Currently, we see a future for our children and young people where extreme and entrenched income and wealth inequality are seen as problematic, yet an unavoidable consequence of economic growth. Discussions around social mobility embed the belief that the only barrier to success in the UK is a lack of hard work, despite all the evidence that shows this to be untrue. We develop new resources to be used in schools and colleges to support teachers and students to question these assumptions.
Currently, we see a future for our children and young people where extreme and entrenched income and wealth inequality are seen as problematic, yet an unavoidable consequence of economic growth. Discussions around social mobility embed the belief that the only barrier to success in the UK is a lack of hard work, despite all the evidence that shows this to be untrue. We develop new resources to be used in schools and colleges to support teachers and students to question these assumptions.
The plan and resources for this lesson were produced by a group of young people who attended a series of workshops facilitated by The Equality Trust and supported by The Alex Ferry Foundation. They are mainly suitable for 15/16 year olds.
The lesson plans have been produced in an effort to support teachers in engaging with issues around employment rights and could be used in the PSHE or Citizenship curricula. While we hope that the plan as written will enable you to engage with the content, there is no expectation that these will be used as scripted delivery. Do feel free to amend them as you see fit to suit the needs of your students in your classes. All we ask is that the Trust and the Foundation are acknowledged. It would be great to hear from you about your ideas for engaging with the content.
As part of our Equal Pay campaign, we have developed a set of schools resources that focuses on the 50th anniversary of the Equal Pay Act.
There are 4 lesson plans:
The history of equal pay in the UK
What is the gender pay gap?
The impact of income inequality
How do you solve a problem like unequal pay?
Evaluation, feedback and parental consent
Your feedback is so important in ensuring we can continue to improve these resources and make them even better for future students.
Feedback can be collected from students in whatever way a teacher finds most appropriate for their class. For instance, we recommend that if the lessons are undertaken in quick succession (e.g. one lesson per day within one week), the evaluation can be done at the end of the course, with schools combining the feedback forms into one form. However, if lessons are to be spread out (e.g. one lesson per week over the course of four consecutive weeks), we ask that learners fill in a feedback form at the end of each lesson. Teachers are also welcome to undertake class feedback/reflection if that is preferred.
The Equality Trust is happy to collate your school feedback and provide you with a summary of students’ learning for your own evaluation purposes.
Support for teachers
We know that young people have a lot of questions! So we’ve pulled together a glossary resource for teachers on the course, to help you feel confident about definitions and answering any questions that may come up.
Please let us know if you think there is anything missing from the document.
How can you teach these lessons at your school?
We welcome any teachers (or parents/carers who are homeschooling) to use the resources, and adapt them as they see fit.
We do ask that you let us know you are using them (please send details of the name and location of your school, number and age of students involved, and which lessons you have used to info@equalitytrust.org.uk), and that you undertake the feedback with both students and teachers, so that we can review and improve the lessons and report the impact of this project to our funders.
We encourage anyone (teachers, headteachers, school governors, parents, and students) to contact the member of staff in charge at your school and ask them about using the lessons.
This lesson is about discrimination in the context of employment rights. It looks at protected characteristics and what you can do if you suffer discrimination at work. Suitable for years 8-10 depending on the group and mainly useful for P.S.H.E and Citizenship.
The plan and resources for this lesson were produced by a group of young people who attended a series of workshops facilitated by The Equality Trust and supported by The Alex Ferry Foundation.
The lesson plans have been produced in an effort to support teachers in engaging with issues around employment rights. While we hope that the plan as written will enable you to engage with the content, there is no expectation that these will be used as scripted delivery. Do feel free to amend them as you see fit to suit the needs of your students in your classes. All we ask is that the Trust and the Foundation are acknowledged. It would be great to hear from you about your ideas for engaging with the content.
Young Equality Campaigners from The Equality Trust developed a website exploring race, class and identity in modern Britain - this includes two separate lesson plans for use in a variety of settings. The project is called ‘I’m Not Your’.
