Shaping tomorrow's citizens - what do schools need in contemporary Britain?

In light of this, Coram Life Education, the largest provider of wellbeing education in primary schools, will be creating school resources in co-production with Young Citizens, Coram's ambassador programme for young migrants and refugees.

Through the launch of a national survey, teachers have begun to share their views, creating a picture of what schools need in contemporary Britain.

Questioning viewpoints

Across the board, respondents felt that while in general children are not racist, they could hold buried assumptions. Personal, social, health and economic education and citizenship lessons can give students the opportunity to unpack viewpoints they may not have previously questioned.

Both in predominantly white British schools and those with very mixed ethnicities, delivering lessons in a way that does not make minority groups feel more of a minority can be a challenge. This could be due to racism in the local community or negative media coverage leaving students feeling stigmatised. In this context it is important to give them control about how they engage with the topic and how much they decide to reveal about themselves.

All teachers who have responded so far felt that lessons on these topics were important but that they needed to avoid becoming tokenistic. With increased focus on attainment and financial pressures, these subjects can end up being overlooked.

In a time of increased awareness of the need to create a more cohesive society, perhaps it is time for this to change. As Ted Cantle, one of the UK's leading authorities on community cohesion and intercultural relations has argued: "Schools have a crucial role to play and are perhaps the most important influence in shaping the views of young people. They are one of the few safe places to learn about different people and share experiences."

What is your experience?

Take part in Coram's school survey and share your views: www.surveymonkey.co.uk/r/36XDHWP