New FA & Barclays Resources to Support Girls’ Confidence and Inclusion in Sport
Written by Sue Day
Sue Day MBE, Director of Women’s Football, the FA.
Despite huge progress in women and girls’ football over the past few years, too many girls still face invisible, but very real, barriers to taking part. Confidence, body image, misogyny, exclusion by boys, and gender stereotypes continue to shape girls’ experiences long before they reach the pitch.
That’s why The FA and Barclays, have launched Made for This Game: Breaking Barriers – a new suite of free, curriculum-linked educational resources designed specifically for primary and secondary schools. The aim is simple but urgent: to help teachers and pupils unpack the societal pressures that hold girls back, and to build environments where every young person feels they belong.
Why this matters for educators
Research continues to paint a stark picture:
- Girls are 3.4 times more likely than boys to lack confidence in physical activity.
- They are more than twice as likely to feel less resilient.
- 71% of primary teachers say girls are held back by feeling excluded by boys.
- By secondary school, body confidence and self-consciousness become the biggest barriers.
What the new resources offer
The Breaking Barriers resources are designed not only to empower girls, but to engage all pupils in understanding bias, stereotypes and inclusion.
- Primary resources (Ages 5-11): Focused on misogyny, inclusion and challenging gender stereotypes.
- Secondary resources (Ages 11-16): Addressing more complex barriers, specifically body confidence and mental wellbeing, which are primary drivers for girls dropping out of sport during teenage years.
Central to the content are videos featuring CBBC and Strictly star Molly Rainford, who joins pupils in honest, age-appropriate conversations.
Support for teachers, too
A dedicated visual podcast for teachers also helps guide these conversations. Hosted by comedian and women’s football fan Maisie Adam, the episode brings together Lioness legend Rachel Brown-Finnis and Educating Yorkshire’s Matthew Burton to explore the wider societal challenges young people face and how teachers and adults can actively help by addressing these barriers to participation head on.
How you can get involved
These resources are free, ready to use, and flexible enough to fit into PSHE, assemblies, tutor time or PE.
Explore & download here: https://bit.ly/3NNvhIs