Educational and ethical foundations

Principles

The educational and ethical foundations of the project.

Our approach

Guiding principles

Grenfell should not be presented merely as a closed historical case study. It remains connected to living families, communities, legal processes, public memory and debates about justice.

Community partnership

Educational work should be shaped with, not merely about, the people most affected.

Humanity and systemic injustice

Teaching should begin with people and community, while also examining the wider failures that made the disaster possible.

Practical support for teachers

Teachers need reliable knowledge, ethical guidance, classroom strategies, curriculum links and high-quality resources.

Framework

Education for Disaster Justice

This framework helps teachers move beyond symbolic remembrance alone by linking human experience, structural conditions, institutional responsibility, community response and the continuing pursuit of justice.

Start with humanity, not the horror.

Begin with people, relationships, homes and community.

Honour lived experience.

Use testimony and community knowledge with respect and preparation.

Situate events in social and structural context.

Help learners understand decisions, systems and conditions.

Emphasise justice, not just memory.

Connect remembrance to accountability and civic responsibility.

Support emotional safety and dialogue.

Create structured, reflective and non-extractive spaces.

Teacher framework

CARE-LEAD

A reflective framework for professional judgement before, during and after teaching about Grenfell or other difficult histories.

CARE

  • Clarify Purpose — why this material is being taught.
  • Assess the Room — who is present and what support may be needed.
  • Resource with Legitimacy — which sources and voices are appropriate.
  • Enact with Trauma-Informed Structure — how emotional safety will be supported.

LEAD

  • Leverage Medium Deliberately — how texts, images, testimony or creative work are used.
  • Evaluate Without Extractive Assessment — how learning is recognised responsibly.
  • Aftercare and Continuation — how pupils are supported after the lesson.
  • Duty of Accountability — what responsibilities continue beyond one lesson.