Best Practice

Talking about disfigurement

Pastoral issues Behaviour PSHE Pupil wellbeing
How should we talk about disfigurement in the classroom? Dr Jane Frances and Alexis Camble from the charity Changing Faces offer advice on how to ensure our schools are inclusive

With the new film Wonder (based on the best-selling book by RJ Palacio), having been in cinemas across the UK recently, visible difference is a hot topic.

Unfortunately, we know that more than half of young people with a disfigurement are bullied at school and the vast majority of people – 84 per cent – say they did not feel supported by their secondary school.

It can be difficult for headteachers and school staff to feel knowledgeable and confident enough to start important conversations about looking different. Yet knowing how to address issues around appearance matters, because whether you are teaching everyone about inclusive attitudes, or supporting a pupil who looks “different”, good intentions and common sense don’t always lead to best practice.

Research shows that the things we think we should do – prohibit staring, use kind euphemisms for a young person’s unusual appearance – often turn out to be unhelpful. Whereas discussing appearance and inclusion in ways that invite and allow for a range of views, can be incredibly effective.

It is important that all young people learn about disfigurement and explore their reactions to people who look “different”. This doesn’t just benefit those with a visible difference within their own peer group, but importantly, young people who have a healthy perspective regarding appearance are much better equipped for life, where they will encounter colleagues, customers, managers and neighbours who may look “different”.

Developing these social skills can also lead to higher self-esteem and an increased capacity to understand, learn and respect.

Following a Changing Faces workshop for secondary school pupils, we received thoughtful feedback from many pupils. One said: “I have learned that there are many people around the world with facial or body disfigurements that are being treated extremely unfairly, which is not right. They have as much right to be treated like everyone else.”

How common is disfigurement?

Around 86,000 children and young people across the UK are estimated to have a disfigurement – that’s one in 124 in the under-16 school population. That can be a mark, scar or condition that affects the appearance of their face or body. Disfigurement can take many forms: birthmarks, skin conditions such as eczema and acne, vitiligo affecting skin pigmentation, scarring from burns or a dog bite, or conditions present at birth affecting the head and face, such as a cleft lip and palate of which one in 700 babies are born each year.

So how do you start to promote an inclusive learning environment in your school?

The Equality Act (2010) requires schools to ensure that no student is disadvantaged at school because of a disfigurement, both in terms of academic performance and mental wellbeing, and to increase all students’ awareness and acceptance of differences.

This includes unwitting discrimination which may have good intentions behind it – for example, “protecting” a student with a disfigurement who is keen on drama and acting, by discouraging them because of the fear that this cannot be a comfortable or successful path for them.

What does best practice look like?

Differences and commonalities: When differences among all students and staff are celebrated, a pupil with a disfigurement won’t feel so different. Giving pupils the opportunity to talk about who they are, both on the outside (how they look) and on the inside (their personality, experiences, aptitudes and preferences), is a great way to explore appearance and difference. For schools that study the novel Wonder as part of their English curriculum, Changing Faces has produced Wonder-related resources to support teachers to explore and celebrate difference across their school. A range of other free-to-download secondary teaching resources are also available (see further information).

Discuss and disagree: Students need opportunities to explore their ideas and attitudes. Well-intentioned statements such as “we are all the same underneath” without context and explanation can have the opposite effect. Use your school values or young people’s rights as starting points for discussion about respect and whether everyone feels equally welcome.

Challenge stigma and use positive images: Positive representations of people with a disfigurement are a powerful tool for challenging negative stereotypes. Examples you could highlight include model Winnie Harlow, who has starred in advertising campaigns for brands such as Nike and L’Oreal and has a condition called vitiligo, which affects skin pigmentation, and teenage YouTube star and Junior Bake Off winner Nikki Christou (who broadcasts as Nikki Lilly), who has a condition called arteriovenous malformation (AVM), which affects the appearance of her face.

Use matter-of-fact language: Written and spoken language around appearance and disfigurement is often characterised by emotive and judgemental vocabulary – so much so that this can seem natural and right. Matter-of-fact language to describe and discuss appearance and difference works better. For example, use “severely burned” and “burns survivor” instead of “horribly burned” or “burns victim”.

Zero tolerance of bullying and harassment: Appearance-related bullying must be stopped in the same way that any other bullying incident would be stopped, with the focus firmly on the bullying behaviour and not the “cause”. School staff can – and need to – intervene every time someone in school is harassed or bullied. While you cannot make students be friends, they must learn how to show respect at all times. When they find themselves in the role of bystander, they need to understand their choices besides doing nothing. Some young people will urgently need help to develop ways to manage their impulses to be hurtful or “have a laugh” at someone else’s expense, including on social media or messaging apps. All of this works best in a school with a strong ethos of belonging and respect.

Supporting a pupil with a visible difference

Making the move from primary to secondary school easier: Severe disfigurement is classed as a disability and will require specific care and adjustments both during the transition process and when the young person starts at their new school.

Transition to secondary school is an issue that Changing Faces’ teenage champions have told us they feel very strongly about and is a source of great anxiety for many young people who look unusual. It is crucial to take steps to support both the pupil joining the school and secondary school staff to prepare the way for a positive transition experience.

Liaise very carefully with all your feeder schools to identify any youngster likely to join your school whose appearance may make them vulnerable to being stared at or talked about. Changing Faces’ free-to-download guidance for secondary schools includes a section on starting secondary school.

Don’t give a ‘talk’ about a specific pupil: Staff often believe that students will be less dismayed and will stare less if they have more information about a young person with a disfigurement. But curiosity is an important driver for getting to know each other. If young people already think they know about this unusual-looking classmate, and if this young person has already been made more “different” through being the subject of a talk, research shows that their peers will be significantly less inclined to engage with them.

Confident staff with high expectations: Ensure all members of staff feel comfortable and confident talking about all kinds of difference and interacting with young people who look different. Fear of saying the wrong thing can stop a teacher from taking action or starting a discussion with their class. Students will pick up on any member of staff who feels uncomfortable. Create opportunities for staff to explore their ideas and discuss their feelings about appearance and disfigurement.

Having something to say: If a student has something that makes them appear “different” to others, work with them to establish what they want to share about their appearance. Support them to take the lead in their own lives and to respond confidently to questions or comments about their appearance from other pupils.

Never patronise: Above all, remember that pupils with a visible difference should be subject to the same behaviour expectations and aspiration and ambition as the rest of the school.

Advice for teachers when talking to pupils about difference

If you see a young person who looks unusual to you, you might look for a long time, or more than once before you even think about it. If this happens, give the person a friendly smile to show that you don’t mean to be hurtful.

Many people have marks, scars or conditions that change the way they look, but we notice some more than others. Think about different features you or your family might have – maybe you have a birthmark, or eczema, or a scar? Or you might know someone who has hearing aids, or some missing teeth? These things don’t usually affect what you like to do, or how you friendly you are, or how you feel inside. The same is true for people who have differences that are more noticeable.

If you feel worried about what to say to someone who looks different, try starting off with some things about you. Tell the young person what you like to do, your favourite music, or your favourite television show. The other person will probably join in, or you can ask them about the things they like and enjoy. Talking about what you’re both interested in is usually a good way to start with someone new.

Conclusion

We hope that the Wonder film may help prompt discussions in class and raise awareness. Young people are under such pressure to look a certain way – we want to move towards a society that values difference so that everyone can live confident and happy lives and all young people can reach their full potential.

  • Alexis Camble is schools outreach officer at Changing Faces and Dr Jane Frances is the former policy advisor in education at the charity.

Further information