1. Good Practice in building
Equality and Diversity into
Subject areas:
By Sue Conroy and Ruth Hewitt.

2. Art:
Works exploring personal social identity
Encourage learners to highlight multicultural influences in the
history of art, and display examples of work by artists who have
experienced various physical disabilities or mental health
issues, or who work explores such themes.
Draw attention to artists who work explores various aspects of
personal or social identity, including race, ethnicity and
sexuality.
Ask learners to look at the work of Alison Lapper and explore
her experience of being an artist with at disability. They should
focus on ability and how society discriminates because of the
way you look.
Illustrating the importance of equality
“Discrimination, harassment and bullying are not tolerated in
any form”. Work with other curriculum teams to develop
numerous displays, posters, focus groups and events that
illustrate how fundamental equality of opportunity is to the
curriculum.
Ask learners to develop anti-racism posters for the classroom
walls.
Invite learners to research the nine protected characteristics
and develop projects in art to showcase contributions, abilities
and experiences of groups and individuals. One project could
tell the story of the Holocaust through pictures, for example.

3. Ways to encourage learners to express their own identity
through art include:
• self-portraits
• reference to excellence in a range of different cultural
traditions
• exploration of cross-cultural borrowings and influences
• visiting artist-painters, photographers, potters, sculptors,
printmakers drawn from a range of diverse backgrounds
• using art to explore social and political issues.
Art based on the culture or history of a country
Encourage learners to research a country of their choice and
get them to produce an imaginative image or object that
symbolises part of the culture or history of that country, for
example a learner assigned to Egypt may produce an object or
collage using different colours, styles and textures of paper
such as wallpaper, sandpaper and notebook paper to symbolise
the history of papyrus.

4. Business Studies:
Marketing messages in different cultures
Ask learners to compare how marketing messages are
communicated in different cultures, for example how would
they compose a different marketing message for advertising in
the UK and/or Uganda (where there is a mainly Muslim
population)?
Building relationships with customers
Ask learners to explore different approaches to building
relationships with customers/segments which are
predominately of a different culture, age, sex and so on.
Hot topics for discussion and debate
Hot topics for discussion and debate could also include:
• entrepreneurs from around the world
• key principles in different settings
• successful business as a route out of poverty
• highlighting successful female business women
• gender inequality in business
• disabled business champions
• analysing diversity in advertising
• partnerships/mentoring schemes with businesses to
widen participation/access
• globalisation
• fair trading

5. Home Economics
World foods celebration
Hold a world foods celebration that is created and run by your
catering and hospitality learners. Tasks that they will need to
cover include:
• cooking and preparing different foods from around the
world
• preparing table decorations
• serving duties
• making presentations and collages about world foods
Your learners could also adopt traditional clothes and outfits to
promote their country and food.
If you do not want to hold a large-scale event, small events
such as learners offering tasters in the canteen over lunch time
would still be effective.
Common foods in British culture
As a shorter activity, you could investigate common foods
found in British culture and ask learners to research the origins
of the food. This will get your learners to consider the fact that
many items of food they consider to be ‘British’ are actually
from different parts of the world.

6. Catering for different dietary requirements
Hold a cookery session including menu planning to meet
different dietary requirements. Ask learners to consider dietary
requirements, whether religious, medical, cultural or lifestyle.
Ask learners to look at different dishes from around the world
and ask them to consider the differences when sitting down
and eating.
Respecting festival traditions, such as Ramadan, could also be
explored.
Plan trips to a variety of restaurants and ask learners to
consider different cultures and diets.
Occupational segregation
Ask learners to consider the number of women compared to
the number of men and the number of people from minority
ethnic groups (which are over-represented) working in the
sector. Ask them to consider the types of jobs done by
different groups and the availability of jobs for people with
disabilities
Producing accessible menus
Ask learners to consider producing assessable menus. Get
them to consider different fonts, layouts and colours for those
with specific disabilities and the use of visual images to aid
those with literacy issues or for whom English is an additional
language.

7. Unhealthy diets associated with certain groups
Ask learners to look at why certain groups might have
unhealthy diets and the links to poverty and homelessness.
Issues to consider include poor teeth in children and older
people on low incomes.

8. Design and Technology
Define and research activities
Ask learners to focus on equality and diversity as they define
and research:
• campaigns in local communities to raise the profile of
design and technology careers and attract diverse
learners into the associated professions
• technology in a global context
• diverse inventors
• technology and the media
• the use of internet to forge local, national, global links
with others
• traditional/alternative technologies
• signs and symbols from around the world
• toys from around the world

9. English
Research and explore activities
Promote equality and diversity by allowing your learners
opportunities to explore:
• the work of writers from around the world for
comparative purposes, drawing out key themes, values
and concerns which human being have in common
• the work of authors from a range of backgrounds,
including lesbian and gay writers
• bias of literature
• the issue of language and power
• oral traditions
• writing in learners’ home languages
• texts in vernacular/dialect
• their own identity by writing about it
• images/representations of religion, disability, age,
ethnicity and different sexual orientations used in the
media
Poetry or creative writing covering the issues of
discrimination
Ask learners to produce a short piece of poetry or creative
writing covering the issues of discrimination, for example:
• a story about a learner suffering discrimination
• a piece of poetry about racism
• a script for a play about bullying

10. Geography
Life expectancy in different countries
Ask learners to research life expectancy rates for different
countries and investigate why there are such differences. The
purpose of this activity is to get learners to consider inequality
and how left expectancy rates are so different from each other
in a world that we all share.
This activity often surprises learners when they realise that, on
average, being born in some countries means you are likely to
live to just over 30 years old. Encourage learners to consider
factors such as malnutrition, living in sub-standard
accommodation and not having access to medical treatments.
Ask them to compare their lives to the lives of other young
people who live in areas where life expectancy is considered so
low. How would they cope and what would they miss if they
lived in a similar environment.
Research and explore activities
Ask learners to research and explore:
• ‘the street where I live’
• the historical context of how developing and developing
and developed world emerged
• media images of third world countries
• class structures in different contexts
• globalisation
• wealthy communities in the southern hemisphere

11. • the importance of local experts addressing issues of
hunger and malnutrition compared to an over-emphasis
on Western efforts to address these issues
• differences and commonalities in humankind’s
relationship with the physical environment
• migration and settlement as recurring themes of human
experience

12. Health and Social Care
Identifying bias and negative stereotypes
Ask learners to construct a checklist of what bias and
stereotypes look like in relation to the nine protected
characteristics.
Ask learners to review learning materials to see if they contain
any bias or negative stereotypes using their checklist to remind
them of the sort of things to look for.
Log experiences of working with people from diverse
groups
Ask learners to keep a learning log of their experience of
working with children/people from diverse backgrounds and to
use this to develop their practice in order to meet the diverse
needs of children and other groups they work with.
Create case studies to explore equality issues
Create case student about working with people with different
protected characteristics in health and social care settings, for
example working with the same-sex parents of a young child.
Resolving dilemmas
Ask learners to consider the case of foster carers who are
prevented from continuing to foster because they refuse to
allow any discussion of same-sex relationships due to their
faith.

13. Discussion topics can include:
• how to remain objective
• the hierarchy of protected characteristics, for example
whether faith is less important than sexual orientation
• the implications for people who are of faith working in
the health and social care sector
Factors contributing to inequality
Ask learners to explore the links between socio-economics,
housing and health outcomes and the protected characteristics.
Gender stereotyping in health and social care
Ask learners to consider the differences between the roles of
men and women in the health and social care sector in the past
and how to show changes in gender stereotyping in job roles
and how far there is still to go.
Dietary requirements
Facilitate a discussion about the various foods from different
cultures and include dietary requirements prompted by medical
conditions, faith and lifestyle choices. Ask them to consider the
need for specialised cutlery and equipment for individuals with
disabilities.
Health and safety audit for users of accessibility
equipment
Ask learners to use equipment often used by people with
disabilities and conduct a health and safety audit of an area to
see how safe it is for people using this type of equipment.

14. History
Schindler’s list
Tell learners about Oskar Schindler and his famous list.
Split learners into groups and give each group a piece of
flipchart paper with the numbers 1-50listed on it. Ask each
group to create their own Schindler’s list where they have to
choose 50 people who they will save. This can be anyone:
famous people, teaching staff, friends and family. Stress that
the people they choose have to reflect the society in which we
live, work and play. Each time a group member wants to make
a suggestion, the whole (or majority) of their team must agree
to it before it can be added to the list. Remind learners that
they will have to justify their selection later.
Take feedback from the groups. As well as challenging learners
about the reasons why they have chosen a particular person
and the value the person brings to individuals, society and the
world, explore the equality issues within the learners’ choices.
For example, discuss:
• How many disabled people are on the list?
• Why do you think the number of people on the list with
a disability is low/high?
• Why do we believe people with certain characteristics
are more or less deserving of being on this list?
This exercise can be completed with all protected
characteristics including race, gender and religion.

15. This is a very powerful activity and is also very effective as a full
class activity. It is probably better for older learners due to the
emotions the activity could stir.
The activity can also be run over weeks, rather than completed
in one session. For example, you could list 100 name spaces on
several pieces of flipchart paper and display them on the wall.
Then, at the start and end of each session, ask learners if they
have any contributions of who they would like to save. When a
learner makes a suggestion, discussions must take place around
why they feel he or she is worthy enough to be added to the
list.
Put yourself in their shoes
Using the Internet, we offer our learners an interactive means
to venture outside the borders of their own experience to try
on an alternative cultural identity.
Ask learners to use the internet, memoirs and novels to explore
issues of discrimination, harassment as if they were a
significant individual such as:
• Martin Luther King
• Mary Seacole
• Albert Einstein
• Helen Keller
• Nelson Mandela
• Maria Runyan

16. Research and explore activities:
• the local heritage, neighbourhood and community to
support all learners’ sense of personal identity and
personal history
• multiple perspectives within topics ensuring the
inclusion of often overlooked voices
• oral history – stories from members of the local
community describing their family histories and
experiences
• the history of women’s rights, gay rights, the rights of
people with disabilities and so on
• local people’s resistance to forms of oppression, for
example by comparing civil rights movements around
the world
• social media and social movements
• colonisation and its effects
• the contributions of ancient civilizations from around
the world
• American history and the Black Power movement of the
1960s beginning with Rosa Parks

17. ICT
Producing accessible electronic presentations
Talk to learners about producing accessible PowerPoint
presentations and ask them to create a presentation that
adheres to accessibility and readability best practice.
See Module 5: Top tips for creating accessible learning
materials and environments for tips on creating
accessible PowerPoint presentation and improving the
readability of the materials your produce.

18. MATHS
Statistics relating to protected characteristics
Ask learners to research statistics about each protected
characteristic. The statistics about protected
characteristics can relate to representation, under-
representation, achievements, historical dates, presence
in society, experience and so on.
Split learners into groups and encourage them to use
their findings to create a quiz with answer sheets.
When they have developed the resources, use the
finished resources as part of the session or as a quiz
activity exploring statistics at the beginning of a
subsequent session.
Famous mathematicians
Ask learners to research various famous mathematicians
and inventors with a range of protected characteristics.
This activity helps learners to identify with these role
models and value their experience and contributions.
Research and discuss activities
Research and discussion activities could include:
• using maths to problem solve issues relevant to
learners

19. • using maths to analyse social, economic and
political affairs
• the maths used by indigenous and other
contemporary cultures throughout the world
• acknowledging and highlighting female
contributions to the profession
• those prompted by visits from practitioners
(accountants, bankers, insurers) from groups
under-represented in the profession

20. MEDIA
Content appropriate to different groups
Ask learners to consider carefully the needs of different
sections of the learning community when planning the
content of a college magazine.
Whilst dealing with key concepts such as brand image
and target audience, challenge learners to consider how
different sections of the population (covering the
protected characteristics) might respond to their product
ideas.
This enables learners to explore design ideas and using
type and images to appeal to potential readers of
different ages, with varied cultural backgrounds or with
disabilities. It also helps them to explore gaps in the
market where there is potential to attract new business
customers and readers.
Producing content for a diversity magazine
Ask learners to interview their parents/carers about their
lives as children, the stories they remember, favourite
poems, and family recipes. The results of these
interviews will inform you about the rich diversity within
the classroom.

21. Ask learners to make the information from the
interviews into newspaper articles and produce them in
the form of a diversity magazine. Extracts from the
magazine could be used for Black History month.
You could also do this activity around learner
experiences in relation to the protected characteristics.

22. Modern Foreign Languages
Research and discuss activities
Ask learners to research and discuss:
• bilingualism and multilingualism in different
contexts, including among learners
• diasporic language communities
• colonialism
• language and identity
• raising the profile of formal and informal
community languages

23. MUSIC
Research and discussion
When looking at music and society, explore issues such
as:
• sexuality, black issues, equal rights, older people
and so on
• using music to explore/express aspects of personal
identity and social problems and issues
• musicians and music drawn from a range of
backgrounds and traditions
• musical styles, including opportunities for practical
work in a range of different styles
• artists who do not ‘fit the stereotypes’, for
example Black opera singers, disabled artists and
so on
• the history of genres such as Rock ‘n’ Roll, Reggae,
Blues, Calypso, Classical and Hip Hop
• globalisation through music (fusion of musical
styles/influences)
• stereotypes and music

24. Performing Arts
Dramatised research findings on equality issues
Ask learners to examine issues such as immigration, race
and culture affect different areas of society and how
these issues have changed (or not) since the 1950s.
Encourage learners to producing a piece of
contemporary theatre to show the results of their
investigation.
An examines different relationships
Ask learners to work on a piece that examines the
different relationships between a diverse range of people
including those with disabilities, older people and a
domestic abuse situation.
Inclusive choreography
When choreographing, talk through every move in
details so that learners with who are blind or visually
impaired can learn at the same pace as everyone else.
Auditory learners also benefit from this approach and it
makes the experience inclusive.
Produce an inclusive script
White your own scripts for learners to perform. Tailor
the script to the specific group, providing opportunities
for all learners to participate in the production. A play

25. could explore different ideas around issues such as
gender identity, gay marriage and racism.
Challenging gender stereotyping in option choice
Ask learners to create a play about choosing GCSE
options which encourages learners to challenge
stereotypes and choose options that genuinely interest
them rather than fulfilling gender expectations. Invite
learners from Years 8 and 9 to view the performance.
Research and discussion
Explore issues such as:
• drama as a tool to explore your own identity and
thoughts
• drama as a tool to explore your own identity and
thoughts
• drama as social commentary through the ages

26. PSYCHOLOGY
Research mental illness and BME groups
Research suggests that people from BME (black and
minority ethnic) groups are more likely to experience
mental illness. Ask learners to consider this link and the
issues that are most commonly reported by BME groups
as contributing factors to mental health illnesses.
Explore these factors and ask learners to record what
they think individuals, society and the government can
do to help this.
Research and discussion
Hot topics for research and discussion include:
• learners’ multiple identities and life experiences
• the shared cultural values of a range of groups,
whilst recognising diversity among individuals
• considering theories and research from a range of
perspectives including the views of those from
disabled, LGBT and BME backgrounds
• learners’ own cultural values
• the stereotypes and perceptions of others based
on media portrayals and assumptions
• cross-cultural communication
• the links between poverty and mental health

27. • psychology and historical theories of racial
inferiority
• bias, for example many psychological theories are
based on the student of American college
learners, how transferable are they?

28. Religious Education
Religions wall chart
Ask learners to create a wall display to raise awareness of
the different religions and their particular beliefs by
giving each learner a large piece of paper and allocate
them a religion to work on. Advise them that they must
include:
• the name of the religion
• its beliefs
• its god(s) of worship
• customs and practices
• prayer and worship information
Research and discuss
Hot topics for research and discussion include:
• common elements, concerns and values in
different religious traditions
• cultural, national and ethnic diversity within each
religious
• indigenous religions
• religion and politics
• religious diasporas
• stereotypes and religion
• religious oppression

29. Science
Research and discussion activities
Research and discussion activities could include:
• the lack of a scientific basis for the concept of
‘race’
• the contributions to science from around the
world
• female scientists
• disease and patterns in populations around the
world
• visits from people working in the profession from
groups under-represented in STEM careers.
Valuing difference in the periodic table
Split learners into groups and allocate them sections of
the periodic table. Ask learners to prepare a debate
about why their section and individual elements of the
periodic table are better than anyone else’s/ For
example, learners with the element gold (Au) could
argue that they have one of the most important
elements because their material makes beautiful pieces
of jewellery; learners with oxygen (O) in their section
could argue that their element allows humans and other
life to survive.

30. Get some healthy competition going and, at the end, tell
your learners that although some may believe their
section is better than anyone else’s, when all the sections
are merged together it creates an impressive and
powerful scientific masterpiece, and when the elements
work together to form compounds they become greater
still. Make the links between valuing the contribution of
people with individual and diverse characteristics to
society.
The diversity behind the discover of the elements
Ask learners to research the history behind the names of
the chemical elements, opening up a discussion of the
global perspective of scientific discovery in contrast to
the assumed view of scientific knowledge as being a
Western domain. Draw attention to the contributions of
Eastern, Black and female and scientists from other often
under-represented groups.

31. Sociology
Social inequalities experienced by particular groups
Ask learners to investigate the social inequalities
experienced by particular groups of people in the UK.
You could allow learners to choose their own group or
allocate certain groups with shared characteristics
yourself.
Research and discussion activities
Research and discussion activities could include:
• exploring social inequality in a range of contexts
• examining social norms from a range of cultural,
historical contexts
• the role of religion in a range of contexts
• attitudes to health and well being in a range of
contexts

32. Sport
Use current sports news stories to prompt discussion
Use current news stories to prompt discussion on topics
such as racism, disability, age and gender. Encourage
learners to explore the impact of these stories on sport,
communities, individuals and policy makers and to look
at how discriminatory behaviour can be prevented.
Focussing on ability
Focused on a different protected characteristic each
week and ask learners to identify a diverse range of
people who are involved in sport but who are from
sections of this group usually under-represented in the
sport. Encourage learners to comment on the impact
these people have made on the sport and on society.
Research and discussion activities
Research and discussion activities could include:
• a comparative study of the role of sport across
different communities/societies
• examining and challenging stereotypes – which
groups are associated with certain sports,
why/how has this evolved?
• Politics and sport

33. • Gender and racial inequality in sport in a historical
and modern-day context
• Gay and lesbian athletes
• Disabled athletes
• Ageism in sport

34. Any
Quizzes and questionnaires as icebreakers
Use quizzes and questionnaires covering issues such as
race, disability, gender, religion or belief as icebreakers.
This is an excellent way to encourage learners to get to
know each other and at the same time encourages
greater cultural understanding and tolerance of learners’
personal circumstances and lifestyles. They show
learners that everyone is valued, whatever their
background, and that everyone can contribute and learn
from each other.
In vocational subject areas these quizzes, case studies
and worksheets can focus on issues around customer
care, how to behave respectfully when working alongside
people from different cultures or with customs and so
on.
Organise a ‘faith walk’
Organise a ‘faith walk’ for learners where they visit local
areas of worship and meet faith leaders from Muslim,
Hindu, Jewish and Christian faiths. Introduce them to the
place of worship and provide opportunities for questions
afterwards.

35. Afterwards, incorporate the live experience into
discussion or other activities as appropriate for your
subject.
Make a fabric doll
Design and make a fabric doll exercise. Ask learners to
consider equality issues such as how and where the
fabric might have been made (swear shops, child labour),
design features (ethnicity, disability) and what designs
are currently available in shops and how this influences
and socialises young children.
Using small groups to encourage participation by EAL
learners
Learners for whom English is an additional language
(EAL) may be reluctant to raise their hands to participate
in whole class discussions due to a fear of responding in
front of the whole class and being laughed at because
they are still developing their English skills. This issue
also applied to some of our traveller community learners.
Use small groups and paired work to do collaborative
research and projects so that EAL speakers and others
who need it can practise speaking in English in a smaller
group.
For more information and to download samples of

36. these resources, visit the EDUK website at
www.equalityanddiversity.co.uk