GEC Inclusion Index - Student - Key Behavioural Area 9
Curriculum
“I feel 'seen' in the curriculum. The curriculum here is diverse and represents me.”
41.3% agree
⬆ Improving Trend
So what?
A curriculum shouldn’t just reflect what students need to know — it should reflect who they are. Yet only 41.3% of students across our GEC 26,000 Voices dataset agreed that the curriculum is diverse and representative of them.
That means the majority of students are sitting through lessons where they feel unseen — where their identity, history, culture, or lived experience is invisible, misrepresented, or erased.
📣 What We Heard
“In History, we only learn about white people. In English, all the books are by white authors.”
“We talk about slavery, but not Black excellence.”
“They make it sound like we don’t exist.”
The GEC Platform: Proven Solution
The GEC Platform directly asks students, staff, and leaders about the curriculum. It captures perceptions, experiences, and gaps — then turns that insight into targeted action. See this example with our case study of Brays School.
Through anonymised identity mapping and theme-by-theme reporting, schools can audit curriculum alignment with real student lived experience. We then guide you through next steps: from diversifying texts and topics, to embedding lived experience into STEM, arts, humanities and beyond.
Our approach is rooted in intersectional inclusion, curriculum decolonisation, and community co-construction — designed by GEC Circle experts and already being used to transform schools around the world.
The Kaleidoscope View
Kaleidoscopic Data reveals stark disparities across identities:
Global Majority students consistently reported narrow representation in History, Literature, and PSHE.
“They teach Islam as a problem, not as a culture.”LGBTQIA+ students expressed deep curriculum erasure.
“I’ve never seen an LGBTQ+ person mentioned in any subject.”Neurodivergent and disabled students noted they are often included only as “inspiring” case studies or medicalised examples:
“We’re always the ‘inspiring’ story. Why can’t we just be normal people?”
This isn’t just about what is taught — but how, why, and whose stories are centred.
Students who disagreed with this statement also showed:
Lower scores for belonging
Increased school avoidance due to feeling unsafe
Less likelihood of having a trusted adult at school
This absence sends a harmful message: that some lives are worth studying, and others are not.
Next Steps & Free Stuff
📌 Visit the GEC Pinboard for curriculum audits, lesson ideas and resources
🧠 Explore our curriculum blogs and GEC KnowHow tools
💬 Connect with GEC Circle curriculum specialists like Ndah, Mary Myatt and others through our events and social channels
📊 Use the GEC Score Card to see where your curriculum hits the mark — and where it could go even further.
