School Speakers

COVID-19 Update: From September 2021 we will return to offering in-person visits from our school speakers. This position will be regularly reviewed as we monitor the latest data. Many of our school speakers are happy to make in-person visits. However, we hope you understand that, in the current circumstances, some may not be. Where we can’t find somebody local to visit in-person we will try to find someone who can visit remotely.

We have free, trained, and experienced volunteers across England, Wales, and Northern Ireland that can help you and your school. Using their life experience and knowledge, our School Speakers can bring a personal dimension to young people’s study of humanism that goes ‘beyond the textbook’. They offer a range of services and will fit around your needs and requirements.

Our school speaker training has been awarded the OCN London Quality Mark for the highest standards of training and learning.

Below are just some of the ways our school speakers can contribute:

• Talk about humanism and take part in a Q&A in an assembly or in the classroom
• Share their personal experiences, beliefs, and values and explain what being a humanist means to them
• Give a humanist perspective on a contemporary debate (eg. assisted dying, wealth and poverty, prejudice and discrimination)
• Contribute to a specialist day (i.e. ‘collapsed’ or ‘off timetable’ day) for a whole-year group
• Provide remote support to pupils when researching a particular topic, project, or investigation
• Take part in a multi-faith panel dialogue exploring different viewpoints
• Work directly with teachers by providing specialist information or material