Create a more inclusive classroom
Create a more diverse classroom
Parents/carers seek other methods of educational provision, due to diversity gaps in the national school curriculum, which generally focuses on eurocentric histories, methods and practises. Additional education in the young person’s cultural background enhances learning and social skills, and parents/carers feel that they have the ability to advocate for their children in these settings.
Recommendation:
To create an inclusive classroom, educators should diversify teaching materials to showcase diverse voices, promote cultural awareness through events and activities. Ways to achieve this include: Providing teacher training on cultural competence Engage with the community Encourage student voice and implement inclusive language Revise assessment methods to recognise diverse ways of demonstrating knowledge
Real world examples:
The Black Curriculum Report (2021) highlights that the curriculum is predominantly White and Eurocentric, failing to reflect Black communities.
EASY
Mindful Moves:
Lesson Review
GOAL: Create a detailed subject focused report highlighting the deficiencies and areas for improvement.
Decolonise and diversify the curriculum to include Black history, culture, and contributions.
Perform a lesson review to identify areas lacking representation of Black history, culture, and contributions.
- Choose a subject
- Review the references and examples given in current teaching materials
- Use tools like perplexity.ai to find diverse references for teaching materials
- Use platforms such as youtube.com to find diverse leaders speaking on subjects of interest
Curriculum reviews can take time. To maximise impact, we would encourage you to prioritise core subjects which are integral to the curriculum and embed diverse perspective in day to day learning.
ADVANCE
Mindful Moves:
Investing in inclusion
GOAL: Provide teachers and students with the tools and resources needed to successfully engage with the new curriculum content.
Decolonise and diversify the curriculum to include Black history, culture, and contributions.
Apply for grant funding and engage local businesses to secure necessary resources and support for implementing and sustaining a diversified curriculum.
- Identify a shortlist of activities you’d like to get funded in your school
- Review sites like https://www.grants4schools.info/
- Work with others to submit applications
If you’ve never written a grant application before check this out: Grant and Proposal Writing by Karen Thorpe Reid
Top tip: Save your answers to the application you make to reduce the time taken to complete proposals as you keep applying.
MEDIUM
Mindful Moves:
Impact Assessments
GOAL: Determine the effectiveness of representation initiatives and identify areas for further improvement.
Understand the impact of representation and diversity on children's self-confidence and educational engagement.
Use assessments, surveys, and performance data to measure changes in student attitudes and academic performance.
Can we create a 3 question survey and ask young people and staff to fill it in after every activity?
Question 1: How did the session make you feel?
Question 2: What did you learn in this session?
Question 3: How would you rate the session? [1 -10]
Can we start collecting feedback in one place about the schools diversity and inclusion efforts?
This it so we can build an evidence base about the effectiveness of our activities.