Teach for change: Creating safe and brave spaces

How can you make sure your learners feel safe and brave enough to speak, take risks and grow? Watch the video to learn practical classroom strategies.

Animated teacher writing 'Creating safe and brave spaces' on board

Sarah Smith and Sea Steele

Videos

Creating safe and brave spaces

Safe spaces are where our learners feel respected, protected and free from harm. Brave spaces are where they can be challenged to think deeply and sometimes feel uncomfortable in order to learn and grow. How can we make sure that our classrooms are both safe and brave spaces?

Before viewing

Have you ever taught a class where some learners didn't feel comfortable giving their opinions? What did you do to help learners express themselves?

Read the six tips below. For each one, think of examples of what they might mean in a classroom context and how they might help to create a safe and brave classroom.

Start with agreements.
Build routines.
Foster trust.
Normalise mistakes.
Balance comfort and challenge.
Feelings and needs, not just opinions.

While watching

Watch the video and listen to the strategies mentioned.

Why is it important to balance comfort and challenge?
What are some of the qualities teachers should show in the classroom?
What examples does the video give for each of the six tips?

Watch 'Creating safe and brave spaces'

Answers

If learners aren't challenged, they become passive. But if they are challenged without safety, they can shut down.
Teachers should show curiosity, humility and care in the classroom. This helps learners to feel safe.
Examples for each tip:
- Start with agreements: Create class rules with your learners – for example, 'Listen respectfully, 'Disagree without attacking', 'Assume that the other person means well'.
- Build routines: For example, opening circles, reflection time or regular check-ins.
- Foster trust: Being consistent is important. Keep your promises, treat all learners fairly and respect privacy.
- Normalise mistakes: Show learners that errors are part of learning. Model this by admitting our own mistakes.
- Balance comfort and challenge: Safety without challenge keeps learners passive. Challenge without safety makes them shut down.
- Feelings and needs, not just opinions: Trust and harmony doesn't work when we analyse and blame each other. Teach learners to speak from the 'I' instead of blaming each other.

Transcript

Creating safe and brave spaces

How do we create classrooms where learners feel safe enough to speak and brave enough to grow?

A safe space means learners feel respected, protected and free from harm. A brave space also means learners can be challenged to think deeply, take risks and sometimes feel uncomfortable, because that's how growth happens. So how do we build these spaces together?

One: Start with agreements. Create class rules with your learners. For example, 'Listen respectfully', 'Disagree without attacking', or, 'Assume that the other person means well'.

Two: Build routines. Small habits like opening circles, reflection time or regular check-ins signal that this is a space of care and structure.

Three: Foster trust. Being consistent is important. Keep your promises, treat all learners fairly and respect privacy. This helps learners feel safe.

Four: Normalise mistakes. Show learners that errors are part of learning, not something to fear. We can model this by admitting our own mistakes.

Five: Balance comfort and challenge. Safety without challenge keeps learners passive. Challenge without safety makes them shut down. But together, safe and brave create a space where real dialogue and growth happen.

Six: Feelings and needs, not just opinions. Trust and harmony doesn't work when we're always analysing and blaming each other. Teach learners to say what they feel and speak from the 'I' instead of blaming each other. For example, 'I feel frustrated because I want people to be included', rather than 'You don't care about including people'.

And what about us, the teachers? We set the tone. If we show curiosity, humility and care, then learners know they can do the same. When classrooms are both safe and brave, learners feel protected and empowered. They are ready to listen, to take risks and to grow.