How to teach tough topics

We know that it might be daunting to have conversations in your classroom about sensitive issues that provoke polarised opinions, so we've created a set of top tips to support teachers. They give guidance on how to handle the discussions with confidence, including:

• Ensuring all important perspectives are fairly represented, though some arguments might need more exploration, more time, or more challenge
• Championing facts and challenging misinformation
• Considering informing parents
• Being comfortable without an answer for everything

It can be hard for students to break away from the 24-hour news cycle. In our Topical Talk Toolkit, you’ll find our Active Viewer poster. Use this to help guide students through watching the news – before, during and afterwards.

In an age of mis- and disinformation it's increasingly difficult to separate fact from fiction. In our Topical Talk Toolkit, you’ll find our guide for identifying trustworthy news. We've adapted the eight Trust Indicators from The Trust Project to help students work out whether what they're reading, watching or listening to is real.