Identity

Celebrating World Book Day: Representation in the Library Matters - for students and for the staff.

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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.

Each March the Belonging Effect holds our annual virtual World Book Day event to celebrate the educators in our diverse network who are published authors. 

Our Why?

  • As a Post-Colonial Literature graduate, as a former English teacher, and as an avid reader, Hannah seeks out representative authors and texts throughout the year to spotlight.
  • As the Founder of the Belonging Effect, she is a champion of why representation matters and strives to amplify diverse voices. 
  • As a published author and co-editor of a book, she is keen to disrupt educational voices including who gets published and who gets platformed.

Our How?

  • We host an annual virtual livestream – the authors join me in the Streamyard studio and you watch it on Youtube. The recording then goes on our website.
  • We amplify the author, their voice and their book.
  • The audience gets to share feedback and ask questions about how they got started, how they found a publisher and the challenges they faced in the writing process. 

Our What?

  • We hear about their latest book, what they wrote, who they wrote it for and how they got it published. 
  • You get inspired to put pen to paper as a blogger or as an author.  

You can catch up on all of our WBD events archive from 2021-2026 HERE. 

So who has joined us from our network at our previous events and which books have we explored? 

Our 2021 author line-up: 

You can also buy most of the books here on our WBD 2021 Bookshop shelf.  

Our 2022 author line-up: 

You can also buy most of the books here on our WBD 2022 Bookshop shelf.  

Our 2023 author line-up: 

You can also buy most of the books here on our WBD 2023 Bookshop shelf. 

Our 2024 author line-up: 

You can also buy most of the books here on our WBD 2024 Bookshop shelf. 

Our 2025 author line-up: 

You can also buy most of the books here on our WBD 2025 Bookshop shelf. 

Our 2026 author line-up: 

You can also buy most of the books here on our WBD 2026 Bookshop shelf. 

We are now planning ahead for our next event. You can join us on March 4th 2027 for our next virtual WBD event by booking a free place here.

Our 2027 author line-up:

You can also buy most of the books here on our WBD 2027 Bookshop shelf.  

We hope to see you there! 

Do get in touch if you are from our network, have written a book or have a book in the pipeline. We would love to get you on a future event line up. Equally if you want to put pen to paper and start writing we have our blog and are always looking for new voices to amplify there too.

by Hannah Wilson

A better historical narrative leads to a sense of belonging

Meena Wood portrait

Written by Meena Wood

Meena Kumari Wood is a former HMI (Ofsted), LA Adviser, FE College Principal and Principal of a Secondary Academy, is now a consultant, trainer and leadership coach across the British and International Education sectors.

Original article published in Teach Secondary – Issue 15.6  September 2026 

The government’s recent curriculum review presents a golden opportunity for teachers to tackle some pernicious myths while highlighting the value of active citizenship, writes Meena Wood…“The teaching of history through sourced evidence shouldn’t amount to a binary choice of ‘good versus evil’”.

Some 40% of children sitting in classrooms in the UK are from heritages other than White British. We should be empowering our young people to be truly proud of their individual and collective heritages, and the contributions they make to society.

But if children can’t identify themselves within the historical narratives they’re given, how can we hope to create a diverse and cohesive society?

Lasting legacies

Up to now, generations of young people have been taught that Britain was an intrinsic force for good against Nazi tyranny, and ‘saved the world’ in both World Wars. But how many have also learnt that Churchill’s victory also contributed to the committing of atrocities across the Indian Empire? 

As Shashi Tharoor observed in his 2017 book, Inglorious Empire, the great Bengal famine of 1943 resulted in the deaths of millions, as rice was exported to feed the Empire’s troops. Churchill, however, attributed the famine to the fact that Indians were “Breeding like rabbits”. 

While learning about the history of the British Empire, are students being made aware of the lasting legacies of those employed by the East India Company? Of how certain employees ‘acquired’ riches and subsequently invested them in some of Britain’s finest buildings, and even the de facto ‘purchase’ of a Parliamentary seat? Thomas Pitt, for one, famously founded a Prime Ministerial dynasty (William Pitt, followed by his son) via the purchase of a diamond whilst he was Governor of India. 

No statutory requirement to teach British Imperial history currently exists within the National Curriculum. When selecting their GCSE syllabi, schools may therefore be reluctant to opt for the relatively new ‘Migration’ option, due to the complex perspectives involved and relative scarcity of supporting resources. 

A binary narrative

Yet the fact remains that the teaching of history really should present a balanced view of colonisation, the British Empire and their impact on peoples from Africa, Asia and Ireland. As Wendy Williams noted in her 2018 review of The Windrush scandal, it was “In part able to happen because of the public’s and officials’ poor understanding of Britain’s colonial history, the history of inward and outward migration, and the history of black Britons.” (see tinyurl.com/ts156-H1).

We can also look to the entrenched binary narrative that surrounds the enslaving of Black Africans by Whites, when the reality was more complex and nuanced. My own birthplace of Zanzibar became (in)famous for its clove plantations, and slavery practised there from the 17th to the 20th century. There are records of Africans sold into chattel by their own tribal chiefs to Arab Traders, for whom Zanzibar served as a key East African trading hub. Slaves were held at Prison Island, worked on plantations there or were transported to other destinations. 

The teaching of history through sourced evidence shouldn’t amount to a binary choice of ‘good versus evil’, if only because the selection of that ‘sourced evidence’ will decide the narrative our students end up learning. The presence of different perspectives has to be a feature of history. Otherwise, immutable, unforgiving and often incomplete historical interpretations can persist as intergenerational legacies. 

A sense of belonging

More broadly, our children need to see for themselves how our collective history is a multi-faceted prism that continues to have considerable influence over how we live our lives today. 

Citizenship, history and geography lessons can and should enable students to learn about the historical unity of European nations when it came to fighting tyranny and fascism alongside the ANZAC, African and Asian troops, the factors that eventually led to the establishment of the EU and the continuing relevance of those factors to today’s ongoing debates over Brexit and migration, among many other issues.

The citizenship curriculum should reference why voting is of paramount importance within a democracy, because it’s only through exploring their identities and communities that children can develop a genuine sense of belonging, pride and active citizenship that will see them supporting efforts towards equality and cohesion. 

Perpetuating a polarised view of British history risks creating schisms in our society and a rise in xenophobia towards migrants. These are counter to young people developing global citizenship. The relevance of migration to children’s lives today is perhaps more tangible now than it ever has been, and was especially visible during the 2026 World Cup – a football tournament in which 80% of the England team (and its three highest-scoring players) were of Black or dual heritage.

Approaches that resonate

Young people will further benefit from acquiring the critical literacy and thinking skills needed to thoughtfully question what they see and read, and develop the curiosity to explore topics more deeply. 

The Finnish education model, in which critical thinking is embedded across the curriculum, encourages students to hone their research skills, weigh up evidence, understand biases, navigate persuasive arguments and substantiate their conclusions. Only as critical readers will British children be able to understand for themselves the true, multi-faceted legacy of the British Empire when presented with source evidence. 

Adopting fresh approaches to the teaching of certain subjects may also simply resonate with children in a more positive way. For instance, learning that the Moghul Empire – and the economic expansion it enabled – lasted in India for 330 years until its dissolution in 1857 by Queen Victoria raises some interesting questions. 

Katie Llewellyn is a lead practitioner in Humanities and Social Sciences at Hatch End High School in Harrow. In her telling argument, taking a ‘revisionist view’ when tackling sensitive topics could involve : “Here’s how a topic has been taught. Does this meet current expectations? Is the 1857 ‘Indian Mutiny’ an uprising against political and economic oppression, or even a War of Independence?  

“Students love to argue their perspective and reach their own conclusions. Teaching history in this way will give rise to a generation of citizens who think for themselves.”

Diverse histories

As educators, we now face the challenge – and opportunity – of radically rethinking our curriculum and what it teaches. The Historical Association, via its work on this year’s South Asian Heritage Month and other such initiatives, has been leading on the history curriculum review, in a way that could eventually see South Asian history accorded equivalent space within the curriculum as African history, Black slavery and Windrush.

As Louisa Dunn and Hannah Cushion of Kensington Palace’s Schools Team point out, “Including the inspiring stories of the Last Princesses of Punjab in the curriculum offers a way into Empire, migration, activism and resistance. As suffragists, their voices are both human and relatable and signpost their important contributions to British society.”

At a more local level, the ‘Hidden Heritages: One School, Many Stories’ initiative aims to assemble an intergenerational oral history project. Students taking part in the project do so as active historians and curators of the South Asian Cambridgeshire community, preserving local histories and heritages, while simultaneously deepening their understanding of British history.

There is also The British Library’s digital ‘South Asians in Britain, 1830s to present’ showcase, which highlights migrants’ contributions to the country over a span of almost 200 years. These diverse histories include the election of the pioneering political leader Dadabhai Naoroji as MP for Finsbury Central in 1892, as well as the life of Noor Inayat Khan – a British-Indian spy during WWII, who died in Dachau concentration camp for refusing to give up her secrets. South Asian Britain: Connecting Histories, a free web resource 

The British Library’s Discovering Historical Sources resource additionally gives teachers and students access to a range of expert articles, activities and notes to support the study of migration and empire in English, citizenship, history, politics and sociology lessons.

We should enable all of our children to become more knowledgeable citizens, pursue opportunities to learn about the various facets of their own heritage, and ultimately join the dots from yesteryear to the present day – but we’ll only see those efforts have a lasting impact, when reflected through a balanced and nuanced curriculum.

by Hannah Wilson

Building Trust, Cultivating Belonging: What We Have Learned from Working with Our GRT Community

Matthew Parker portrait

Written by Matthew Parker

Matthew Parker is Head of School at Wolvey CoE VC Primary School, part of the Ignite Federation. The school won the B.D.S.C (Black and Diverse Safeguarding committee) Equity and Inclusion organisation of the year in 2026.

At Wolvey CofE Primary School, we are incredibly proud of our school and the unique community we serve. Around 35% of our pupils come from our Traveller community, alongside a significant Nepalese Gurkha community. This cultural richness is an important part of who we are as a school.

Our vision is simple: “Among us, you are equal.” For us, those words cannot simply sit on a website, a wall or within a school improvement plan. They need to be experienced by the children and families who walk through our doors every day.

Our work with our Gypsy, Roma and Traveller (GRT) community has developed over many years. We certainly would not claim to have all the answers. What we have learned, however, is that meaningful inclusion begins with relationships.

Trust comes before engagement

Schools often talk about wanting families to engage more closely with education. But before asking why a family is not engaging with us, perhaps we need to ask a different question: What have we done to earn their trust?

We recognise that traditional educational settings have not always served GRT children and families well. Distrust does not disappear because a school says that its doors are open. Trust has to be built.

It grows through consistency, listening, compassion and doing what we say we will do. It grows when families know they will be treated with dignity. It grows when we take time to understand communities rather than expecting communities to understand and adapt to us.

Over time, our relationships with our GRT families have become central to the culture of Wolvey. Families who may previously have felt disconnected from education now engage actively with school life. Attendance has improved and children increasingly experience school as somewhere they feel safe, valued and able to succeed.

Representation matters

Belonging is also about being able to see yourself within the culture of your school.

Our celebration of GRT History Month has therefore become an important part of our work. We have collaborated with local artists, community representatives, Warwickshire County Council and other schools to create meaningful opportunities for children to explore and celebrate GRT culture and identity.

One of these projects culminated in a district-wide celebration at Warwickshire Police Headquarters, bringing together children, families, school leaders, police representatives and members of the wider community.

Another has left a permanent legacy within our school. We commissioned a nationally recognised GRT artist to work alongside our children to create a bespoke wolf sculpture representing our school values. The children were involved in the creative process and were able to share their stories, identities and ideas. The finished sculpture represents courage, belonging, kindness and equality.

For our GRT children, it also says something important: You are visible here. Your culture is valued here. You are part of the story of this school.

Belonging should not require assimilation

Perhaps one of the most important lessons we have learned is that inclusion should not require children to leave parts of themselves at the school gate. We want our GRT children to be ambitious. We want them to attend school, engage with learning and experience educational success. We hold high expectations for them because we believe deeply in their potential. But those aspirations should never require them to become less of who they are.

Our children should not need to change their identity in order to succeed within education. Instead, we need to be willing to ask how education can evolve to include them more successfully. That distinction matters.

Schools can become trusted community anchors

We have also learned that our responsibility does not necessarily end at the classroom door. Some of the families within our community experience barriers when accessing healthcare and other public services. Because relationships with school are strong, we have been able to use that trust to help families connect with wider support.

We have worked alongside NHS teams, local doctors and healthcare providers to improve access to vaccinations and preventative healthcare. We also host a monthly pop-up baby surgery within our community, providing families with access to support in a familiar and trusted environment. Similarly, we have worked proactively with local police teams to strengthen relationships with our GRT community.

Where there has historically been distrust or misunderstanding between families and agencies, schools can play an important role in building bridges. This requires honest conversations, advocacy and a willingness to challenge prejudice when we encounter it.

Sometimes inclusion means welcoming. Sometimes it means listening. And sometimes it means being prepared to stand alongside a community and challenge discrimination.

Small changes can have a significant impact

Our work has also given us opportunities to contribute to conversations beyond Wolvey. We worked directly with the Department for Education to support the creation of a film promoting “Best Start in Life” opportunities for GRT families. Its message encouraged families to “take a leap of faith” with education, while also challenging schools to consider the intentional changes they can make to improve inclusion and engagement.

I have also had opportunities to share our learning through GRT conferences and leadership events. I return repeatedly to the same message – there is no single initiative that creates belonging – it is built through the accumulation of intentional actions, relationships and decisions.

From intention to impact

We are proud that this work was recently recognised nationally when Wolvey CofE Primary School was named Equity and Inclusion Organisation of the Year 2026 at the Black and Diverse Safeguarding Awards. It was an incredibly proud moment for our whole school community, but the award matters because of what sits behind it.

During our 2023 Ofsted inspection, inspectors recognised the behaviour, attitudes and engagement of our pupils. Our GRT children enjoy learning, work hard and participate enthusiastically across school life.

For me, those outcomes are connected to something much deeper: children engage when they feel safe; families work with schools when they experience trust; children are more able to flourish when they know that who they are is not merely tolerated, but recognised and valued.

Our experience at Wolvey has taught us that inclusion cannot be performative or temporary. It needs to be sustained, relational and embedded within the everyday culture of a school.

What might other schools consider?

Every school and every community is different. Our approach cannot simply be lifted from Wolvey and replicated somewhere else.

But there are questions that I believe all school leaders can ask:

  • How well do we really know our GRT families and communities?
  • Have we taken time to listen before deciding what they need?
  • What might their previous experiences of education have taught them about schools?
  • Where do GRT children see their culture, history and identity reflected within our school?
  • Are our expectations high without requiring assimilation?
  • How are we building relationships with parents and carers beyond moments of difficulty?
  • Could our school act as a bridge between families and other services?
  • Are we prepared to challenge prejudice and discrimination when we encounter it?
  • Most importantly, how do we know whether our GRT children and families actually experience a sense of belonging?

Our work continues to evolve. We continue to listen, learn and adapt. But one thing has become increasingly clear to me – if we want families to take a leap of faith with education, schools need to be prepared to take a leap of faith too.

We need to move beyond expecting communities to fit into systems that were not necessarily designed with them in mind. We need to build relationships based on dignity, curiosity and trust because our children should never have to choose between their identity and their education. They deserve both. And they deserve schools in which they know, without question: among us, you are equal.

by Hannah Wilson

Honouring our Communities

Wayne Reid portrait

Written by Wayne Reid

Professional Officer & Social Worker

Black History Month invites us to pause, remember, acknowledge and celebrate.  However, I would like to see Black history and the reflections it invites being recognised routinely – all year round.

At its simplest, I see ‘community’ as people connected by location, common interests, characteristics or social identity.  Although, ‘community’ is much more than just geography or categorisation.  It’s about relationships, experiences, knowledge, stories and values that exist between people – providing belonging, identity, ‘tough love’, support and opportunity.  Communities have the potential to shape us in ways we don’t always realise until much later in life.

One person from my own professional community who has had a particularly significant influence on my life was a previous manager at the National Probation Service.  I refer to him in OUTLANDERS: Hidden Narratives from Social Workers of Colour (in the chapter ‘Ambition Navigation’), because he gave me my first proper frontline role and remains in my orbit.

That opportunity mattered.

Sometimes one person’s recognition of potential can change the direction of a career.  A manager can open a door, a colleague can build confidence and a schoolteacher can shape aspirations.  As a child, a schoolteacher told me that Black people cannot swim…  A stereotype perpetuated by the historic lack of visibility of Black swimmers.

Representation matters – but on its own it’s not enough.  People need authenticity, diverse perspectives and forums to articulate their experiences, share their knowledge and demonstrate their expertise.  That understanding has significantly influenced my approach to care and leadership.

My own cultural insights have taught me the importance of valuing the diversity within communities, which is sometimes overlooked in favour of assuming cultural homogeneity.  We need to move beyond simplistic assumptions about race, culture and identity and appreciate the shared humanity that exists both within and between cultures.  This is partly why I founded the Black & Ethnic Minority Professionals Symposium (BPS) and created the Synergy Sessions.

This is also where Shades of Bias (SoB) relates to the idea of community.  SoB is a reflective case-study framework for documenting, analysing and addressing discrimination, oppression and racism.  At its heart, is an invitation to pause, examine what has happened, consider our own perspectives and think about what needs to happen next.  Communities don’t exist outside the influence of bias. They are shaped by the assumptions, attitudes and behaviours of the people within them.

We all have a unique lens through which we see the world.  

Therefore, I would advise anyone starting out in social work to be self-aware: anticipate that others may label, stereotype and categorise you – while recognising your own inescapable racialised lens.  Self-awareness isn’t about pretending that we are neutral or colourblind observers.  Our experiences, identities, upbringings and environments influence how we interpret people and situations.

Reflective practice also means being prepared to ask questions (which may be uncomfortable) – not only of ourselves, but of the people, environments and systems around us.  Such questions include:

  • What might my own racial lens be obstructing me from seeing?
  • Whose perspective, experience or voice is missing?
  • Would the same situation be interpreted, scrutinised or responded to in the same way for different racialised groups?

How can we evidence that our policies, decision-making and organisational practices are effective, equitable and inclusive?  This question connects directly to the Social Care Workforce Race Equality Standard (SC-WRES), which uses evidence to identify racial inequalities, develop action plans and drive continuous organisational improvement.  Its latest findings show that staff from minoritised ethnic backgrounds are 44% less likely to be appointed from shortlist and 50% more likely to face formal disciplinary action, while remaining underrepresented in senior management.

That tells us something important: reflection cannot stop at the individual.  We need to examine cultures, structures, policies and decision-making, asking not only “What did I do?” but “What is happening here?  Why?  Who is affected?  What can we do differently?”

The recent statement from the BPS following the tragic death of Professor Jason Arday reinforces this principle.  The statement calls for reflection on professional accountability, institutional decision-making, racialised scrutiny, media representation and public commentary, while emphasising the importance of fairness, proportionality, humanity and dignity.

That message connects powerfully with SoB.  We can hold people and institutions accountable, while still recognising their humanity; challenge racism while remaining capable of honest conversations about professional standards and scrutinise institutions while appreciating the complexity of individual circumstances.  We can ask difficult questions without losing our compassion.  Reflection should not be mistaken for an absence of accountability.  It should create the conditions for accountability that is thoughtful, proportionate and humane.

This brings me back to Black History Month.  Perhaps controversially, I don’t think Black history, culture and achievement should be confined to October.  Black history should be acknowledged, taught and celebrated all year round.  It should not be reduced predominantly to colonialism, slavery and oppression.  Those histories must be understood, but they are not the entirety of Black history.  We also need to hear about the stories of innovation, scholarship, creativity, leadership, entrepreneurship, community building, scientific achievement and cultural influence.  We also need the countless stories of ordinary people whose contributions have profoundly shaped their families, communities and descendants.  If a broad and representative Black history is integrated throughout all stages of education, it becomes part of the story – rather than tokenistic or an afterthought.

Honouring our communities means celebrating the people who opened doors for us, stories that shaped us and the experiences that challenge us to think differently.  Communities are not static.  They evolve through relationships, disagreements, learning and collective action.  Also, importantly, it means understanding our own responsibility within them.

Black History Month can provide a valuable moment of focus, but the greater challenge is what happens after October.  

Do we revert back to “all lives matter”?  

Or does our learning influence how we see, listen, lead and act?

For me, genuine recognition isn’t a month.  It’s a mindset.

It’s about creating communities and spaces where people are not simply represented, but heard.  Not simply included, but uplifted.  Not simply present, but able to influence the environments we live and work in.

That is how we honour our communities – by remembering our histories (good, bad and ugly), acknowledging our shared humanity, learning from past experiences and helping shape a future in which every community can be seen, heard and valued.

“One world, one race… the human race!”

Have you used Shades of Bias?  

Please share your experiences by completing the SoB survey.

by Hannah Wilson

Supporting teachers with ADHD

Susi Waters portrait

Written by Susi Waters

Susi Waters, Operations Manager at Norfolk Research School; the Research Schools Network (RSN) Regional EDI Link (East of England and East Midlands); and Operations Manager and ITT Strategic Lead at the Julian Teaching School Hub.

ADHD, or Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, is a neurodevelopmental disorder that affects both children and adults.  The NHS estimates that, as of August 2025, 2.5m people in England have ADHD, with 1.76m of those being adults. ADHD is equally common across genders; however women and girls often go un- or mis-diagnosed due to a difference in the way ADHD tends to present in them, and late diagnosis in adulthood is not uncommon.

As teaching is a predominantly female profession (McShane and Sheppard, 2024), it is therefore unsurprising that a significant number of teachers may be recently diagnosed with ADHD and would like advice on how to manage it in the workplace.

ACAS tells us that being neurodivergent, including ADHD, often amounts to a disability under the Equality Act (2010), and therefore employers are obliged to make reasonable adjustments to remove or reduce the disadvantage faced by these individuals related to their neurodivergence. Schools are generally very happy to do this – but if you’re newly diagnosed and/or an early career teacher, how do you know what to ask for?

Signs and symptoms of ADHD can include:

  • Inattention
  • Restlessness
  • Impulsivity
  • Emotional dysregulation
  • Hyperfocus
  • Executive dysfunction
  • Motivational deficits (most often in children).

In teachers, having ADHD means that the daily pressures and challenges of teaching are amplified. Teachers with ADHD may struggle with organisation, time management, maintaining focus, and workload management. This can look like a teacher being easily distracted in lessons, or struggling to stay on track. Lesson planning and marking may take significantly longer than for neurotypical teachers. From NeuroLaunch: “Emotional regulation and impulse control also play a crucial role in the classroom. Teachers with ADHD may find it challenging to manage their reactions to disruptive behaviour or unexpected situations. The impulsivity associated with ADHD can sometimes lead to hasty decisions or comments that may require damage control later.”  

None of this means that people with ADHD are unsuited to teaching; in fact, the variety inherent in teaching and the constant interpersonal interactions make it particularly attractive to some. Hyperfocus is an amazing tool for creative lesson planning, and thinking divergently pushes innovation in the classroom. ADHD gives you amazing empathy to ‘invisible’ needs such as stimming or rejection sensitivity and neurodivergent staff are more likely to spot masking proxies for learning as well as being better able to support parents to advocate for their neurodivergent children.  The challenge is to harness your ADHD and make it work for you.

Before thinking about what reasonable adjustments would help, it’s worth ensuring that you’re setting yourself up for success: seeking appropriate medical and therapeutic care, practicing mindfulness or meditation, and regular exercise can all help manage symptoms. Learning to recognise triggers is also important for emotional regulation. You know yourself best, so find what works for you.

Embrace technology! The ADHD Workbook has a great list of useful tools, including time management apps, speech-to-text transcription, and digital calendars. Task management platforms such as Trello can also help in breaking down large or complex tasks into manageable chunks. NeuroLaunch also lists some “compensation strategies” such as sticking to a structured routine and using visual aids and reminders.

So let’s talk reasonable adjustments. Charlotte Forbes on LinkedIn has some great suggestions: 

  • Flexible working. Yes, of course, this is more difficult for teachers than for many other sectors, but flexible working can include taking PPA time at home for fewer distractions, or being given longer lead-in times for deadlines with regular reminders scheduled in.
  • Everything in writing! Written instructions, meeting agendas, conversations followed up via email and so on can really help.
  • Regular check ins – especially if you’re an ECT. This might look like a little extra mentor time, or shorter but more frequent catch ups with your Head of Department.
  • Being told about changes before they happen and being given context for impromptu meetings.
  • Clear lines of communication, whether email, Teams chat or similar, and no dropping into lessons with a quick verbal message.
  • Access to HR for policies on sickness and stress-related sick days, and extra support with conflict.
  • Access to quiet spaces, and noise-cancelling headphones.

If you’re attending CPD or training, it may help you to let the trainer or facilitator know how to can make sure you have everything you need to access the learning. This might include:

  • Sending you resources in advance.
  • Making a note not to cold call you.
  • If there is silent working at any point, using noise cancelling headphones.
  • Regular wandering-around breaks.

ADHD UK has a teachers group, you can join here.

The Julian Teaching School Hub has a Wellbeing page, where you can access more support and resources.

by Hannah Wilson

Herstory in Leadership

Kiran Satti portrait

Written by Kiran Satti

Deputy Principal and National Curriculum Lead for Early Reading

This blog was previously published by Oasis Community Learning.  

It has now been just over two years since I joined Oasis Community Learning, and I can say with certainty that I am not the same person I was when I arrived. When I first found Oasis, I was broken – I am still not sure how I found the strength to go through the interview process but reading through the blog I was asked to write for Oasis for HerStory month, I know how now. I was broken. Yet, time and time again, I understand growth comes through pain, reflection, discomfort and the difficult work of choosing to remain true to yourself. 

One thing I know to be true as a woman from a global majority background, is that very little is ever simple. I was asked to write a version of my Oasis blog a few months ago for Belonging Effect, but I believe everything happens when it’s meant to. This summer has been another sh**show…  Reflecting on the death of Jason Arday has made me question the idea of representation and what exactly is the purpose of it? When you’re representative of something different to the status quo, why is your life, your human life the thing that is in the balance? 

We’re coming to the end of the summer and I’ve already seen too many reports about Meghan and Harry returning to the UK – and all I can see is a certain demographic of people ready and waiting with their pitchforks. What concerns and saddens me the most is whether Meghan will survive this time… have any lessons been learnt? 

The fact is when we see a reimagined representation of a black man or a reimagined face of feminism, who is truly an intersectional representation of feminism… who does this trigger hate in? Why? Are you racist? Are you sexist? Are you projecting? In order for lessons to be learnt, we need to look inwards. Those that are reading this already do – you wouldn’t be in this space reading this otherwise. We know what the deep work is – many of us have had to dig deep to survive and at times dare to thrive. 

If we base our assertions on the superficial, if I took the racism I have experienced at face value I would have become bitter. If I took the sexism and misogyny at face value, I would’ve lost my self respect and self worth… my peace of mind is what matters – more than anything. 

Peace is a luxury in life. Peace of mind is not hard to come by when you are protected by privilege; when you do not fear for your life because of who you are; when you do not have to fight to be seen or heard as fully human; when you do not have to constantly prove yourself before you are allowed to belong.

Some don’t want you to belong – I have experienced this first hand. And when they’re seeing you blinded their privilege, being careless with your humanity isn’t something they feel guilty for. They have the privilege of not having to see you as a human – you are  a threat to their status quo, to their version of success – how dare you arrive in all your worth and disrupt – unintentionally… when we’re living our values, you will disrupt those that aren’t living through values or ethics – and you highlight that fact. 

Those who have witnessed my growth through education have often reminded me of my resilience, my determination and my kindness. Looking back, I realise I have always been a trauma-informed and trauma-responsive educator, because my own experiences have shaped how I see the world: its people, its systems and its levers of power. My traumas have not made me weaker. They have sharpened my ability to notice, to listen and to recognise humanity in others – and know what feel when I am not safe.

One pattern I have encountered, particularly when moving into leadership, is projection. At times, it can feel dehumanising: as though another person’s fear, insecurity or need for control is placed onto you until you begin to question yourself. Sometimes the intention seems to be to undermine you, to position you as difficult, or to push you out before you have had the chance to grow into your full potential – all while stifling you, tripping you up, keeping your head under water until you stop kicking… if you know, you know these feelings. 

Representation matters deeply, but representation without commitment to the human being can become another kind of harm. The lesson I am taking from Jason Arday’s story is that systems rooted in patriarchy and inequality rarely make space willingly. Jason Arday was a beautiful, gifted black man – he smashed every single stereotype possible in the face of masculinity and academia. 

The truth is Empowered women are not always made to feel safe; global majority women are not always truly represented; too often, they are presented as symbols while their voices, experiences and expertise are not fully valued, or at best used to further enable the status quo covering up the inequity it’s still feeding. That is why so many people learn it is safer to shrink once they “get there”. The idea of safety, that luxury of peace of mind, can feel more expensive the more successful you become. 

This leaves me with a difficult question: are we selling the children we serve false hope if we do not also tell them the truth about the systems they may have to navigate? The idea and image of leadership – has it really changed? We’ve had glimmers of what could be – Jacinda Ardern, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez … yet we have Putin, Trump, Netanyahu … we have global leaders destroying Mother Earth because they’re projecting their perceived power through acts of violence and aggression… the manosphere isn’t anything new – it’s been around since misogyny planted patriarchy into the soul of every system reliant now on capitalism… AI is the new world for patriarchy to keep on flourishing, division to keep breeding and inequity to be the face of perceived progress… it’s all a bit sh** really. 

Throughout my journey, I have carried words that were never mine to hold:

  • You’re too small.
  • You’re too pretty; if you weren’t so kind, I would not like you.
  • You’re not white.
  • You’re too emotional.
  • You care too much.
  • You’re not ready to lead English.
  • You need to be more resilient.
  • That’s not the normal way.

For the most part, and unfortunately, it has often been women within certain organisations and institutions who have seen me as a threat to their status quo, they exemplified the dangers of internalised misogyny in women who don’t want to see the value of another woman in the same space: I was someone to contain, question, dismiss or damage before I could reach the potential they could already see in me but would not nurture. Some encounters have been inhumane, unkind and, at times, intentionally cruel.

One person seemed to believe her race made her better than me. Another was threatened by what I could become and made it clear she was not there to enable me, but to try to destroy me. One deeply hurt me. One did break me.

When you are not seen as a human being, it is a feeling you recognise. I have known it since I was little. When the world sees you as something less than fully human because you’re a girl, you learn that only you (and your mum’s tenacity) can plant the seeds of your worth. Only you can keep returning to yourself. Only you can decide that survival is not enough, that shrinking is not safety, and that your peace is worth protecting. 

Humanity is what we are. Yet it is sometimes the very thing we fail to recognise in one another. My journey of leadership and growth has taught me that using my voice is not disruption, choosing peace is not weakness, and being true to myself is not optional. It is the foundation of the leader I am still becoming. I never took a child’s feeling of worth and safety for granted when I taught them – I made it very clear to them they were to question me, disagree with me and feel safe to take those risks to enable them to surpass their idea of their own success – and they did. I truly hope, in the age of AI, they are still thinking critically and challenging. As leaders, we should already be questioning, we should already be able to disagree, to challenge… based on our understanding of ourselves and what we think – and that sometimes means you’re going to disagree with yourself if you’re intention is to learn and understand – it doesn’t mean we deny the humanity in each other. 

As we’re moving into another academic year, I am hoping we do not witness another gifted human, who is representative of the re-imagined, lose her power, break and fall. Meghan is one of the role models we look at as part of our Building on Barbie leadership work… and that is another hope… I hope we stop recycling the same argument about the commodification of feminism and only seeing the Barbie doll through the male gaze… look beyond the superficial to what the doll is meant to represent – a woman’s body is a woman’s body – it is hers to make the her life choices from… when you contextualise that with the fact that women’s body were not legally part of any medical research, that marital rape was legal until 1993…. Barbie’s silhouette is a challenge to the patriarchy, it’s a call to arms… in some ways, it was a political statement undermining the power of patriarchy and its influence on gender politics… in the 1950’s… the era of the original ‘trad-wife’ – if you look at the timing of the trad wife trend … it’s a reaction to the Barbie movie dissecting gendered assertions. 

Caroline Flack. Jason Arday. Amy Winehouse…

I truly hope lessons have been learnt and we take care – we take care and see the human before we feel privileged enough to make comments. 

I am starting to see my traumas and lived experience as a gift – the spectrum of human behaviour can be measured in degrees of cruelty and degrees of kindness, motive, perception, and environment all feed into how we choose to behave towards each other. 

I’ve had men tell me I shine too bright – one tried to break me, but it’s been the women who have been relentless in their determination to trip me up, belittle me – try and diminish my talent and undermine my professional worth by finding things to pick on… 

But I believe everything happens for a reason – I hope Jason Arday’s death does bring change, accountability and CARE. 

Reflecting on my two years at Oasis, and navigating certain things this summer, I am grateful for the special, serendipitous moments have manifested. Some becoming forever moments like the my WomenEd chapter coming to life through the Building on Barbie Leadership Project – for now, I feel safe, I feel I am valued and I do feel I belong… 

Intersectional Feminism – this is where hope resides. 

by Hannah Wilson

Freedom of religion or belief: The missing conversation in school belonging?

Kathryn Wright portrait

Written by Kathryn Wright

Dr Kathryn Wright is Chief Executive Officer of Culham St Gabriel's Trust, an endowed charitable foundation dedicated to supporting high-quality religion and worldviews education. She works with schools, researchers, policy makers and wider communities to explore how education can foster inclusion, belonging and understanding across difference. Kathryn is passionate about creating opportunities for every child and young person to flourish in diverse and democratic societies. Find out more at www.cstg.org.uk.

When we talk about belonging in schools, we often focus on relationships, representation, voice and participation. These matter enormously. Yet there is another dimension of belonging that we do not always name explicitly: the freedom to be yourself, to express what matters to you, and to know that your identity will be respected.

This is where Freedom of Religion or Belief (FoRB) has an important contribution to make. Culham St Gabriel’s Trust, a charitable foundation, has recently published a new toolkit and model policy offering school leaders a practical framework for creating cultures where every member of the community can flourish. 

At first glance, some people may assume that FoRB is only relevant to Religious Education or to pupils from faith backgrounds. In reality, FoRB is much broader. It is a human right that protects the freedom of all people to hold, change, express, or reject religious and non-religious beliefs. It belongs equally to, for example, the Christian, the Muslim, the Jew, the Humanist, the atheist, the Sikh, the spiritual-but-not-religious young person, and the pupil who is still exploring what they think about the world. It also belongs equally to the pupil, the parent, the teacher, the governor, in fact, the whole school community

However, what interests me most is not FoRB as a legal concept, but FoRB as a belonging concept.

Belonging is often described as the experience of being accepted, valued and included. Yet it is difficult to feel that you belong if essential parts of your identity must remain hidden. Equally, it is hard to develop trust within a community if difference is treated as something to fear rather than something to understand.

The toolkit begins with three simple educational principles. Pupils should have opportunities to talk about religion or belief, talk about freedom, and learn about human rights. 

These principles resonate strongly with the wider belonging agenda.

When pupils learn to talk about their own beliefs and hear about the beliefs of others, they develop the language and confidence needed to engage across difference. When they learn about freedom, they begin to understand that their rights exist alongside the rights of other people. When they learn about human rights, they discover that dignity, equality and respect are not privileges granted to some, but entitlements belonging to everyone. 

Importantly, the framework moves beyond curriculum content. It recognises that belonging is shaped by the daily decisions schools make.

Does staff training include religion and belief literacy? Are teachers equipped to distinguish between genuine curiosity, clumsy language and hate-motivated behaviour? Do policies clearly address antisemitism, anti-Muslim hate and other forms of religiously motivated discrimination? Are pupils given opportunities to express their views respectfully, even when disagreement exists? 

These are not peripheral questions. They are questions about culture.

The strongest aspect of the framework is its emphasis on both promoting and protecting FoRB. Too often inclusion work focuses only on celebration. Celebration matters, but it is not enough. Schools must also be prepared to respond when individuals experience prejudice, exclusion or discrimination. The documents acknowledge that some of the most common violations of FoRB in the UK are experienced through discrimination and hate incidents, making active protection just as important as promotion. 

This distinction feels particularly significant in our current climate. Schools are navigating increasingly complex conversations about identity, belief, freedom of expression and social cohesion. Leaders can feel caught between competing pressures. Yet the answer is rarely to avoid these conversations. More often, it is to create the conditions where they can happen safely, respectfully and thoughtfully.

That is why belonging and FoRB are such natural partners. Both are grounded in the conviction that people matter. Both seek to create environments where individuals can participate without leaving part of themselves at the door. Both require us to balance individual freedom with collective responsibility.

Ultimately, a school where freedom of religion or belief flourishes is not simply a school where pupils learn about rights. It is a school where those rights shape everyday practice. It is a school where difference is encountered with curiosity rather than suspicion, where dignity is protected, and where every member of the community can say, with confidence: “I belong here.”

Link to the resources: https://www.reonline.org.uk/resources/inclusive-schools-promoting-and-protecting-freedom-of-religion-or-belief/

by Hannah Wilson

This is belonging – a refugee child’s voice

Andrew Moffat portrait

Written by Andrew Moffat

Andrew Moffat has been teaching for 25 years and is currently PD Lead at Excelsior MAT. He is the author of “No Outsiders in our school: Teaching the Equality Act in Primary Schools” and “No Outsiders: everyone different, everyone welcome”. In 2017 Andrew was awarded a MBE for services to equality and diversity in education and in 2019 he was listed as a top ten finalist in the Varkey Foundation Global Teacher Prize.

There are many blogs about belonging on this platform, but rarely do we hear direct from the voice of a child. Here is that voice:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5yxSG2U-aIk

This three-minute film was made at my school last term. My school is a two-form entry primary in Birmingham. The flags were up on lamp posts surrounding the school this time last year. Today, those flags are still there, but now they have become wallpaper. Tattered wallpaper that you don’t really notice.

However, I’m sure some of our children still notice the flags as they file through the gate every morning, searching for that reassurance that they belong; the reassurance that they fit in. Can they bring their whole selves through the gate, and will they feel accepted, embraced, respected?

Last summer, Year 6 children were set a task to write a speech for a MAT-wide oracy competition. The speech could be about a person who inspired you or ‘what equality means to me’. Hussein wrote a speech about Manchester United and showed it to his teacher. She told him this speech was good, but “It wasn’t him”. She suggested he write another and make it about something he felt deeply about; “something that had meaning in his life.” Hussein went away and wrote this second speech in fifteen minutes. This second speech was stunning. And here it is, read by Hussein and his friends.

A little context: Hussein never talked about being a refugee before Year 6. These were conversations he was not ready to have, or rather, conversations educators at the school were not confident enough to have with him. But as Hussein moved into Year 6, we introduced No Outsiders to the school and suddenly, through assemblies and lessons, we were having conversations with all children about difference and diversity. I was leading No Outsiders assemblies every week where we talked openly about refugees and attitudes towards difference within the framework of British Values and the Protected Characteristics. No Outsiders lesson plans using picture books like “The island” by Armin Greder and “Saving the butterfly” by Helen Cooper  in Y6 enabled pupils to hold conversations exploring experiences of refugees and relate these experiences to our life in school. No Outsiders gave us the tools to build an inclusive, welcoming narrative so that all children felt reassured that they belonged.

Hussein slowly started opening up about his own experiences as a refugee living in Britain and his peers listened. As he says in the speech, “I felt safe, I felt seen, I felt like I belonged. “

When Hussein first wrote his speech, his teacher sent him to me to read it. I was floored. I knew before he reached the end that I wanted others to hear this; I had to make a recording before he left my school in a matter of weeks. At first, Hussein didn’t want to appear in the film, and I suggested we asked friends in his class to read it for him so that the words were still heard. He liked that idea and very quickly we got permissions for pupils to be filmed. On the day, I wanted Hussein to be around the filming, and he was eager for his peers to get it right; he would coach them as they read his lines. Then half-way through the day he said to me maybe he would like to be in the film after all. 

I was working with Felicity from Fledgling Education who was making the film for me. Felicity came up with these great ideas to film children making No Outsiders letters and hold them up at points in the film. She also insisted on every child reading chunks of the speech and getting a recording of Hussein reading all of it which she then used to edit later. There is a moment in the speech where Hussein says, “I am Hussein.” I wanted a “I am Spartacus” moment in the film where we heard all his friends saying that line, but I was worried it might look corny. Felicity knew exactly what she was doing to make it a key moment in the film and she also had the idea to have multiple children say other key lines together to give the impression this was everyone’s story. 

The finished film was more than I hoped for. I’ve been sitting on it for two months waiting for the right time to make it public and I always knew I wanted to use Hannah Wilson and The Belonging Effect to launch it because I know that everyone reading this blog is going to be an ally; a friend.

The events that led me to decide to release the film were the footage of masked men closing down Dover port in protest about migrants and then the news of a village in Oxfordshire voting to remove themselves from England because they don’t want refugees housed near them. We are living in challenging times. I hope this short film gives pause for thought.

Andrew Moffat: www.no-outsiders.com

Fledgling Education offers a range of bespoke services, including filmmaking, curriculum consultancy and creative arts workshops. Felicity can be contacted at felicity@fledglingeducation.co.uk 

by Hannah Wilson

Self Authorisation: What I Learned When Recognition Didn't Come

Saiqua Hussain portrait

Written by Saiqua Hussain

Saiqua Hussain is a school leader and researcher passionate about supporting young women from global majority backgrounds into education and leadership. Her MA research (King's College London) explored how South Asian women build legitimacy as leaders in English secondary schools. She is a Trustee at a Grammar School and an elected member of the Chartered College of Teaching.

For a long time, people told me, kindly I think, that what I needed was more confidence. That if I just believed in myself a bit more, put myself forward a bit louder, the recognition would follow. I let that explanation sit for longer than I should have, because it was easier than the alternative. The truth was simpler and harder to say out loud: I already knew I was good. I was just as qualified, just as capable, often more prepared than colleagues who were moving ahead of me. I wasn’t missing self-belief. I was missing something else entirely, and it wasn’t mine to fix.

That question sat with me long enough that I eventually built a Master’s research study around it. How do South Asian women aspiring to headship, or in the early years of it, construct leadership identity and legitimacy in English secondary schools? Twelve headteachers and deputy headteachers later, what came back confirmed what I had lived. It wasn’t a confidence gap. It was a recognition gap.

Competent is not the same as recognised

One of the clearest findings to emerge was that competence, formal authority and recognised legitimacy are three different things, not one thing that automatically follows from the others. A woman could be highly competent and still not be seen as ready. She could hold a senior title and still find her authority wasn’t assumed the way a colleague’s was. Being right about your own ability isn’t the same as having that ability believed.

That’s what I’d been living without quite having the language for it. I did the work. I had the results. And still I found myself doing something extra that I don’t think my peers were doing. Building the evidence case before anyone asked me to. Saying yes to the harder, less visible tasks. Making sure there could be no question, because I already knew there would be a question anyway.

The women in my study described the same pattern in their own words. Some of it showed up as code switching, adapting how they presented themselves depending on the room, sometimes strategically, but sometimes protectively, to pre-empt being dismissed. And sometimes it meant quietly folding parts of themselves away, because the room hadn’t made space for the whole person. None of it was about building confidence. It was about surviving an environment that granted trust unevenly.

From waiting to be granted, to self authorisation

The most important thing the research gave me wasn’t a description of the problem though. It was a way through it. Leadership identity is often described as something you claim and others grant. You put yourself forward, and the people around you either recognise that claim or withhold it. What I found, repeatedly, was a third move that happens when that granting becomes too inconsistent to rely on: self-authorisation. At some point, the women I spoke with, and I recognise this in my own story too, stopped waiting for permission that wasn’t reliably coming, and started generating their own legitimacy from within.

I don’t think that’s an inspirational footnote. I think it’s a necessary adaptation to a system that hasn’t caught up, and it shouldn’t have to be necessary at all.

What I’d want other women to take from this

If you’ve been told your problem is confidence, and it hasn’t sat right with you, trust that instinct. You may not be missing belief in yourself. You may be doing accurate, clear-eyed work in an environment that hasn’t yet learned to see it without being made to look twice. Naming that correctly doesn’t undo the extra labour it’s cost you. But it means you stop trying to fix something in yourself that was never broken.

by Hannah Wilson

From Curriculum to Connection: Embedding Belonging in the UK’s New National Curriculum

Chloe Watterston portrait

Written by Chloe Watterston

Chloe is an educator, athlete, and advocate for inclusive, curiosity-driven learning, dedicated to creating spaces where every young person feels safe, valued, and empowered. Her work across mainstream and SEND education, community projects, and curriculum reform is driven by a passion for amplifying marginalised voices and breaking down barriers to learning.

When the Department for Education announced a new national curriculum (to be implemented from 2028), headlines focused on oracy, digital literacy, and enrichment. Yet behind every subject reform lies a deeper question: Do our students feel like they belong here?

A sense of belonging – feeling seen, supported, and valued – is the heartbeat of learning. Without it, even the best-designed curriculum risks falling flat. For pupils who are neurodiverse, disabled, or marginalised, belonging isn’t a luxury; it’s the foundation of success.

This guide translates the government’s new framework, which centres on life skills, enrichment, and stronger foundations, into practical actions that put belonging at the centre of every classroom and corridor.

“Belonging isn’t an outcome of curriculum reform — it’s the condition that makes reform work.”

Curriculum Design: From Coverage to Connection

Goal: Build a curriculum that feels relevant, achievable, and identity-affirming for all.

  • Audit representation: Ensure diverse identities, including disability and neurodiversity, appear meaningfully across units and texts.
  • Chunk and scaffold: Sequence content clearly for learners who need structure; use visual roadmaps and checklists.
  • Bridge knowledge with identity: Link new content to students’ own experiences and communities.
  • Amplify oracy: Give pupils the language to share their thinking aloud, it builds both confidence and cognition.

Example: Pair Macbeth with The Hunger Games to explore power and morality through different cultural lenses.

Enrichment for All: Making the ‘Core Entitlement’ Inclusive

Goal: Deliver the new national “core enrichment entitlement” – arts, sport, nature, civic life – so that every pupil can take part meaningfully.

  • Audit participation and remove barriers (costs, timing, accessibility).
  • Offer sensory-friendly, shorter, or flexible versions of activities.
  • Provide varied roles – performer, planner, designer – so every learner can contribute.
  • Train staff to understand fatigue, sensory needs, and invisible disabilities.

Example: For civic engagement, let students design campaigns or social media projects if public speaking feels overwhelming.

Pedagogy & Climate: Making Belonging the Norm

Goal: Build classrooms that balance structure with humanity.

  • Predictable routines reduce anxiety; flexible responses show care.
  • Replace “behaviour management” with “community agreements.”
  • Display student contributions publicly – belonging must be visible.
  • Give feedback as conversation, not correction.

Example: Begin each lesson with a one-minute grounding question like “What’s one thing that made you smile this week?” Small rituals can anchor connection.

Staff Culture: Belonging Starts with Us

Goal: Equip teachers to teach through belonging, not just about it.

  • Embed neuroinclusion in CPD: autism, ADHD, chronic illness, not as “issues,” but as perspectives.
  • Hold peer reflection sessions: “Whose belonging have we strengthened this term?”
  • Celebrate staff who champion inclusion.
  • Model belonging in leadership – consistency, curiosity, compassion.

Example: Host a termly “Belonging Showcase” where staff and students co-present examples of inclusive success.

Measuring What Matters

Goal: Track belonging with the same intent as attainment.

  • Use quick-pulse surveys: “Do you feel you’re understood here?”
  • Cross-reference belonging data with attendance and enrichment participation.
  • Form neurodiverse and SEND student panels to co-design improvements.
  • Include belonging outcomes in school development plans.

Example: If ADHD students report low belonging, pilot flexible seating or movement breaks — then re-survey to measure impact.

Final Thought

Belonging is not a soft extra, it’s the soil that allows learning to take root.
As we rebuild the national curriculum for the next generation, we can decide what kind of classrooms our students inherit. Will they be systems of delivery, or communities of connection?

With intentional design, the new curriculum can become more than a framework of knowledge. It can be a map towards a society where every young person feels seen, capable, and connected – not just prepared for life, but part of it.

by Hannah Wilson

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