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

Inclusion

Sarah Hopp

What’s the sense in a sensory room?

People often underestimate the importance of sensory rooms for creating an inclusive environment, as they can serve as crucial spaces for individuals to reset their minds and bodies, helping them deal with feelings of overwhelm and panic. Dr Sarah Hopp explores the value of these spaces as part of...
Read more...
Carole Green

Three impactful steps schools can take to embed EDI into their settings

Ensuring we are engaging in equality, diversity and inclusion in an impactful way is crucial to the wellbeing of the whole school community. Carole Green shares three steps to take to reach this goal. Settings that struggle to embed EDI are more likely to have environments in which discrimination...
Read more...
Sheza Afzal

Three common mistakes schools face in their EDI work

Inclusive environments in schools require a shared responsibility to promote EDI. Sheza Afzal outlines three mistakes and offers suggestions for addressing them. Schools strive to create inclusive environments through their efforts to promote equality, diversity, and inclusion (EDI). However, this...
Read more...
Nic Ponsford

Making invisible careers visible

Nic Ponsford discusses 'invisible careers' and the importance of diverse and inclusive role models for students to unlock their potential. Is your school addressing this? As young people grow up and explore the world around them, they are often asked to consider what they want to do when they’re...
Read more...
Mel Greenwood

Blue is for everyone. Pink is for everyone.

What are gender stereotypes? Mel Greenwood describes day-to-day life examples and the importance of challenging gender myths. On my fertility journey, hoping to start a family, people often ask me ‘what I want’, and this question irritates me more than it should. Answer — I would like to birth a...
Read more...
Candice West

Overcoming three barriers to promoting equality, diversity and inclusion

Finding ways to defeat EDI obstacles can be challenging. Candice West offers tips to locate where unconscious bias, privilege and lack of representation may cause problems. Go straight to Unconscious bias Lack of representation Privilege Educators are passionate about teaching and want young people...
Read more...
Liz Worthen

Changing and challenging perceptions about disability: the Power 100

The Disability Power 100 list is all about challenging negative perceptions about disability and celebrating the achievements of the many successful and influential disabled people in the UK. How can you get involved? Did you know that a fifth of the UK’s population has some kind of disability or...
Read more...
Aldaine Wynter

Racial literacy and what it means for me

What is racial literacy and why should it be incorporated into the school curriculum? Aldaine Wynter shares his experiences. In my first blog post, ‘ Beginning the conversation round race, diversity and inclusion with staff ’, I briefly spoke about racial literacy and its place in anti-racist CPD...
Read more...
Aldaine Wynter

Raising the voice of LGBTQ+ youth

LGBTQ+ History Month is an ideal time to start an LGBTQ+ student voice group. Aldaine Wynter explains some first steps. Every February is LGBTQ+ History Month and this year’s theme, 'The Arc is Long', is inspired by Martin Luther King’s quote: ‘The arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends...
Read more...
Olivia Dickinson

Like a girl: Gender stereotypes in education

What is the impact of gender stereotypes on the behaviours and beliefs of pupils and staff? Olivia Dickinson investigates. In your school or early years setting, what do you see that suggests how pupils and staff devalue things that are coded feminine? It is often deemed desirable for girls to like...
Read more...