Outcomes for Black students overall have improved in recent years. But children of Black Caribbean heritage continue to face some of the most persistent challenges in education. In Greenwich, we decided to try a new approach which shaped this as a borough-wide mission through the Greenwich Learning Partnership (GLP), a collaboration between the royal borough and all local schools to drive innovation. In 2024, we became the first area education partnership to adopt Hemisphere Education’s racial and cultural literacy programme for all our schools. Through this, we were able to offer training to every member of staff. This meant teachers, teaching assistants, site teams, administrators, cleaners and caterers could all learn practical strategies that would help to foster a true sense of belonging for pupils from global majority backgrounds. Two years in, we are proud that our work with Hemisphere has received national recognition, including the BETT Award 2026 for collaboration, with judges citing “measurable impact at scale – achieved through genuine collaboration evidenced through joint design, evaluation and sustained implementation”. Three practical lessons Here are three practical lessons that we are learning from our approach. Make it everyone’s responsibility Many strategies start with senior leaders. That is important, but it is not sufficient. The everyday interactions which shape outcomes for our pupils happen in classrooms, corridors and conversations, with everyone in the school community. If only a small group of staff feel confident addressing issues of race and belonging, change will be inconsistent at best. To address this at scale, we offered all schools racial literacy training that the whole staff could engage with in a structured way. The training is high quality, informed by neuroscience and framed in real-life experiences of pupils. We have seen a subtle but powerful shift. Staff are growing in confidence to talk about issues of race and racism, supporting the inclusive cultures in our schools. Treat belonging as a strategic priority and measure it Belonging can sometimes be seen as a “soft” concept, but we know that it is a leading indicator of outcomes. If pupils do not feel understood, respected or safe, there will be a knock-on effect on attendance, behaviour and achievement. Since starting our work in this area, pupils report feeling more able to express themselves, families describe having greater trust in schools, and staff talk about being able to have more open, reflective conversations when issues do arise. Build consistency across schools Our partnership model has empowered schools to share best practice. In Greenwich, this has been facilitated by schools engaging with the programme collectively, accessing the same resources, reflecting together, adapting practice and maintaining a shared focus over time. The benefit has been two-fold. First, it has reduced duplication and initiative overload. Second, it has created a more consistent experience for pupils and families across our borough. Building the conditions for lasting change Perhaps the most important lesson is that one-off initiatives can struggle to shift entrenched disparities. While our training framework remains consistent each year, it is never repetitive. We see the theme of racial equity come to life through the stories of children from diverse ethnic, religious, and socioeconomic backgrounds. Each new voice deepens our understanding of equality. There are no quick fixes here. But by supporting all our school staff across our local area we are building a strong collaboration that ensures all learners know they belong in our schools.