At the heart of our Foundational Learning lies a commitment to equity-centred education. This programme provides a solid grounding, strengthening your foundations to develop practices that prepare educators for all eventualities, creating a long-lasting impact on equity in education.
Foundational Learning is more than a training course—it’s a movement towards long-term systemic change in education. Our programme is intersectional, comprehensive, and tailored for educators committed to continuous improvement.
Grounded in our four core principles—affirming individuals, nurturing critical thinking, building community, and fostering democracy—we critically examine existing practices and collaboratively develop new, equitable approaches, transforming classrooms into spaces of fairness and justice.
Our four full-day sessions are designed specifically for educators, offering a dynamic blend of theory and action to ignite real change in your classrooms. We incorporate individual reflection, group work, and a complementary reading list. Understanding the demands of the education sector, we’ve tailored our programme for flexibility. Whether you prefer to learn during school hours, on weekends, or after school as half days, we’ve got you covered. Once you complete our training, you can take it again, at no extra cost. This underscores our commitment to building a community of dedicated educators.
The Big Short: “No one can see a bubble. That’s what makes it a bubble.”
Dive into the foundations of deficit ideology, and its pervasive presence in education. Explore the six characteristics of deficit ideology using government white papers to understand their impact in your classroom.
Full day
Wednesday, November 27, 2024
Saturday, November 23, 2024
Evening
Tuesday, December 3, 2024
Wednesday, December 4, 2024
The Usual Suspects: “The greatest trick the Devil ever pulled was convincing the world he didn’t exist.”
Examine race, racism, and whiteness as organising principles in society. Reassess the six characteristics of deficit ideology through this lens, gaining clarity on why the education system disproportionately impacts minoritised young people.
Full day
Thursday, December 12, 2024
Saturday, December 14, 2024
Evening
Tuesday, December 17, 2024
Wednesday, December 18, 2024
Mission Impossible: “Hope is not a strategy.”
Hope is a discipline for educators in this work. Revisit previous learnings and delve into equity literacy. Clarify the difference between equality and equity, and distinguish between mitigative solutions and those that challenge inequity.
Full day
Thursday, January 16, 2025
Saturday, January 18, 2025
Evening
Tuesday, January 21, 2025
Wednesday, January 22, 2025
Session 4 – Inception : “You mustn’t be afraid to dream a little bigger”
Explore Class 13’s Advancing Equity Framework. Discuss these principles in your context and develop strategies for collective improvement. Create actions to implement equitable practices in your schools, highlighting the simplicity and effectiveness of well-designed equity plans.
Full day
Wednesday, February 5, 2025
Saturday, February 8, 2025
Evening
Tuesday, February 11, 2025
Wednesday, February 12, 2025
Join us for our next Foundational Learning session and start making a lasting impact in your setting.
I found ‘deficit’ thinking a really useful idea – that is also being talked about in other ways in current educational training. It seemed to me the most obvious way to try and reshape my thinking about race and the experience of students who are educated in a racist system.
Deficit thinking really ‘clicked’ and I think it’s something we should explore more deeply.
I really enjoyed the course and found the material both challenging and purposeful. It has inspired me to reflect deeply on my teaching practices and strive for a more equitable classroom.
So interesting. Really helpful to to share ideas, thoughts, perspectives. I feel disheartened whist at the same time inspired. Thank you also for directing me to Beverley Tatum and Bell Hooks. Their perspectives and descriptions of the education system should be on every teacher training curriculum.
Thank you for an amazing session! It was so thought provoking, especially recognising how deficit ideology underpins and is a barrier to change on the issues we work on, plus building critical thought around when our work actually plays into this ideology and related narratives rather than pushing against them. It has given me such a boost!
If you’d like more information on our programmes, want to speak with us about joining our movement, collaborating with us or anything else, we’d love to hear from you.
