One way we explore the concept of ‘The Rule of Law’ is through the Y12 Changemakers project which features a deconstructing propaganda lesson, in order to understand how ‘reality’ is crafted through manipulation and deceit. There are intentional crossovers with the PREVENT strategy - raising awareness of how modern media craft and internet spaces like social media and the dark web can be used to groom susceptible young people into following dangerous ideologies. The lesson material also actively addresses the misrepresentation of Islam through discussion / debate - of the between Islam as a religion as opposed to‘Islamic Terrorism’

Starting this Autumn we’ve been running a Yr13 WW1 project across all Craft subject areas. Students research Senegalese, Moroccan, French and British people involved in the war. A requirement of the project is that it must include countries but also cultures and faith so they can develop fully realised characters. Students were able to visit the Imperial War Museum London and were able to reflect on the sensitive nature of the exhibitions and the contributions made by many people in multiple wars as well as the losses suffered by populations of many faiths. .

Our ‘Delivering the Package’ Yr 12 project requires shooting off-site which includes lessons about the way in which students must operate in public spaces and the responsibilities that go with this. Discussion covers respecting the right to privacy, to understanding rules of trespass, respect for the property and access rights of others. Students are asked to consider these issues and areas before they begin filming.

During our Mini-shooting projects we ensure rules for shooting in and around the building are clearly set to help ensure we maintain Professional Post-Production behaviours. Through our approach we help build respect for abiding by shared rules and consideration of others.

The interplay between morality and legality is a central part of our studies in both English and EPQ. In particular, the role of colonial Britain in entrenching and then beginning to unpick systematic prejudice as we move towards a more tolerant society is central to what we study in both English and EPQ. In English, this comes across most clearly in our ‘Crossing Boundaries' unit, which looks at Jean Rhys’s Wide Sargasso Sea and Seamus Heaney’s North, analysing and critiquing the atrocities committed under colonial Britain, and highlighting where laws have changed and adapted in response to recognition of these atrocities. We are also able to explicitly explore the right to religious freedom and the impact of sectarian prejudices and violence.

In EPQ, we study Small Axe (2020) in Term 1b of Year 12, looking at racism in Britain today and in the 1970s and 80s, and at failures of the legal system in addressing this. It allows us to explore what it means to hold protected characteristics under British Law and how to address prejudice in a positive and constructive way. Both critical approaches uphold a firm belief in the importance of the Rule of Law, and allow students to explore where morality and the Rule of Law have not always sat comfortably together.

In maths we have clear classroom policies and rules that must be followed by students, and are clearly justified and explained. We spend time analysing the statistical impact of legal changes: Du Bois race visual representations and race laws and how statistics might be used to affect or influence laws.

The pastoral programme features Rights & Responsibilities as members of diverse communities, and how we can live as active citizens & participants in the local & national economy. This is primarily covered through Unit 3: Living in the Wider World. We also have an active approach to celebration events and occasions throughout the year, marking a variety faith based festivals.

Behaviour for learning discussions with students focus on the rationale for our rules of conduct - how they are beneficial for the whole community. For example, having hoods down ensures that we know who is in the building, and having phones away ensures that we give each other our full attention. We are proud of the way students conduct themselves and the respect they have for all in the community.

As part of the Yr12’s work on their FMP last academic year students conducted market research, focusing on understanding and analysing the audience. Students used primary and secondary research methods and identified audiences through the use of demographics and psychographics.

This allowed students to think about diversity and learn to appreciate the tastes and preferences of the diverse communities that make up the UK population. In turn, this understanding requires learners to appreciate issues those communities may face, including discrimination, and develop respect and appreciation for them.

Audience

This lesson encourages learners to consider a range of perspectives within an audience. In the main task, students are provided with a ‘character profile’ detailing various demographics and psychographics. Learners use their ‘character profile’ to inform their response to an advert. The task relies on the students feeling comfortable in expressing opinions and encourages them to explore a range of viewpoints, different to their own.

Challenging stereotypes

This lesson focuses on challenging stereotypes. The main task focuses on representations of women, and how the media industry has aimed to diversify stereotypical portrayals. Learners also explore how representations of disability, homlessless or age can be challenged. This encourages them to consider how others may feel when being represented in media products, and aims to ensure that their own projects represent their chosen social group in a positive way.

For our skills building project with Yr13 students they are exposed to a diverse range of practitioners and work with scripts that aim to extend their cultural capital.

Students explore a variety of film texts reflecting different cultures, faiths and beliefs. This aim is to extend their cultural capital it also aims to make them more familiar and respectful of other faiths and cultures. This is complementary to their weekly screening programme and the film club.

Our projects often include presentations during which the entire class provided TAG feedback collaboratively and supportively. The process also considers how to be ‘lawful’ in that the students had to reference their research to avoid plagiarism.

The study of those marginalised or oppressed for their beliefs is another central part of our studies in English and EPQ. In English, we look at the clash in belief systems between the Old South and New America in Williams’s A Streetcar Named Desire, analysing Williams’s presentation of Stanley as a violent abuser of Blanche, representing Williams’s condemnation of New America and its rejection of Old Southern values. However, we look at this very much in the context of the history of the Old South profiting from the trans-Atlantc slave trade, fostering an inhuman elitist system. We likewise examine his presentation of the prejudice experienced by gay people in 1940s America, and how that intersected with Christian beliefs at the time.

Additionally, in our studies of Jean Rhys’s Wide Sargasso Sea, we look at the prominence of Christianity, and how it intersects with abuses of Democracy and the Rule of Law. The counterpoint to this in Wide Sargasso Sea is Rhys’s presentation of Obeah, and how it’s practice resulted in marginalisation, fear and abuse in the Caribbean. We also look at Heaney’s presentations of sectarian divides between Protestants and Catholics in Ireland in North.

In EPQ we look at the role of religion in culture, and the experience of a kind of prejudice that rejects whole cultures, and uses some religious practices as a way of upholding that prejudice. In our studies of short form TV in Term 1a of Year 12, we look at this from a comedic perspective, whereas in our studies of Small Axe in Term 1b, we look at this through a dramatic and tragic lense.

In maths we teach students about and celebrate the many different cultures from which maths has emerged: Greece, Rome, Middle East, Europe, using the stories behind mathematical discoveries. The A-level UpLearn platform introduces most topics by highlighting where in the world the theory or idea came from, and these tend to be quite diverse. Pascal’s triangle and Pythagoras were invented long before those (white) mathematicians - what makes these their theories?

We find opportunities to celebrate black mathematicians by linking to cinematic texts like Hidden Figures. We use statistics to guide conversations about sources of information and misleading data on topics such as considering the maths of migration as well as using Inequality Trust visuals.

In our focus on Unit 3 - Living in the wider world, we feature a reintroduction to British Values more broadly. We have a keen focus on cultural awareness celebrations and representation. The importance of respect and empathy through events like Rep your flag day: which develops an understanding of representation and celebration. We also have Student Safeguarding Introduction: challenging discrimination and supporting peers.

Our quality assurance processes check every scheme of work to ensure that a diverse range of stories and storytellers are represented. This could be in the materials displayed visually but also in the content of discussion and practitioners we focus on.

We are also trialling virtual reality simulations for students which include a module on respect and diversity in the workplace.

Our projects often include presentations during which the entire class provided TAG feedback collaboratively and supportively. The process also considers how to be ‘lawful’ in that the students had to reference their research to avoid plagiarism.

Students across craft participate in group work within the department and in collaboration with other departments. Groups are regularly changed so that students work with new people and take on new roles which challenges them to develop their diplomacy and democratic participation.

Students are encouraged to hear all voices when discussing projects and in the power of democratic participation. Student roles on projects in Yr 12 are randomised to prevent the kind of unconscious bias that may skew a free and fair process.

Cold-calling is employed to ensure that all students have a voice. During longer projects (where students will be editing extended sequences over a number of weeks, for example) 1-2-1 meetings are used to identify and discuss individual needs, goals and interests.

Learners are given the opportunity to feedback on proposed assignments to ensure that learners' voices shape the curriculum. This actively promotes democratic processes. Year 13 students have been introduced to two editing platforms and given the opportunity to justify their own choice of software moving forward, rather than having it dictated to them.

Both English and EPQ focus on the role of individual voice, within the creative sphere. Through this focus we highlight the ways in which democracy is all about having the right to a voice, to an opinion, and to a vote.

In English we do this particularly through our studies of the ‘Voices Anthology,’ a collection of twenty non-fiction texts that utilise different forms and different voices to make themselves heard. This includes an extract from Maya Angelou’s autobiography, I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings, Oscar Wild’s autobiography De Profundis, and JFK’s inauguration speech. Our studies of each of these texts looks at how individuals in vastly different circumstances used their voices to promote what they believed in and advocate for equality and democracy for all. When we come to write our creative fiction and nonfiction coursework, students have an opportunity to put what they have learned into practice and begin honing their own voices in society.

In EPQ we look at a range of different genres and forms of TV in Year 12, focusing on a diverse set of creators in order to understand where voices come from in film and TV, and what it is people might want to say. This culminates in an independent project, in which students are given the opportunity to produce their own creative piece - an artefact - that represents their own voice and what they stand for. It is notable that many students take this opportunity to explore subjects that are close to their hearts: from politics, to gender studies, to environmentalism to youth culture and its perception by older generations.

In maths we use discussion of polls, analysis of voting systems, and voting results to further understand maths in the real world.

We study how local or national funding is spent - looking at the national budget. We also try to eview government data and study how data can influence decision making and legislation - e.g. Covid graphs we keep things current by including weekly analysis of graphs from that week’s papers.

Through our focus on Living in the Wider world, We look at voting and British politics, including Islington Young Mayor campaigns. We consider how extremist views can take hold and how participation in the democratic process can address this.

We incorporate democratic processes by ensuring students are involved in shaping our curriculum. In the curriculum curriculum development process, we test our project ideas with students before refining them into project briefs.

We also demonstrate our commitment to listening to our students through our weekly student questions walks as part of the SLT walks cycle. All teachers are encouraged to use cold-calling to ensure all students have a say in class discussions.

Our representations & intertextuality lessons from the Y12 Changemakers project deconstructs past and contemporary campaigns to understand how ideas of gender have been crafted intentionally for commercialised gain. The constructs of a patriarchal society are explored through references to existing texts but positive examples of ‘change makers’ are also analysed so that progressive case studies of representation can also be shared and discussed within the class.

We also address stereotypes and representation in a task linked to 13th (Netflix), a documentary which examines racial prejudices within the US prison system. Students identify how certain social groups are discriminated against and are encouraged to challenge discrimination. This is further supported by a task exploring transgender rights.

Students are creative individuals and are encouraged to be themselves and accept others. It is an expectation that there is a respect for individual liberty in all aspects of the curriculum, from how they think about individual tasks, audiences and on set group projects.

Both inside and outside the classroom (during projects) students are expected to display a respect for individual liberty. Students are also actively encouraged to think about and challenge discrimination whether in casting or crewing as it is this which has led to an industry which has not been reflective of the breadth of our society.

Students explore their ideas and individual liberty through character Design, making strong representations instead of making assumptions, generalisations.

Students are taught how to change the meaning and intention of scenes/sequences through editing. In the Year 13 Editing Grammar project, students are asked to re-edit footage to change the genre and meaning originally intended. This will allow them to re-contextualize already shot media and challenge assumptions and stereotypes.

This is really the culmination of all we do in English and EPQ, and indeed at LSA. In both English and EPQ, our critical approach to discrimination based on race, ethnicity, culture, calss, gender, sexuality and religon across all the texts we study is a testament to our commitment to individual liberty, and the role of responsibility as an individual within that.

As we work towards creating storytellers that are changemakers and risk takers, we take a close and direct look at the responsibilities of storytellers to their audience, and to our society. We are not afraid to tackle difficult subject matter at LSA, and work hard to create an environment that is respectful and sensitive in accordance with the content we cover.

We aim to empower students to make key decisions around finances, taxation and pensions through training in this regard. We help them to consider taxation: trade offs that are made between individual liberty and social responsibility (social cost benefit analysis, explored in Core Level 3). We also examine odds in gambling through probability, to help students make good decisions.

We help to develop cultural awareness celebrations and issues of representation. We deeply value and encourage students to think about the importance of respect and empathy. Through assemblies and our Equity, diversity & Inclusion work we enable students to challenging discrimination and supporting peers.

We have multiple groups that meet regularly to discuss various areas of social justice, including gender, ethnicity, Eco Champions and LSA Gives. All of these groups help students to think how to live as active and informed citizens, challenging prejudice and championing the rights of marginalised groups and people.

The final major project briefs are designed to give as much creative freedom of expression as possible within the framework of the qualification. Other formative projects, such as the changemakers project, also have the aim of encouraging individual freedom of expression and agency.