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Campaigns Working on Education Reform

Rather than running single-issue campaigns, the following organisations are working to reform (or transform) the education system more generally. You can also visit our innovation page which lists many initiatives striving to reimagine education for the 21st century.

Pupil Power

Pupil Power is a UK student-led movement reimagining the 21st-century education system.

“Pupil Power is committed to educating, engaging and transforming young minds around the issues impacting our experience of school. So, we’re demanding an entire transformation in education.“

They propose solutions around:

  • Funding
  • Mental health & exams
  • Decolonised curriculum
  • Exclusions
  • Climate justice education

This short presentation by founder, Aliyah York (then aged 16) shows how it all started.

Rescue Our Schools

Rescue Our Schools was initially set up by a group of parents who wanted to speak out against the implications of worrying proposals for education in a Government White Paper published in 2016. They are campaigning for an education system which is fit for purpose in the 21st century.

You can support their work by signing up to their manifesto, which includes six requests:

  1. Invest in all our futures.
  2. Provide inclusive education for all.
  3. Promote education over exam factories.
  4. Develop creativity in all its forms.
  5. Let expert evidence inform policy.
  6. Ensure local accountability for all schools.

Let Our Kids Be Kids

Let Our Kids Be Kids was launched in 2016 by a group of primary school parents who were concerned about endless testing, teachers not being trusted to teach, an “Ofsted-driven, dull, dry curriculum” aimed solely at passing SAT tests.

They work alongside other groups such as More Than a Score and Rescue our Schools to support teachers and schools who want to see an end to high stakes primary testing. They believe this is a step towards returning to a curriculum of joy and wonder. They say:

“We want our kids to be kids… not robots in exam factory testing machines!”.

They run awareness raising campaigns and lobby government for change. You can support Let Our Kids Be Kids by following them on Facebook.