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.
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
Mixed Messages: The High Stakes of Social Sorting
Written by Domini Choudhury
Domini Choudhury is an associate trainer, an award-winning EDI consultant, a former Deputy and Acting Headteacher for 17 years, a local authority consultant and an Evidence Advocate for the Research Schools Network, part of the Education Endowment Foundation (EEF).
According to official statistics, the mixed-heritage population is now the UK’s fastest-growing demographic. The 2021 Census revealed that 1.7 million people across England and Wales identify as mixed-race, a tripling since 2001 (King’s College London, 2025). Yet, in the eyes of a hospital computer or a school database, we are often reduced to a glitch. When our social sorting systems rely on a “White-plus” baseline, the messages aren’t just mixed; they’re dangerous.
The Challenge of the Checkbox
Supporting mixed-heritage children and young people in schools comes with a minefield of challenges. We are navigating outdated terminology, the complexities of identity development during adolescence, and the fluctuating sense of belonging within different communities. These journeys are often further complicated by orientalism, colourism, or a perceived “proximity to whiteness” which is not always a universal advantage.
To address this, we must first dismantle the social construct of “mixed-ness.” Until 2001, “mixed” categories didn’t even exist on the UK Census, making long-term data comparison nearly impossible. Even now, the categories remain stiflingly limited. Society’s default stereotype of a mixed person is someone racialised as White and either Black or Brown. This is codified in official data: almost every category begins with “White and…”, implying that Whiteness is the mandatory baseline of our society. If you don’t fit that specific mold, you are relegated to the generic: “Any other Mixed or multiple ethnic background.”
When Data Becomes a Danger
I face this erasure personally. As someone of both Bangladeshi and Chinese heritage, I am frequently forced to choose: either to select one, or select “Mixed Other.” To pick one is to deny half of my identity; to pick “Other” is to make my heritage invisible.
Even when I try to claim both, the technology fails me. Alphabetised computer systems often default my ethnicity to “Bangladeshi,” leaving my Chinese heritage on the cutting floor. In the eyes of the algorithm, half of my identity is a glitch.
This isn’t just a matter of hurt feelings; it has life-and-death implications. I once faced an emergency operation while unconscious. Since my hospital record only listed me as Bangladeshi, the medical team was unaware of my Chinese ancestry, a vital piece of genetic information that carried a high risk of a specific drug intolerance.
The Educational Blind Spot
In our schools, we rely heavily on ethnicity data to drive interventions, allocate finances, and analyze outcomes. As the proportion of mixed-heritage students rises, our “boxes” are becoming increasingly obsolete.
Since both of my heritages are broadly categorised as “Asian,” the system often fails to recognise me as mixed-heritage at all. Despite the fact that Bangladeshi and Chinese cultures are poles apart, the “Asian-Asian” mix is frequently ignored by a system that only understands “mixed” if it involves a White parent. I am left feeling officially bereft of the identity I am proud to hold.
A System in Need of a Reset
The flaws go deeper than just the “mixed” label. Consider that “Bangladeshi” appears as an ethnicity category when it is, in fact, a nationality, one that has only existed since 1971. Conflating nationality with ethnicity (like using “Bangladeshi” instead of “Bengali”) is a separate systemic failure entirely, but that is a post for another day.
For now, we must recognize that our current method of categorising people is failing. We need a radical overhaul of how we see, record, and support the diverse reality of the UK today. We are more than a “White-plus” variable. It’s time the system caught up.
References:
UK Government (2021) List of ethnic groups. Available at: https://www.ethnicity-facts-figures.service.gov.uk/style-guide/ethnic-groups/ (Accessed: 21 April 2026).
Slade-Edmondson, E. (2026) ‘What does it mean to grow up mixed-race in a world that is obsessed with tidy boxes and simple definitive answers, and what does a journey towards belonging look like?’, Emma Slade-Edmondson Blog, February. Available at: https://www.thebelongingeffect.co.uk/what-does-it-mean-to-grow-up-mixed-race-in-a-world-that-is-obsessed-with-tidy-boxes-and-simple-definitive-answers-and-what-does-a-journey-towards-belonging-look-like/ (Accessed: 21 April 2026).
Mansaray, A. and Nwosu, C. (2025) Mixed-Heritage Young People’s Educational Experiences in London: An Exploratory Study. London: King’s College London. Available at: https://www.kcl.ac.uk/ecs/assets/projects/mixed-heritage-final.pdf (Accessed: 21 April 2026).
Morris, N. (2021) Mixed/Other: Explorations of Multiraciality in Modern Britain. London: Trapeze.
Diversity in children and young peoples’ reading
Written by Sarah Bagshaw-McCormick
Sarah Bagshaw-McCormick has 25 years experience in schools, professional development and leadership. She has spent the last 5 years working in teacher-education, with a focus on teacher and leader professional development as a learning designer. Over her career, Sarah has developed expertise in literacy, English, and school leadership. Throughout this work, Sarah finds and creates opportunities to embed and champion Social Justice, Equity, Diversity, Inclusion and Belonging.
The global culture wars are busy creating division within and across communities. And, much too close to home, schools are banning books and removing them from the shelves of libraries for questionable reasons. Let’s reflect on why diversity in children’s reading is good.
For some time, following the events of 2020, schools, libraries and the publishing industry were making positive headway in diversifying the representation in books made available to children and young people. But in the last 12 months that has changed. The political landscape and divisive political narratives have had a tangible effect on the proportion of children’s books written by and featuring diverse characters (Inclusive Books for Children, 2025).
It is ironic that, in this national year of reading, I (and others) should have to make a case for considering and championing of diverse representation in texts. In this blog I will invite you to consider the role that diverse representation in texts can play in bringing us together and the benefits of diversity of representation in the texts read by all pupils.
Diversity of authorship and representation means books that are written by, and feature characters, experiences and places that encompass a diversity of experiences, cultures or backgrounds. This can include racially diverse writers and characters. It can include a variety of socio-economic backgrounds, encompassing different homes, such as flats, council houses or temporary accommodation, or it can include characters with disabilities, both learning and physical.
Reflection
Consider your own experiences of the world growing up and now. Is it easy for you to find books that feature characters like you, and experiences that are familiar to you?
Three decades ago, Sims-Bishop (1990) provided us with the analogy of books as mirrors, windows and sliding glass doors to describe the role that books can have in allowing children to see themselves in books, see others in books and enter whole new worlds through books. This is reinforced by more recent evidence, which suggests that narrative fiction has the potential to support young people to understand themselves and others. Let’s start by exploring the ideas of books as mirrors, windows and doors.
Mirrors
There is a power to seeing characters like you in print. Whether the thing you have in common is your age, gender identity, disability, home, or socio-economic status. Reading texts with central characters, events and settings that young readers relate to is important.
Relating to characters in stories make children feel seen, in being seen they feel important and find comfort in knowing that others are experiencing the same things as them (Santi, 2023). This empowers young people, not only allowing them to see themselves in texts, but also to understand themselves more deeply (Santi, 2023). This has a positive impact on young peoples’ self-esteem (Koss 2015; Wopperer, 2011).
In addition to this, books that are representative of young peoples’ lives and interests are beneficial for encouraging volitional reading. Diverse texts enable young people to access books which are personally meaningful by reflecting and representing their identities, lives and experiences (Picton and Clark, 2022).
Windows
In addition to understanding themselves, diverse authorship and representation in texts enables children and young people to understand and experience other people, their lives and experiences, through interacting with texts. In fact, this has the potential to change children and young peoples’ attitudes to people whose identity or points of view differ from their own (Kaufman and Libby, 2012). By reading books which expose children and young people to different cultures, perspectives or experiences than their own, they are enabled to pay closer attention to the needs of others. Reading texts with diverse authors and diverse representation can help children to develop empathy (reference).
Sliding Glass doors
The texts children read offer them opportunities to enter into new worlds, both realistic and magical. Neuroscience has explored how readers experience immersion into these worlds and the benefits of this.
When people read fiction, research suggests that their brain reacts in ways that are very similar to the way it reacts to ‘real life’ experiences. When children and young people are actively engaged in reading, it is thought that reading is a form of neural simulation, which enables them to practice socio-emotional responses in a low-stakes environment (Tamir et al, 2015). This also allows children and young people to experience situations they’ve never experienced themselves, which is beneficial, because of its potential to positively impact their attitudes and behaviours in relation to their peers and others in their communities.
“Children… want to see the world reflected back at them just as much as they want to read about worlds they don’t know” (p.22 Excluded voices report).
Reflection
How do the texts in your library and classroom provide children with mirrors, windows and sliding glass doors?
Where might you improve your offer?
How could you find out whether the children agree with you?
So, we know that in providing children with these mirrors, windows and glass doors is beneficial, but beyond this analogy there are wider benefits of accessing texts with diverse authors, settings, experiences and characters.
Access to diverse texts is inclusive. The presence of texts that reflect the realities of children and young peoples’ lives communicates pupils’ value. This can support belonging, make young people feel welcome and create psychological safety (Bulatowicz, 2017; Lifshitz, 2016).
More than this seeing characters who share their background, identity and experiences (particularly characters who are complex, successful and vibrant) expands young peoples’ sense of what is possible for them (The linking network, 2024). This provides young people inspiration, which informs their future aspirations, and makes concrete the reality of the adage ‘you can’t be what you can’t see’.
Access to and engagement with diverse texts supports readers to build personal connections to characters and stories (Hafflin & Barksdale-Ladd, 2001). These diverse stories are also supportive of young peoples’ autonomy in reading choices (Webber et al., 2024). These positive experiences support their reading motivation (Cremin, 2023 -NATE), which in turn positively impacts children and young peoples’ volitional reading.
The opposite is also true. When books that reflect diverse experiences of the world are not available to young people it excludes them from seeing themselves as readers, can signal a lack of importance and lead young people to conclude the literacy and literature are not for them (Bronson, 2016; short, 2018).
So, it is essential that we choose to surround children with books that are affirming, communicate their value and offer them opportunities to explore their own and others’ identities.
“We know that if children feel invited into the world of books, when they recognise elements of themselves in the pages, they are more likely to form a love of reading”. (P.4 Excluded voices report).
Reflection
What do the books available to children in your setting communicate to them?
Do the texts available support reading motivation and volitional reading?
How could you check with the children and young people?
If you are looking for diverse recommendations for children and young peoples’ literature, please join me at my teachers’ reading club at The House of Books and Friends on the 14th April.
or
Subscribe to my blog, where I will share reading recommendations following the event. See my previous reading recommendations for children and young people here.
References
Bishop, R. S. (1990, March). Windows and mirrors: Children’s books and parallel cultures. In California State University reading conference: 14th annual conference proceedings (pp. 3-12).
Bulatowicz, D. M. (2017). Diverse Literature in Elementary School Libraries: Who Chooses and Why? (Doctoral dissertation, Montana State University).
Cremin, Teresa (2023). Motivation and reading: Focusing on disengaged readers. Teaching English(32) pp. 32–36.
Hefflin, B. R., & Barksdale-Ladd, M. A. (2001). African American children’s literature that helps students find themselves: Selection guidelines for grades K-3. The Reading Teacher, 54(8), 810-819.
Inclusive Books for Children. (2025). Excluded Voices report. https://www.inclusivebooksforchildren.org/excluded-voices-report
Kaufman, G. F., & Libby, L. K. (2012). Changing beliefs and behavior through experience-taking. Journal of personality and social psychology, 103(1), 1.
Kucirkova, N. (2019). How could children’s storybooks promote empathy? A conceptual framework based on developmental psychology and literary theory. Frontiers in psychology, 10, 121.
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Does your belonging culture include every Generation?
Written by Alex Atherton
Alex Atherton is an award-winning speaker, trainer and consultant who focuses on Gen Z recruitment & retention and leading multigenerational workplaces. He is the author of The Snowflake Myth: Explaining Gen Z in the Workplace and Beyond. He is also a former secondary school headteacher.
Age ranges are growing across UK workplaces.
This is largely because the proportion of workers aged 65 and over has more than doubled in the last two decades.
A four generation workplace with an age range of fifty, if not sixty, years has become increasingly common. At the younger end Generation Z now account for over a quarter of the workforce, with that figure set to exceed a third globally by 2030.
At no point in modern history have so many different generational experiences been present in the same building, on the same Teams call, or trying to agree on what a productive working culture looks like.
Concept of generations
The concept of generations is useful in terms of analysing outlooks and attitudes over time. Fifteen to twenty years is long enough for there to have been enough economic, social, political and technological change for that exercise to be worthwhile.
But we are all the same species, and there is no guillotine between them. Whilst the concept is useful it is also limited, and generational stereotypes serve no one. Differences within generations are far bigger than those between, and I strongly recommend you treat everyone as individuals first with no generational label.
Analysing the impact of change over time can offer clues when understanding your workforce, and therefore what needs to be done to ensure everyone feels they belong.
I want to differentiate between ‘age’ and ‘generations’. The former is, of course, a protected characteristic. The latter is cohort-based. Opinions and outlooks may change for individuals over time, but there is something about those created in the formative years which stick with people in different ways and to various extents.
It would be an interesting tribunal case that sought to separate the two fully. My argument is organisations who consider the full range of their age diversity to be a considerable asset are in a better position to thrive, and considering generational perspective is part of that exercise.
This is the set of names and dates that I use. You may find others elsewhere, which is fine as it reinforces the idea that these are not hard and fast:
- Silent Generation (1925-1945: 81-100 years old)
- Baby Boomers (1946-1964: 62-80 years old)
- Generation X (1965-1980: 46-61 years old)
- Millennials (1981-1996: 30-45 years old)
- Generation Z (1997-2012: 14-29 years old)
- Generation Alpha (2013-2028: max 13 years old)
The snowflake problem
I came into this topic area as a reaction to the youngest generation currently in the workplace, Gen Z, being labelled as ‘snowflakes’.
In my book The Snowflake Myth, I argue that the stereotypes routinely applied to Gen Z (lazy, unreliable, apathetic etc) tell us more about a failure to understand them than about who they actually are.
Gen Z’s academic record is off the scale compared to all who came before them. They are more likely than any previous generation to work nights and weekends for higher pay. They are the most diverse generation we have ever seen, and the most vocal advocates for equity, diversity, inclusion and belonging in the workplace.
Calling them snowflakes is not a neutral observation. It is an exclusion.
But you know this, otherwise you would not be on this website. So what to do?
Belonging Is not age-selective
Let me tell you something else you already know. When belonging is present, engagement rises, wellbeing is protected and performance improves. When it is absent, the damage is real.
Does your belonging culture extend to the oldest and youngest people in your organisation?
Gen Z in the workplace will tell you, should you ask them, that they are watching. They notice whether the DEIB commitments on your website show up in how decisions are made and who gets a seat at which table. They notice whether authenticity is genuinely embedded in your culture, or whether the sign behind reception is performative. They notice whether any effort has been made to understand their experience, or whether they are simply expected to adapt.
The Boomers (and Silents too) will also give you their feedback as to whether they belong or now feel marginalised, but you may need to work a little harder to capture their voice. It is too tempting to consider that your belonging culture is in the right place because a clear majority say they belong. It needs to work at both ends of your age range.
What multi-generational belonging looks like
The good news is that this is less complicated than it sounds. It requires curiosity more than strategy.
It means seeking genuine feedback from colleagues, and on an ongoing basis rather than just at onboarding.
It means recognising that a generation which grew up collaborating online, co-creating content and working simultaneously on shared documents brings real and underutilised strengths to any team.
It means deliberately noticing what is happening at the edges, and across every group. That includes noticing that the older colleagues who had their eyes wide open as the new recruits refused to stay late or take work home started wanting the same themselves. What used to be ‘Gen Z demands’ has now extended elsewhere.
It means understanding that cross-generational collaboration is not a nice idea for an away day. It is about driving better decisions and developing ownership amongst your workforce that creates the belonging culture you need.
Most importantly, it means accepting that belonging is not something organisations can get away with extending only to the groups they find easiest to champion.
To what extent does your belonging culture cover the full breadth of your age range?
Understanding the Experiences of Black Teachers in London: Why Mattering Matters
Written by Tara Elie
Tara Elie teacher, psychologist, lecturer and coach. Tara has diverse experience in education and Learning and Development spanning over decades. She is renowned for her engaging training delivery, both face-to-face and virtually. Her performance background, alongside her passion for supporting individuals and organisations to flourish and thrive, characterise her delivery style. Tara has completed research on Black Teacher Mattering which she is delivering in keynotes. She is passionate about teacher wellbeing and uses the theories of Positive Psychology to inform her work with all clients with a proven record of success. Tara stands for social justice and social change. She appreciates and celebrates the individual, their differing backgrounds, cultures, experiences, perceptions, and values.
Introduction
Understanding the experiences of Black teachers is essential if we are serious about improving well-being, retention, and professional fulfilment in education. Conversations about diversity in schools often focus on pupils, yet far less attention has been given to the psychological experiences of teachers themselves. One concept that offers a powerful lens for exploring this is mattering – the sense that we are valued and that what we contribute has value.
Psychologist Morris Rosenberg (1985) described mattering as an individual’s belief that they are important to others and able to make a meaningful contribution. When applied to the experiences of Black teachers in London, this idea moves the conversation beyond statistics and into the lived realities of belonging, recognition, and professional identity. Understanding whether teachers feel that they matter – to colleagues, to leaders, and to the wider system – may help explain why some remain in the profession while others leave.
Why Representation Still Matters
The relative scarcity of Black teachers makes this question particularly important. Representation in education is not only about fairness in employment; it also has wider implications for students, schools, and communities. The Black Teachers in London report, commissioned by London Mayor Ken Livingstone, highlighted a clear relationship between the success of Black teachers and positive outcomes for Black pupils. In some London boroughs, nearly half of pupils were Black, yet only a small proportion of teachers shared that heritage. Increasing diversity across all levels of education – from classroom teachers to leadership and governance – was identified as essential for improving representation, aspiration, and achievement.
However, addressing the shortage of Black teachers requires more than recruitment initiatives. It requires a deeper understanding of how teachers experience their professional lives, how valued they feel, and whether they believe their presence makes a difference. Without this understanding, efforts to improve diversity risk focusing only on entry into the profession rather than on belonging within it.
A Gap in UK Research
Much of the existing research on mattering in education has focused on students, particular subject areas, or the education system in the United States. In the United Kingdom, despite ongoing concerns about a lack of diversity in the teaching workforce, relatively little research has explored the experiences of Black teachers themselves.
This gap is especially significant in London, where teacher shortages have historically been higher than in other parts of the UK and where the student population is among the most diverse in the country. Exploring the lived experiences of Black teachers in London can help build a clearer picture of what supports – or undermines – their sense of belonging, confidence, and professional fulfilment. Understanding these experiences is essential if diversity efforts are to be meaningful rather than symbolic.
A Positive Psychology Perspective
This research approaches the topic from a Positive Psychology perspective, the scientific study of individual, group, and community flourishing (Hefferon & Boniwell, 2011). Rather than focusing only on problems, Positive Psychology asks what enables people to thrive. Applying this perspective to teaching allows us to consider how feeling valued influences motivation, self-esteem, and commitment to the profession.
When teachers experience a strong sense of mattering, they are more likely to feel engaged, resilient, and able to sustain their work over time. For Black teachers, the experience of mattering may be shaped by factors such as representation, recognition, relationships with colleagues, opportunities for progression, and the extent to which their perspectives are heard. These factors are closely linked to recruitment and retention, but also to well-being and professional identity.
Beyond Recruitment: The Importance of Belonging
Teacher shortages are often explained through workload, accountability pressures, and working conditions. While these are important, psychological factors such as belonging and value may be just as significant. Exploring mattering offers a way to understand inclusion at a deeper level. Policies can increase diversity, but they cannot by themselves create environments in which teachers feel respected, listened to, and able to contribute fully.
Listening to the lived experiences of Black teachers in London can help develop a more nuanced understanding of what supports their flourishing and what undermines it. This understanding is essential if schools are to move beyond representation alone and towards genuine inclusion.
Why This Matters for the Future of Education
Improving diversity in education is not simply about numbers. It is about creating professional cultures where teachers feel that they matter – where their presence is recognised, their work is valued, and their contribution is meaningful. When teachers experience this, the benefits extend beyond the individual to pupils, colleagues, and the wider school community.
Understanding mattering is therefore not only a psychological question, but an educational one. If we want a teaching profession that is diverse, sustainable, and capable of supporting all young people, we must pay attention to whether those within it feel that they truly belong.
Adoption Doesn’t End the Trauma
Written by Ian Timbrell
Ian has worked in education for 18 years, including as a teacher and deputy head teacher and now supports schools develop their provision for LGBTQ+ and adopted pupils. He is the author of 'It's More Than Flags and Rainbows', a guide to supporting schools become more LGBTQ+ inclusive.
When we adopted, I think I expected a sense of arrival. A feeling that we had reached the end of a long and intense process and could finally breathe. In reality, adoption was not an ending at all. It was the beginning of a very different journey, one that far fewer people truly understand.
There is a widespread belief that trauma ends at adoption. That once a child is safe and loved, the hardest part is behind you. Our experience, and the experience of many families I have spoken to, tells a very different story. Trauma does not disappear because circumstances change. It stays with children as they grow, shaping how they see themselves, their families, and the world around them.
What shocked me most was how quickly support fell away once adoption was finalised. During the assessment process, you are surrounded by professionals, advice, and scrutiny. Afterwards, it can feel as though the scaffolding is suddenly removed. Families are expected to cope, to manage complex behaviours and emotions, and to do so quietly, often while being told how “lucky” everyone is.
Adoption touches every part of family life. As children grow older, particularly during the teenage years, questions about identity and belonging resurface with force. Life stories are revisited. Feelings of loss, anger, and confusion come to the surface. These are not abstract emotions. They show up in daily life, in school, at home, and in relationships.
One of the least understood aspects of adoption is contact with birth families. For those outside the adoption world, this is often difficult to grasp. Contact is not simple or tidy. It carries hope and heartbreak in equal measure. For children, it can reopen wounds they do not yet have the words to describe. For parents, it can be painful to watch your child carry feelings you cannot fix or protect them from.
Schools and wider family networks often struggle to understand this reality. Behaviours are framed as poor choices rather than expressions of distress. Parenting is judged without recognising the context. There is an unspoken expectation that adopted children should be settled, grateful, or resilient. When they are not, families can feel blamed and deeply isolated.
As an LGBTQ+ adoptive parent, there are additional layers. Our families are often more visible, and that visibility can bring both connection and silence. Sometimes it feels as though acknowledging the challenges of adoption is seen as too complicated, or as though we are already asking enough of people simply by existing as a queer family.
Things are slowly changing, but more education, connection and understanding are still needed around the realities many adopted families experience. Adoption can be an incredible thing, but it does not exist in a Disney daydream.
I am writing this as an individual, shaped by my own experience as an adoptive parent. I am also the founder of More Than Flags and Rainbows, and these two parts of my life are inseparable. This reflection comes from moments of joy and pride, and from moments of exhaustion, fear, and uncertainty. It comes from recognising how many families are quietly navigating similar paths without enough understanding or long-term support.
That is why, through More Than Flags and Rainbows, we are working to build networks for adoptive families and LGBTQ+ parents that centre lived experience and community support. Our aim is to create spaces where families can connect, share experiences and feel less alone in the challenges they face.
If this resonates with you, you are not alone. And struggling does not mean you are failing.
A Curriculum for Connection: What the 2028 Reforms Mean for Belonging in Schools
Written by Chloe Watterston
Chloe is an educator, athlete, and advocate for inclusive, curiosity-driven learning, dedicated to creating spaces where every young person feels safe, valued, and empowered. Her work across mainstream and SEND education, community projects, and curriculum reform is driven by a passion for amplifying marginalised voices and breaking down barriers to learning.
The recently announced curriculum reform by the Department for Education (DfE) sets out a refreshed national curriculum for England, to be implemented from September 2028. GOV.UK+1 The changes include clearer structuring of subjects, stronger foundations in oracy, reading, writing, mathematics, inclusion of media/financial literacy, and a new ‘core enrichment entitlement’ (arts, sport, nature, civic engagement). GOV.UK+1
In discussing these changes, the theme of belonging – feeling valued, included, connected and confident in one’s place in school, learning community, and future society – merits explicit attention. When students feel they belong, they are more motivated, resilient, engaged and ready to learn. For learners who may feel marginalised, including those with additional needs (SEND), neurodiversity, gender/ethnicity minority status, or from disadvantaged backgrounds, belonging is especially critical.
Why belonging matters in the curriculum context
Belonging in a school setting means that students feel they are part of the community, their identities and contributions are valued, they have agency and voice, they see themselves reflected in the learning and expectations, and that the pathways ahead feel achievable and meaningful. Research shows that when belonging is strong:
- Pupils show higher engagement, better behaviour, more perseverance and stronger outcomes.
- Belonging helps mitigate the harmful effects of marginalisation, discrimination, or social isolation.
- A curriculum that simply transmits knowledge without fostering connection and relevance may fail to engage those who don’t see themselves in it.
In the context of the new curriculum, which emphasises knowledge, skills for life and work, enrichment in arts/outdoor/civic life, and digital/financial literacy, belonging becomes the lens through which these ambitions must be refracted: how do all pupils feel that this curriculum is for them, they can access it, succeed with it, and feel part of their school’s learning community?
For example, the government’s own press release highlights that enrichment activities and arts broaden confidence, social capital and resilience. (GOV.UK) The blog from the Education Hub emphasises inclusive support for children with SEND and stretching the most able. (Education Hub) Both show levers that can support belonging – but only if consciously leveraged.
How the new curriculum offers opportunities (and challenges) for belonging
Opportunities
- Wider access to enrichment
The ‘core enrichment entitlement’, guaranteeing every pupil access to arts/culture, nature/adventure, sport/physical activity, civic engagement and life skills, is a powerful vehicle for belonging. These are contexts where students can engage beyond exam-driven subjects, collaborate, explore identities, build peer connection and feel part of something bigger than school. Schools that deliver this well can foster strong community, inclusive opportunities and shared purpose. - Broader subject choice and removal of restrictive performance measures
The reforms signal the removal of the EBacc as the sole performance metric and encourage breadth (arts, languages, humanities) in student choice. This means more students may find subjects that resonate with their interests and identities, helping them feel ‘in the curriculum’, not excluded by narrow expectations. - Strengthened foundations and structured progression
The reforms emphasise clearer sequencing of knowledge, stronger foundations in oracy/reading/writing/math, and logical structuring of subjects. A well-sequenced curriculum supports all learners to feel they are building, succeeding and belong in the journey, rather than lost or left behind. - Focus on life/skills, digital/media/financial literacy
Recognising children as future citizens, consumers and workers, the curriculum includes media and financial literacy, computing/data science and climate education. When learners see relevance of what they are doing to their world and future, they are more likely to feel the curriculum connects to them, increasing belonging.
Challenges & caveats
- Implementation lag and teacher capacity
The final curriculum will be published in spring 2027, with first teaching from September 2028. During this transition period, there is a risk of uneven implementation or confusion, which can lead to pupils feeling disconnected if their experience is patchy. - Risk of ‘token’ enrichment without inclusion
Simply providing enrichment access does not guarantee belonging. If, say, arts or outdoor adventure are offered but some pupils feel they are not for “people like me”, or logistics exclude them (SEND needs, cost, transport, culture), then belonging may not be improved. Schools must ensure inclusive design. - Potential for widening gaps
The reforms point to stretching the most able, but also supporting all, including SEND. If schools focus solely on high-attaining students or areas they excel in, then pupils who previously felt marginalised may continue to feel outside the mainstream. Ensuring belonging means deliberately designing for all. - Balancing knowledge-rich and inclusive culture
A knowledge-rich curriculum is desirable, and sequential structure is important. But if it becomes rigid, high-pressure or alienating for some learners (including neurodiverse pupils, those with ADHD, autism, fibromyalgia etc), belonging may suffer. Teacher professional development, differentiated approaches, and culture matter.
Implications for teachers, schools and learners (with a focus on neurodiversity / SEND)
Given the curriculum changes, how should schools and teachers act to embed belonging and ensure that all pupils, including neurodiverse learners, benefit?
For teachers and curriculum leaders
- Audit enrichment and access
Ensure the five enrichment categories (civic, arts, nature/adventure, sport/physical, life skills) are accessible to all learners. Review whether those with additional needs are genuinely included, what barriers exist (physical access, cost, transport, timing, teacher attitudes) and plan accordingly. - Curriculum sequencing with connection
As the curriculum becomes clearer and machine-readable, use its structure to map how learners build their sense of belonging: early success, scaffolded progression, collaborative projects, peer mentoring. For neurodiverse learners, build patterns of success, visible progression, and opportunities for identity building in the community. - Inclusive pedagogy
With the greater emphasis on oracy, reading, writing, financial/media literacy, digital, arts and nature, it is essential to differentiate and scaffold for learners with SEND/ EAL. Flexible formats, multimodal tasks (visual, auditory, experiential), peer support, chunking of tasks and choice all foster belonging. - Student voice and representation
Belonging is strengthened when learners see themselves in the curriculum and have agency. Build in opportunities for pupil voice (which arts projects, which outdoor expeditions, which civic engagements). Ensure neurodiverse and historically excluded pupils are included in planning and leadership of enrichment. - Cross-subject and cultural relevance
The new curriculum emphasises modern issues: fake news, misinformation, media literacy, climate education. Teachers should link learning to real-life contexts that matter to pupils, including those from diverse backgrounds. This helps pupils feel the curriculum is meaningful and they belong in it.
For learners (especially neurodiverse / additional needs)
- Visible pathways to success
When a curriculum is new or changing, clarity of “what next” matters. Learners (especially those with neurodiversity) often benefit from knowing how they progress, that they are part of a journey, and what success looks like. Teachers should make progression explicit (e.g., “we’re building our oracy, next we’ll apply it in project X”). - Affirmation of identity and belonging
Schools should affirm that learners’ identities, neurodiversity, mobility/disability, home backgrounds matter and add value. The curriculum enrichment (arts, outdoor, civic) is a chance for learners to engage in ways that connect with them and build confidence, agency and peer connection. - Choice and voice
With the broader subject choice promised (including arts, languages, humanities) there is more opportunity for learners to pick what resonates. Encourage pupils to choose and engage in subjects and enrichment that reflect their interests and strengths, helping bolster belonging. - Support and scaffolding
For neurodiverse learners, the stronger focus on oracy, reading, writing, sequential knowledge, digital/financial literacy means supports must be in place: clear structures, chunked tasks, accessible resources, options for alternative expression (e.g., oral presentations, drama, arts projects). This ensures the curriculum is inclusive rather than exclusionary.
Practical steps for embedding belonging ahead of 2028
Given that the new curriculum will start first teaching in September 2028, schools and teachers have time to prepare. Here are practical steps to embed belonging in the preparation phase:
- Whole-school ethos review
Use this period to revisit the school’s vision and ethos: does it emphasise belonging, connection, inclusion, aspiration for all? Use staff CPD to raise awareness of belonging especially for neurodiverse/SEND learners. - Mapping enrichment and equity of access
Create an audit of enrichment across the five domains (arts/culture, sport/physical, nature/adventure, civic engagement, life skills). Analyse participation by pupil subgroup (SEND, disadvantaged, minorities) and plan to remove barriers (costs, transport, timing, support). - Curriculum mapping with identity and progression in mind
As you begin mapping how the new national curriculum will roll out, embed opportunities for student identity expression, cross-curriculum projects, collaborative work, peer mentoring and enrichment that connects to pupil backgrounds and interests. Sequence so early wins build belonging. - Teacher professional learning in inclusive pedagogy
Provide training on how to differentiate, how to scaffold oracy and literacy for diverse learners, how to include neurodiverse and SEND pupils in experiential enrichment (outdoor adventure, arts, civic participation). - Student involvement and voice
Involve students now in shaping how the enriched curriculum will look at your school: what arts/culture projects they would like, which civic activities, how to make outdoor/adventure meaningful. Prioritise voice from pupils who often feel marginalised. - Monitoring belonging outcomes
Develop simple indicators of belonging (student surveys, participation rates in enrichment, cross-group peer relations, retention/attendance of vulnerable groups) and track ahead of and after implementation. Use this data to refine practice.
Conclusion
The new national curriculum announced by the DfE offers a timely opportunity not just to update knowledge and skills for life and work, but to embed a deeper sense of belonging for all pupils. When students feel they belong, that their identities matter, that they are part of a learning community, that the curriculum connects to them and the future, then the ambitions of stronger foundations, broader enrichment and modern life skills become much more likely to succeed.
For teachers, curriculum leaders and school systems, the key will be to move beyond what is taught to how it is taught, who it is for, and how pupils feel as they participate. Schools that intentionally design for belonging- particularly for neurodiverse and disadvantaged learners – will be positioned to get the greatest benefit from the reforms. With the new curriculum rolling out from 2028, there is time now to prepare- to map enrichment, strengthen inclusive practice, and ensure that belonging is not a side benefit, but a core goal.