London-based online school launches campaign to address overlooked challenges in traditional education
A London-based online school has launched a campaign to shine a spotlight on the often unseen and overlooked challenges faced by many students in traditional education environments.
Minerva’s Virtual Academy’s (MVA) eye-catching campaign, ‘The Elephant in the Classroom’, wants to challenge societal norms about traditional education and amplify the conversation around the impact on well-being that traditional school environments can have on some pupils.
Minerva is based in Brixton’s 3Space International House and has a significant number of London-based pupils among its growing cohort.
The campaign’s title refers to the proverbial “elephant in the room” – the obvious issues that are often ignored in discussions about education reform.
These “elephants” represent the systemic challenges many students face in traditional school environments, such as bullying and anxiety.
The campaign aims to engage parents and students in a dialogue about the "elephant in the room" that represents challenges faced in conventional schools, resulting in children missing out on their education.
The “elephants” the campaign focuses on are:
- Lack of neurodiversity support
- Lack of SEN support
- Bullying
- Teacher burnout
- Students being too anxious to attend school
As part of the campaign, special Elephant in the Classroom packs have been sent out to individuals with a high profile in the education sector, asking them to share the information and encouraging families to share their stories.
Hugh Viney, founder of MVA, which has been campaigning for equity in education since it was founded in 2020, said: “There are 1.4 million children who are persistently absent from school and that is just not acceptable.
“We need to stop this mantra that the classroom is king and acknowledge that mainstream schools simply aren’t suitable for every pupil. Many young people thrive in a traditional school environment but, for a significant proportion, it simply cannot meet their needs.
“There are many reasons why pupils may not feel comfortable going into school, and we have sought to highlight some of these through this campaign.
“We want people to capture their stories about their ‘elephants in the classroom’ and share them with us, so we can build up a true picture of what education in 2025 looks like.”