We’re integrating education about the Black Experience into everyday school life, beyond Black History Month.
We’re Here. All Year.
Black History Month is a great starting point for learning about the history of Black people across the globe, And we want to build on that.
More Than A Month is a course that aims to combat the ‘tick box’ mentality around Black History Month. By creating ongoing and sustainable resources, MTAM promotes anti-racism all year round.
As a ‘youth-led but not youth exclusive’ organisation, we create spaces where intergenerational conversations can take place; the discussions in this course provide a safe space for both adults and students to speak openly.
Above all, accessibility is our priority – our course is free, and we plan to keep it that way, especially for state schools. We hope to see your school on our sign up sheet very soon.
How We Work
Changing parts of the curriculum only works when taking larger problems into account. We support schools in looking at the big picture, examining ‘how’ they teach, as well as ‘what’. More Than A Month has 3 key pillars:
Conduct
Assessing the impact of school policies and procedures on staff and student experiences, generating solutions that promote balance.
Culture
Encouraging a culture of open honest communication, making schools an environment where students feel comfortable and heard.
Curriculum
Ensuring educational content is representative of the learners. Providing diverse reading lists to supplement historical imbalances in the curriculum.
We follow 3 clear and simple steps with every school on our programme:
Consultation
Through a combination of specially crafted self assessments, student and teacher voice surveys, we create an action plan to work out what your organisation needs from us, how much time we’ll be spending with you, and which of the three pillars is best to get the work started.
Implementation
At this stage we give you a recommended list of actions that outlines the approach for each pillar that will work best for you. Applying these recommendations to your school environment is where the real work begins.
Reflection
At the end of the course we will reflect on the changes made at your school in whatever tangible way you feel is most appropriate for you i.e. reports, presentations, and assemblies co-run by students and teachers to share their experiences of the programme. From this you will create a framework and pledge to continue assessing and sharing your progress as an anti-racist school, making sure continuing the work is a top priority.
What Our Collaborators Say:
“Not A Trend are incredibly knowledgeable about issues within the education system. They delivered exceptional consultation work for Serpentine Education, giving us thoughtful and considered ideas for how we might make change. I would love to work with them again.“
Alex Thorp | Assistant Curator
“Working with the team at Not A Trend has been extremely rewarding. It’s fantastic to see the movement grow from strength to strength. We are proud to support their development into a sustainable and impactful campaign, led and facilitated through innovative tailored support.“
Justin Maroy | CEO
“I have worked with the NAT Team since the start of 2021 and in no uncertain terms, Simi and Ava mean business. They are hardworking, committed, and impressive campaigners with a clear vision, mission and plan of action – rooted in the quest for a more just and transformed society.“
Siana Bangura | NAT Mentor
