Month: October 2021

Making black history topics relatable for the youth of today is something that Adam feels is crucial to engaging the class and making history enjoyable. He has used various teaching methods to allow students to question culture and relate events to their lives today.

“In my last few schools, I have dedicated an entire day to different historical events, such as Holocaust Memorial Day. The students responded with curiosity, and it gave them the chance to ask pertinent questions and make contemporary links and ask ‘What is the impact of that today? How can we move forward?’

“It can be challenging to engage students when faced with complex and sensitive questions. You need to ensure that the subject matter can be engaging and come alive; one way of establishing this in schools could be to make further connections within the community to those who may have a story to share of their ancestors and how they settled here. If you have the human connection, the students will pick up on that and feel personally involved with the narrative.  It is more uplifting and stimulating if students can relate to a person, rather than seeing information in a textbook; stories can really capture the mind.”

As Head of Humanities in a school in Switzerland, Adam explains the training methods that he that has put in place for NQT’s or less inexperienced colleagues that are looking to approach the topic of black history. The school assists and supports new members of the team by linking them with more experienced and established teaching colleagues.

“When new teachers arrive from other cultures or begin teaching a new unit relating to topics of a sensitive nature, it is essential to coach and advise them on ways of communicating them with students and the wider community; and within their historical context.”

“It’s important to stress that outside school you cannot always use certain words. Some teachers may forget and use the terms loosely which can be dangerous and offensive. Within international education we have colleagues coming in from all over the world, so they may not always be culturally conscious of their new environment.

Reaching out to the school body and requesting fact sheets, or having a conversation with other teachers, is something that Adam encourages to support those who are uncertain on the correct context of the subject and are unfamiliar with today’s language surrounding Black History.

“There are not a great deal of resources for teachers associated with Black History and therefore, it is essential that education establishments begin to build up resources to encourage schools to plan and develop modules relating to it.  This can only be beneficial for raising awareness within the UK and break the culture of intolerance that we unfortunately see within our society, such as the booing of England football players taking the knee at the previous Euro Football tournament”.

“In order to see tangible cultural change and understanding of Black history, it is essential that   exam boards expand options and plant seeds from an early age, so students are encouraged to study these topics further in the future. We need more options, and some units must be made compulsory to help create awareness of our ancestry and evolving British culture.”

When touching on the recent events of racist abuse through sport and the media over recent years, Adam discusses how his school tackles the topic of racial abuse today.

“During Homeroom sessions we aim to invite external speakers to come in to talk about hate crime and verbal racist abuse and how to deal with these issues; this generates such valuable discussions in the classroom. Students relate to these issues and explore them further within the theatre of Humanities lessons; through further dialogue and discussion, students are able to make connections between the struggles that black people endured, and the legacy of racism that exists today in light of the Black Lives Matter (BLM) campaigns these past few years.”

You can find out more about our celebration of Black History on our blog page

Lavinya Stennett is the young founder of The Black Curriculum, an organisation which is on a mission to help revamp the education system and ensure that black history is taught in all schools.

Growing up in South London, Lavinya attended schools that did not teach black history, something that she felt was important for students of all cultures to learn. After graduating in New Zealand, she promised herself that she would be part of the change when she returned home.

In 2019, she was awarded ‘Student Activist of the year’ in the School of Oriental and African Studies, after campaigning to help students from ethnic backgrounds obtain bursaries for university that they had missed out on. The campaign was a success and all 92 students received their money.

At the age of 23, Lavinya has a team of people who regularly attend school and workshops with children, while providing teachers and schools with vital resources about ways they can introduce black history into their lessons. They single handedly contact schools and offer their presentations to anyone that is interested and have received an overwhelmingly response so far.

Their campaign #TBH365 (Teach Black History, all year round) has reached the government and allowed them to meet with the education secretary to discuss the changes to the curriculum. Lavinya claims that they were very supportive, but that there is some way to go before changes are made.

Lavinya hopes that the recent Black Lives Matter protests will help push for long-term, sustainable change around Black history education in the future.

“Even a small step is a big step in our eyes”

Those are the words of Sam, a Learning Support Assistant with over 15 years’ experience in the education sector, specialising in SEN schools. 

Sam’s passion for helping others is clear to see when we spoke to her about her previous experiences, working in hospitals, as a home care worker and even working with young children on a cruise ship. 

She said: “In college I did a BTEC in caring. One placement I had was in a special needs school, which is where I found my love for the sector. My last role was on a cruise ship, which stopped due to covid. I knew that schools would need SEN support during this time, so decided to go down the agency route to find a school.

Sam shares her time between various caring roles, which is why the flexibility of a supply role is perfect for her and fits around her lifestyle.

“I’m a private care worker for a little boy and I also work at a special needs playground during the holidays, so the school holidays work well for me. Family holidays are easier too when you can choose your working weeks.”

Due to her wealth of knowledge in care, Sam has been able to transfer many skills into her teaching style today, adapting her approach based on each individual that she works with.

She explains: “It’s about being patient and understanding. People might not understand that children in an SEN school can’t communicate like you would expect them to, so you have to look out for those signs. It could just be a look in their eye and that’s their ‘Yes’.

“It doesn’t come naturally, you need to learn that. Communication is what I have brought with me from other roles, being generally caring and having a calming effect.”

Sam has been registered with Sugarman Education since last November and has had consistent work ever since. Being in a long term placement, she has been able to build relationships with both staff and pupils and she shares her feelings on seeing those children develop and reach important milestones.

“In September we had 3 children come from mainstream schools. It’s very different here and we have a lot of structure. One child had one-on-one help in mainstream school and was always removed from class because he was upset or frustrated. 

We can deal with that behaviour and have already seen a huge change in him. The key is not to use too much language. We have a visual schedule and he can already recognise what task is next. It’s great to see him pick it up.”

When discussing how working in an SEN school can help shape a child’s future, Sam discusses how she has seen children develop just by completing everyday tasks and how being patient and observing their behaviour is key to communicating with them. 

She explains: “Someone putting a bag on their own peg can be a big thing for them. People will do it for them for ease, but they need to learn life skills. Simple things like dressing themselves, being independent. You’re not always focused on the teaching.

“No two children are the same, so don’t have any expectations of them. Five minutes of work is an achievement for them. If it takes them 10 minutes, then wait. Use your initiative. They can’t communicate while they are upset, so you need to pick up on that.”

From a young age, Sam was keen to help others. Her dream job was to be a vet, but after becoming an auntie at the age of 10, she knew that she wanted to work with children. 

“From then on, I liked helping kids. When I studied health and social care in secondary school, my teacher was really encouraging and pushed me towards that career.”

When asking Sam why she would recommend working in a supply role, there were many reasons why she would suggest this career path to others, as well as the service that she has received from Sugarman Education. 

“If you’re not sure if this is for you, supply is a great way to try it without being in a fixed contract. You may have only worked in mainstream schools and want to experience a week in an SEN school.

“Sugarman Education is really on the ball. They were considerate and took into account what I wanted, not what they needed. They matched me to the right role and they still check in with me now, even on a long-term placement.”

If you would like to hear more about the vacancies we have available. Get in touch today https://sugarmaneducation.co.uk/about/contact/

In the wake of the Black Lives Matter protests and the events that took place in the Euros football tournament, campaigners have been fighting more than ever for the teaching of black history to be made mandatory for all pupils in schools across England. Making this topic a permanent fixture within the school curriculum will educate the younger generation on the contributions of black people within UK history and how this has impacted the way we live today.

As part of our Black History Month campaign, we spoke to a former candidate, Adam Seymour, a history teacher whose passion and experience in black history has allowed him to expand the minds of his pupils, incorporating the topic into his lessons and reflecting on why black history should be a key focus in schools.

Adam began teaching in 2008. Black history was included to a certain degree during his teacher training.

He said: “As far as teaching in UK schools, Black History was marginal.  It was celebrated, but in terms of teaching it within history, there was not a huge emphasis. We taught the Black Peoples of America’s slave journey and integration. However, after year 9, there are only around 11 % of GCSE modules linked to or that even reference black history.”

After studying history at university, Adam has a wealth of knowledge around black history and has the confidence from his previous schools to be given the freedom to integrate and establish a curriculum which is diverse and rich and has included a multitude of units aimed at understanding minority cultures.

“There are core modules that Schools need to cover and complete as a teacher.  However, in relation to Key Stages 3, you do have a great degree of flexibility. It’s up to the Head of History to make a conscious decision as to which units are taught and can be also aligned with your area of expertise or specialism. I did my degree in History and my final thesis was on the impact both Malcolm X and Martin Luther King had on Civil Rights in the USA. Using my specialism, I find a way to incorporate my expertise and knowledge into my curriculum design and make it differentiated and accessible for all age groups.”

As well as black history being taught in a limited way in schools, Adam highlights that we are also missing the opportunity to learn about other minority groups. With such culturally diverse schools across the UK, there are significant events in history such as the British Empire that link to other cultures and countries which are scarcely discussed within the History curriculum.  For example, whilst the British Empire is explored from an Anglo-centric perspective, it fails to illuminate the impact that Indian culture has had on the UK because of British rule.

He adds: “We need to identify and explore other historical topics and cultures to expand upon black history for all cultures. There is a huge focus on the USA, which I think is important, and we need to learn about figures such as Martin Luther King, Rosa Parks and Emancipation Proclamation. However, there is a big gap in UK black history; there seems to be a lack of ingrained units which shed light upon, explore British black history. We should embed and legislate to make these units compulsory modules.”

Stay tuned next week for Part 2 of Adam’s interview

Gus John is an education campaigner, author and was the first black Director of Education in Britain in 1989. Since the 1960s, he has spent his entire career campaigning against racial discrimination and issues within the education sector in Britain’s inner cities.

Born in Grenada, he moved to the UK to study at Oxford, where his passion for education and youth development came alive.

Gus became a community activist and worked with youth groups in Manchester, campaigning for issues such as employment opportunities for black school leavers.

In his long and successful career, Gus has been a member of numerous teaching unions and education authorities and has worked as an education consultant across the world, fighting for equality and justice, whilst empowering young people.

In 1999, Gus John co-founded the Communities Empowerment Network (CEN), a charitable organisation providing representation for excluded school students and their parents/carers.

In the same year, Gus was offered a CBE in the New Year Honours list but declined. He explained at the time that his career in the UK had always been about the struggle for racial equality and social justice. One of the major stumbling blocks of promoting racial equality is the legacy of the British Empire, therefore he believed it a serious dishonour to be a Commander of the institution he had tried to demolish.

2020 saw Gus voted as one of the ‘100 Great Black Britons’.

Our CEO, Esme Bianchi-Barry speaks to the Education Journal about the supply teaching skills gap in the primary sector and the high demand for up to date training following the recent pandemic.

Esme addresses the current skills shortage and explains how we are aiming to upskill the teaching sector with our innovative CPD Supply Toolkit.

You can find this feature in the latest 13.10 Education Journal

Our CEO, Esme Bianchi-Barry speaks to FE News about upskilling the supply teaching industry following the launch of our an innovative CPD programme.

In recent years we’ve seen a growing disparity between the training that supply teachers receive compared to their counterparts in school. Esme addresses the current skills shortage and explains how we are aiming to upskill the supply teaching sector.

Click the link to read the article.

Margaret Ebunoluwa Aderin-Pocock (Maggie) is a British space scientist and science educator. Born in London to Nigerian parents in the late sixties, she moved between 13 schools during her childhood, achieving outstanding grades and a PhD in Mechanical Engineering, all whilst battling dyslexia.

From a very young age, Maggie was fascinated with space. Throughout her career, she has helped to design revolutionary space instruments and has worked for the Ministry of Defence building missile warning systems and landmine detectors. 

Maggie is passionate about educating children and regularly visits schools to inspire pupils, particularly girls, to pursue their interest in Science and to promote her company, Science Innovation. A community that explores all of the wonders of space science, reaching children and adults around the world.

Having engaged with over 350,000 children globally, she continues to educate the next generation of engineers and scientists, busting myths about class and gender across the industry.

She also helps encourage the scientific endeavours of young people by being a celebrity judge at the National Science + Engineering Competition, which rewards young people who have achieved excellence in science, technology, engineering, or maths project.

Following her powerful presence in the Science field, this has prompted a successful television career, with BBC documentaries about the moon and satellites, and most recently a role as co-presenter on the long-running astronomy programme The Sky at Night. 

She was awarded an MBE for her services to science and education in 2009. In 2013, she was listed in the UK Powerlist as one of the top ten most influential black Britons.