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‘Campaigning for a Curriculum Rooted in Our Communities’
Aditi Banerjee and Amon Chua introduce the Lost Lessons campaign – a youth-led initiative for an education which unites people across differences and embraces our diversity
Classrooms can be one of the first places where we learn about the world we are growing into, where we find community, and where we foster a curiosity for the stories we don’t yet know.
But they can also be young people’s first experiences of feeling invisible, excluded, and othered.
The Lost Lessons campaign is aiming to fix that.
Part of youth organising charity The Advocacy Academy, based in south London, it is a project led by a group of young people, including ourselves, who know the impact of feeling forgotten by the system and the value of students feeling seen at school.
In a recent survey by Lit In Colour – a partnership between the Runnymede Trust and Penguin Books UK – 82% of young respondents could not recall studying a text by an author of colour at school. We believe that students deserve to see themselves in the lessons they learn, especially as more than a third of students in England are black, Asian, and from ethnic minorities.
Our stories are part of the national story and we are campaigning for a curriculum representative of us all – one that reflects Britain’s multicultural communities and resonates with the experiences of young people up and down the country, bringing their education to life.
This passion for an inclusive, engaging, and unifying education is why the Lost Lessons campaign was formed. The relationships we have forged on the way embody a culture of care which captures the sense of belonging we hope to see in every classroom.
This is a pivotal moment for the changes we suggest as the Government has announced a national independent Curriculum and Assessment Review which will not take place again for another two decades.
Our campaign appeals for three central asks to be embedded in the review’s recommendations, set to be published in autumn:
- Teach us: teach statutory topics such as race, migration, and the British Empire in mandatory content taught across subjects.
- Train us: train teachers in racial literacy, supporting them with the adequate resources to deliver an anti-racist curriculum.
- Change us: change students into leaders taking active roles in their local community through a module that cultivates local youth leadership and civic engagement.
The campaign aims to inspire in young people a feeling that we are a part of something bigger than ourselves. This can be found in teaching shared histories or in young people working to make a difference in the diverse neighbourhoods to which we belong.
There is something palpable about spaces in local communities in which young people feel seen, heard, represented, and in which they have the agency and energy to lead.
Nothing showcased this spirit better than one of our first actions last December. It may have been dark outside, but it was warm and bright inside The Advocacy Academy’s Liberation Centre in Brixton, where we gathered around glitter, poetry, and holiday cheer, preparing to gain the attention of the Education Secretary, Bridget Phillipson. By the end of the night, the tables were filled with festive cards of all colours, ready to deliver the message that all we wanted for Christmas was an inclusive education.
By the start of this year, Lost Lessons received a response from Phillipson.
We have since had an encouraging meeting with the chair of the House of Commons’ Education Select Committee, Labour MP Helen Hayes, as well as built up solidarity with leaders in education, working with the National Education Union and the Runnymede Trust, among others, unified by our requests for an anti-racist and representative curriculum. We have also discussed the curriculum review with its chair, Professor Becky Francis, CEO of the Education Endowment Fund.
Milestones such as this are the culmination of months of careful planning and coalition-building, which have only strengthened our strategic thinking as young community organisers hoping to make a difference. More than 50 young people have been part of this campaign so far.
Most recently, we joined experts at an All-Party Parliamentary Group for Race Equality in Education to speak directly to MPs and members of the House of Lords about the importance of anti-racism in the curriculum. This resulted in a commitment by the group’s secretariat that it would write to Francis asking her to deliver an anti-racist, inclusive curriculum.
As the Government pledges to grant 16 and 17-year-olds the right to vote, it is a vital time for strong civic education, equipping young people to navigate national division and foster community cohesion.
The Education Secretary has said that “education is about people” and, for us, this encapsulates what it means to teach a curriculum representative of people from all walks of life, backgrounds and cultures – all of whom form the fabric of this country’s rich and diverse national identity.
The Lost Lessons campaign is in a constant process of learning from the different nations of the UK, experts, teachers, students, youth workers, policy-makers, and from each other. Together, we hope for classrooms that overflow with curiosity, care, and community.
Contact the Lost Lessons campaign team by emailing teachinglostlessons@gmail.com
