September 10, 2025, by Rupert Knight

What happens when children in your primary classroom do not see themselves represented in the curriculum?

In this post, Helen Richardson from Seely Primary School in Nottingham reflects on representation within the primary curriculum.

As an LGBT+ school leader, and in the aftermath of the murder of George Floyd in 2020, I have reflected on the vital role primary schools can play in eradicating discrimination and fostering an understanding of differences amongst our children.

A call to action

In the days following the murder of George Floyd and the protests that followed, I remember seeing news reports of the black community being frustrated with white protesters because they felt they were angry at this one specific event when the bigger issue was deep rooted racism and discrimination. In that moment I wanted to do something to contribute to change that was not waving a placard for an afternoon, before returning to my privileged existence.

At the same time as George Floyd’s murder, I attended the special case review of a 14 year old child who was murdered in London in January 2020. This child had been a pupil at my school; a football-obsessed, family-loving child whose life had taken several significant turns from the 8 year old, happy child that I remembered. His death hit me hard and made me really consider where we were failing our young people and what more I could do as a school leader.

It occurred to me that I was, in fact, the ideal person to initiate a change. As the deputy headteacher of a primary school of 540 pupils, I could make the changes to teach all of our children, starting from our three year-olds in the nursery, the importance of acceptance and understanding of each other and the citizens of the world they would meet in the future.

Nesrine Malik wrote in the Guardian at the time:

True solidarity, the one that helps in the long term rather than merely buys a sticking plaster for the short term, is in those moments. It is in the daily discomfort of taking risks, of challenging a system that subtly but emphatically excludes black people, when there is no reward for doing so, and of making way and giving up space where it counts – at the table where power sits – and when no one can see you do it.

The ultimate tool to end racism, discrimination, homophobia, misogyny, race inequality, biphobia, sexism, hate crimes and transphobia is education and that made me the ideal person (or one of them) to help.

Action for representation within our school

At Seely Primary School, we started an anti-racism working group. We looked at our curriculum and made changes (teaching about the black Tudors, pre-colonial Benin and the injustice of Edmund Hillary receiving the accolade of reaching the summit of Everest first over Tenzing Norgay). We changed our assemblies to educate and recognise significant days such as: International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination; Britain and the Slave Trade; Remembrance Day – the contributions of the British colonies to the World Wars; Links to Women’s History Month – women in the police and in healthcare.

We learned about diverse role models during a topic of Amazing Muslims: Nadia Nadim, Noor Inayat Khan, G. Willow Wilson, Nadiya Hussain, Jawahir Roble, Dr Hawa Abdi.

We also learned about the contributions of black role models: Claudia Jones, Olaudah Equiano, Henry ‘Box’ Brown, Mary Seacole, Walter Tull, Lilian Bader, Ulric Cross, Sislin Fay Allen, Karpal Kaur Sandhu, Emma Clarke, Anita Neil.

We spent significant amounts of money on our libraries, ensuring our books reflected all Seely pupils and citizens of the world.

A personal journey

At the same time as our curriculum changes and anti-racism work, I started to reflect on my own school experience. I knew I was gay when I was 10 years old. I grew up under Section 28 – a law formed by Margaret Thatcher’s Conservative government to prevent schools from teaching about the existence of homosexual relationships. The UK Diversity Timeline is a useful resource tracing many of these developments.

There was nothing in my childhood, my teenage years or even as a university student that taught me that it was OK to be me. I was not represented anywhere in the curriculum, in books, or on TV and the internet was not the support network that it can be today for teenagers struggling with their identities. I could not envisage ever telling anyone about my sexuality. I was convinced that my family would disown me, that my friends would abandon me, that I would have no one left. I felt very alone, and I felt a lot of shame. I never envisaged a future where I could be happy and living in a same sex relationship. I would have literally done anything as a child and young person to be what I considered ‘normal’. I did not tell a single person about my sexuality until I was 23 and I met my wife. I spent 13 years hiding who I was and feeling ashamed.

The opportunity to see other people like me, and to feel accepted, would have made all the difference to me growing up and moving through the school system. My feelings are supported by research from many LGBT+ youth charities and in particular this statistic from The Trevor Project’s 2020 National Survey on LGBTQ mental health:

LGBTQ youth who reported having at least one LGBTQ-affirming space had 35% reduced odds of reporting a suicide attempt in the past year.

We can make schools the LGBT+ affirming spaces that our children and young people need. And while we are doing so, why not make EVERY single child in our primary classroom feel seen, heard, recognised and valued in our primary curriculum?

Despite being ‘out’ to colleagues at work, I had never shared my sexuality with the children and took measures to avoid talking about my partner. As our anti-racism work developed at Seely, and in response to some homophobic name calling on the playground from our pupils, I decided to share my sexuality with older pupils at school. It became important to me to become the role model that I never had at school and the role model I was trying to inspire children at Seely to look up to. Diverse Educators is a site offering support and resources for schools and teachers on this journey.

The impact was significant. The homophobic name calling stopped almost instantly. Calling someone ‘gay’ on the playground started to have the same impact as calling someone a racist name. It was met with horror by the other children, who would report it to staff immediately. We also became a safe space. Staff reported children in Years 5 and 6 sharing worries about their own sexuality, either with the whole class or privately to staff members. Parents reported being able to have conversations with their children about their own sexuality or how their religion teaches acceptance for everyone in the world.

The defining moment of our diversity journey for me was the parent of a Year 6 boy, who had struggled with his own sexuality and identity, telling his Year 6 teacher that she genuinely believed that me coming out at school had saved her son’s life. In that moment, I knew I had achieved what I had set out to do.

The journey continues

Our diversity journey will never be finished. We will never stop working to make every child who attends Seely Primary School accepting, respectful and understanding citizens of the future. We will continue to celebrate major festivals from the main religions and many others such as:

If it matters to one child at Seely, or one child in the world, it matters to all of us. As a staff we all have the passion for inclusion and diversity, but if you ever have the chance to be given a tour of our school by our pupils, no one talks with more pride of our journey than they do.

Transforming your school

What happens when children in your primary classroom do not see themselves represented in your curriculum?

  • Shame

  • Feeling like the classroom and the curriculum are designed for anyone other than them

  • Some children feeling that the children who ARE represented are ‘right’ and those who are not are ‘wrong’

  • Racism, homophobia, transphobia, biphobia, sexism, discrimination, misogyny, hate crimes

  • Lack of ambition

  • Lack of self-worth

What happens when children in your primary classroom do see themselves represented in your curriculum?

  • Respect for themselves

  • Respect and acceptance of others

  • Understanding of each other’s lived experiences

  • Less likely to demonstrate discrimination now and in the future

  • Kindness

  • Enjoyment of the curriculum

  • Acceptance of themselves

Knowing all this, why would you not want to make your classroom the most inclusive and accepting place it could possibly be? Everyone should have the opportunity to be where they are celebrated, rather than where they are simply tolerated and everyone should have the chance to feel like they truly belong.

 

 

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