The curriculum review’s ambition of ensuring “the curriculum (and related material) is inclusive so that all young people can see themselves represented in their learning” is bold and welcome.
But what should it mean in practice?
Breaking ground
First, ‘tolerance’ (as referred to in the fundamental British values) isn’t enough; it hasn’t driven the change we need. A true culture of belonging means actively celebrating everyone for who they are.
This requires us to address unconscious biases before we even begin work on diversifying the curriculum itself. This groundwork needs to happen as part of initial teacher training (ITT) and continuing professional development (CPD).
These will need to include anti-racism and inclusive practice for all nine protected characteristics, most importantly race, gender, disability, sexual orientation and religion or belief.
Laying foundations
Although politically neutral, a richly diversified curriculum could prove controversial, especially where personal views do not align with inclusive pedagogy.
Therefore, beyond bias, diversification requires staff to be familiar with content, in terms of subject-specific knowledge and skills as well as different perspectives.
Currently, best practice relies too heavily on independently motivated teachers and leaders. This means it is least likely to take place in the least diverse communities, where it is arguably most needed.
A new national curriculum must represent a whole-sector commitment to addressing racial discord in our society.
The 2021 Black Curriculum report highlighted many drawbacks of our current model. Its focus was specifically on history, where it found a broad failure “to reflect our multi-ethnic and broadly diverse society”.
The review is an opportunity to finally, properly embed its several recommendations (which build on those of the 1999 Macpherson report that followed the murder of Stephen Lawrence).
But it can’t be just about history, as much as that matters. There are countless opportunities across subject domains to diversify perspectives and content to ensure children and young people are equipped to think critically, appraise information and draw their own conclusions.
Nor can it be just about race. We live in a multi-national society with a vast array of languages, cultures and ways of being.
That means there is simply too much for the curriculum review to provide an exhaustive content list for schools. It would be a mistake to try.
Instead, it should look to encourage and support more teachers to exercise their freedoms in this direction. To that end, there should be a presumption of diversity embedded in curriculum documents and accountability measures to ensure all schools are following best practice in this area.
School-to-school support and sector-wide leadership will quickly arise to help schools meet these requirements.
Building blocks
Children invariably do not ‘see’ difference until around the age of seven. Therefore, early education is vital in shaping responses to all kinds of uniqueness so that inclusivity and acceptance become the norm.
Amid a mental health crisis among our young people, their psychological safety must be a priority for the curriculum review. What comes out of it must offer more than belonging; it must offer hope.
To bring that about, its recommendations will need to ensure that throughout their education, every child in every classroom has access to a rich diet of content and experiences that represents them and all their ambitions – not just back at themselves but to all of their peers.
While the curriculum review can’t prescribe all of the content required to do this, it can and should provide subject-specific examples to raise the baseline substantially.
There is excellent practice to draw on across the country, and Becky Francis has the experience from working with the EEF to bring about some useful toolkits.
Delivering a genuinely diverse curriculum will be hard work for many. It will require us all to make the uncomfortable comfortable and to brave being vulnerable.
But the prize is a big one: not just children’s greater wellbeing but our own, as we are supported to embrace a renewed sense of collective purpose.
To be working towards greater happiness and a more cohesive society almost feels counter-cultural today. That is all the more reason for the review to be bold here.
Diana Ohene-Darko was a co-author of the NAHT’s You are not alone and a reviewer of the 2021 Black Curriculum report
This article is the latest in our series of sector-led, experience-informed recommendations for the Francis review of curriculum and assessment. Read them all here
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