MY Cultur-ED
Helping to build a better tomorrow by culturally educating the children of today & those they learn from
“We must not only learn to tolerate our differences. We must welcome them as the richness and diversity which can lead to true intelligence.”
- Albert Einstein
“Culture is the widening of the mind and of the spirit.”
-Jawaharlal Nehru
At MY Cultur-ED consultancy (pronounced: my cultured) we specialise in supporting schools in meeting their statutory duty to culturally develop their pupils, and value cultural diversity and inclusion. Educating pupils about different cultures enriches their learning experience, and improves their attainment levels and the whole school community.
It also highlights our shared humanity, and pride in our diverse cultural heritages, which helps to foster community cohesion. We firmly believe that our cultural differences should not divide us, but rather cultural diversity brings enriching insights that connect us all to our common humanity.
We understand that time is at a premium for school leaders, but partnering with us will significantly enhance your laudable efforts, accelerate progress, and deliver positive outcomes in these areas.
What we do
We work in partnership with schools to deliver our ©Cultural Development Programme (CDP), which provides school leaders with a framework to deliver the cultural development many know their pupils need. The ©CDP helps to prepare children and young people to successfully navigate our interconnected world. Celebrating cultural diversity and inclusion significantly contributes to pupils’ sense of belonging and respect for others.
Our ©CDP is delivered through a series of engaging workshops that are age-appropriate (for all key stages, including Sixth Form). Our workshops help equip pupils with critical thinking skills, empathy, and other soft skills needed to thrive in our diverse society and the global workspace.
Each workshop is tailored to pupils and ensures they develop our ©3Rs:
Racial & cultural literacy- being racially aware, confident and continuing to build knowledge about other cultures and cultural differences. It is an essential skill for work and life.
Respectful curiosity & pride- an appreciation, interest in and understanding of other cultures, including that of their peers whilst also celebrating their own heritage(s). Opportunity to learn about and from under-represented groups.
Resolve to respond-the courage, insights and tools to call out, challenge and correct racially inappropriate, discriminatory and/or offensive behaviour or language.
It is designed for the whole academic year, working with different year group cohorts, and can be booked annually. It is underpinned by research, our lived experiences as black parents, and best practice guidance and collaboration with others, including authors, artists/performers, educators, and other EDI practitioners. It is regularly monitored and evaluated to assess its impact.
We also act as a critical friend, providing bespoke consulting services to assist with:
❖focus groups/surveys ❖audits/action plans ❖policies
Work with us to make a positive difference to the next generation
Whole school approach
to our workshops will transform your community
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©MY Cultur-ED Heritage Day
Opportunity for pupils to celebrate and learn about their own cultural heritage and that of their peers. It’s an important way for children and staff to get to know each other and for pupils to feel seen and heard.
Respectful curiosity & pride
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©Explaining and Embracing Cultural Differences
We explain the biology behind differences in skin colour and meaning of ethnicity. We explore cultural differences and the importance of embracing these differences to create a more inclusive school community and society. For age appropriate groups, we look at privilege and disadvantage based on your ethnicity.
Racial & cultural literacy
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©CDP for Staff
Overview of what cultural development is and why it’s important. Looks at how staff can develop cultural competency in and outside the classroom, in their interaction with all pupils, and if needed, how to effectively respond to racist incidents. We look at how teachers can incorporate racial literacy into their teaching, so they deliver a contextualised, diverse curriculum. We also look at how racial/cultural biases can negatively impact on teaching and ways to prevent this.
Racial & cultural literacy
Respectful curiosity & pride
Resolve to respond effectively
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©CDP Information Evening for Parents/Carers
Explains what cultural development is, how to support cultural awareness at home and why it’s an important life skill for children and young people to develop. We highlight the importance of celebrating and embracing cultural diversity. We also support parents/carers with the confidence and tools to have those sometimes difficult but necessary conversations on issues around race/ethnicity, discrimination and racism.
Racial & cultural literacy
Respectful curiosity & pride
Resolve to respond effectively
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©Sticks and Stones
We explore racial discrimination and prejudice, with a deep dive into language, stereotypes and racist insults/slurs. We look at how to effectively call these out, challenge and correct. Highlights why language matters and how it can advance/regress cultural and racial equity and inclusion. Opportunity for pupils to discuss and share their own experiences/reflections.
Resolve to respond effectively
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©MY Cultur-ED Guest Day
Our special guest day is a fabulous fun day, where we bring a special guest into the school to introduce the children to something culturally unique, whether it be learning a new instrument, a new style of dance, drama, fashion or an award winning author for World Book Day. This is a wonderful way to enrich lives and increase representation of under-represented groups.
Respectful curiosity & pride
Why it matters
Under section 78 of the Education Act 2002 all schools, including independent schools, have a statutory duty to culturally develop their pupils.
Ofsted’s 2004 guidance on promoting and evaluating pupils’ cultural development defined it as:
Cultural development is about pupils’ understanding their own culture and other cultures in their town, region and in the country as a whole. It is about understanding cultures represented in Europe and elsewhere in the world.
It is about understanding and feeling comfortable in a variety of cultures and being able to operate in the emerging world culture of shared experiences provided by television, travel and the internet. It is about understanding that cultures are always changing and coping with change. Promoting pupils’ cultural development is intimately linked with schools’ attempts to value cultural diversity and prevent racism.
In its most recent Inspection Handbook, Ofsted continues to evaluate the provision of pupils’ cultural development as:
An understanding and appreciation of the wide range of cultural influences that have shaped their own heritage and that of others, and an understanding and appreciation of the range of different cultures in the school and further afield as an essential element of their preparation for life in modern Britain.
In 2019, Ofsted introduced cultural capital (CC) into the Early Years Inspection Handbook and defined it as ‘essential knowledge children need to prepare them for their future success,’ with schools expected to demonstrate how they enrich pupils’ cultural awareness and understanding.
It also raises pupils’ attainment levels as well as overall life chances, and where achievement gaps exist between different ethnic groups, doing so helps to bridge those gaps. The 2023 research conducted by the Department of Education and Cabinet Office examined the strategies used by English schools that successfully narrowed the ethnicity achievement gap. Leaders from these schools emphasised a deliberate focus on pupils' ethnicity, culture, religion, nationality, and language within their whole school approach and strategy.
The Independent Schools Inspectorate (ISI) Inspection Framework states that:
Leadership must actively promote principles at the school which encourage pupils to acquire an appreciation of and respect for their own and other cultures which furthers and promotes tolerance and respect between different cultural traditions.
The Equality Act 2010 provides protection from racial discrimination (direct or indirect) in schools
This means school leaders have a statutory duty to eliminate racism in their schools.
A few schools we have or are currently working with!
A few schools we have or are currently working with!
What schools are saying
“Melissa and Yetunde are so knowledgeable and supportive.” - Handcross Park School (Teacher)
“Great to debate various issues and I thought it was lead very strongly by Melissa and Yetunde…I really enjoyed it!” - Lime Tree Primary (Parent)
“The pupils were highly motivated and enthusiastic, they enjoyed discussing their heritage and it evoked several great discussions…pupils who were reluctant to talk were able to share with their peers.” - Copthorne Prep School (Director of Wellbeing/DLS)
“I would recommend MY Cultur-ED to any school that wishes to explore the importance of discussion around culture, race in a friendly and informative way relevent to pupils” - Copthorne Prep School (Director of Wellbeing/DLS)
“I feel the training was really beneficial for us all.” - Lime Tree Primary (Teacher)
“They were both kind, empathetic, intelligent and generous with their time.” - Lime Tree Primary (Parent)
“I was inspired by the session and so want to help inform my children. ” - Lime Tree Primary (Parent)
“It was great to start this conversation - I feel like it’s something we can all be more mindful of.” - Handcross Park School
“Really informative. I thought that teaching the biology of race was a very great idea...” - Lime Tree Primary (Teacher)