Why Ramadan matters to education

Although focused on higher education, some of the issues will be relevant to practitioners in both colleges and schools. 

In the UK, approximately 321,000 (11 per cent) students identify as Muslim, which is the largest religious group after Christian students (27 per cent). However, in a recent survey of nearly 300 UK educators, almost a quarter of them couldn't say when Ramadan took place in 2024. 

A quarter also didn't know whether they had any Muslim students in their classes and 40 per cent didn't know whether their Muslim students were fasting. This is concerning because the practice of Ramadan will undoubtedly impact Muslim students' ability to engage with their studies. 

The guide includes:

• an email template (page 9) that you can adapt to send to all students to acknowledge Ramadan
• a link to free printable posters about Ramadan to display on campus
• common myth busting, for example around eating and drinking
• six ways to make relatively small changes to learning and teaching practices that could make a big difference. These include 1) Acknowledge Ramadan, 2) Avoid assumptions and ask, 3) Adjust assessment timings, 4) Offer asynchronous learning, 5) Raise awareness and celebrate, and 6) Be inclusive and make sustainable change.
• guidance relating to supporting students who are on a work placement

You can read about it on WONKHE and download the Guide from the National Teaching Repository.