CPD Opportunities

Fully supporting pupils requires a whole school approach, and staff CPD can be a great way to empower teachers with the knowledge they need to help shift school cultures for the better. These workshops support schools to think more deeply about gender in everyday life. Drawing on doctoral research, they create space for reflection, discussion, and practical action, helping staff respond confidently to students’ lived experiences while fostering safer, more inclusive school cultures.

Feel free to get in touch through the contact page if you have a CPD session in mind that you would like to work on with us. Below are some example sessions offered.

"Doing Gender" at school: being boys, being girls

Focus: gender is something pupils do, not something that they are.

Staff will gain:

An accessible overview of gender as a social performance
Insight into how aspects like classroom talk, behaviour policies, uniforms and peer dynamics reinforce gender norms
Practical ways staff can disrupt limiting gender expectations in everyday interactions

Boys, Masculinities and School Culture

Focus: Not one, but multiple masculinities and how they shape behaviour, achievement, and wellbeing.

Staff will gain:

Understanding of dominant vs marginalised masculinities in school settings
Why “lad culture”, risk-taking, and emotional suppression persist
Strategies to support boys without reinforcing stereotypes

Girls, Femininities and the Pressure to Perform

Focus: The emotional and social labour of femininity in adolescence

Staff will gain:

Insight into confidence, appearance, compliance, and “good girl” expectations
How gendered pressures affect mental health, self-esteem, and participation
Ways schools can challenge subtle sexism without placing the burden on girls

Social capital: Peer groups and Social Hierarchies

Focus: Status, popularity, and power among adolescent

Staff will gain:

Understanding of how peer cultures produce inclusion and exclusion
The role of gender in bullying, banter, sexualised language, and group dynamics
Tools for intervening early and effectively in peer conflict

Online influences and youth culture

Focus: How social media shapes gender beliefs and behaviour

Staff will gain:

Insight into how online influencers, memes, and algorithms reinforce gender norms
Understanding of how misogyny, hyper-femininity, and “alpha” narratives circulate
Tools for discussing online content with students critically rather than reactively
Confidence in linking online behaviour to offline school culture

Crisis masculinities: Understanding male insecurities

Focus: How contemporary “crisis” narratives of masculinity shape boys’ behaviour and expression in school.

Staff will gain:

Insight into how insecurity, loss of status, and social change shape boys’ performances
Stategies for identifying and addressing behaviour from hyper-masculine and incel cultures
Practical strategies for supporting boys’ wellbeing while challenging harmful norms