The Optimus blog

The blog that inspires leaders in the UK education sector

The Optimus blog

The blog that inspires leaders in the UK education sector

British Values

Dr Karamat Iqbal

Preparing young people for a multicultural world

Where do you come from? Dr Karamat Iqbal explores what it means to live in a multicultural world and suggests resources to support teaching and further reflection. I have lived in the Midlands for 51 years, having been born in Kashmir. But I am used to being asked: ‘Where do you come from?' Visible...
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Dr Karamat Iqbal

Should education be secular?

Religious belief is very much alive in our schools, but many teachers are drastically unprepared to teach in the classrooms of the future. One of the most visible effects of globalisation has been the greater movement of peoples and communities. This has led to newer forms of diversity, especially...
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Andrew Moffat

From schools to supermarkets: there are no outsiders!

In these unkind times, it's important to champion an inclusive, 'no outsiders' ethos. Real-world examples offer great opportunities to get pupils thinking about diversity. This week I delivered an assembly to Year 4 and 5 pupils on a branch of Tesco in Scotland. The Moray branch is working with...
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Lisa Griffin

Ofsted and British values

With increased importance of British values in the new framework, we look at what these really mean for schools and how to evidence for Ofsted. As of November 2014, schools have had to promote British values (BV), so no doubt we’re all very familiar with them. The advice from the DfE is to do this...
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