Why Have We Stopped Talking About The Hidden Curriculum In Schools?

We used to talk about it all the time as being fundamental to the wellbeing, behaviour, belonging, beliefs, relationships and identity of a school. Now the definition has been narrowed to inclusion, but it's about so much more. After 25 years in education in 25+ countries across four continents I know that the hidden curriculum lies in the hands of the adults - not just what happens in the playground. And it will affect student learning and wellbeing more than anything schools put in writing.

The hidden curriculum is taught in how a teacher responds when a student pushes back. How a leader behaves when things go wrong. How colleagues collaborate around the water cooler. In the true acceptance and inclusion within a school. In whether parents and school speak the same language or quietly undermine each other. In every moment children watch adults navigate pressure, conflict and connection.

It's happening all the time. Whether we're intentional about it or not. So we need to know that:

(1) Present adults are essential to wellbeing.
The hidden curriculum of a regulated teacher (one who takes responsibility, stays consistent and is authentic) teaches children more about resilience, trust and safety than any lesson plan. But you can't model what you don't have. A burnt out teacher isn't failing their students through lack of effort or care. They're failing them through lack of support. When we don't invest in the wellbeing and regulation of adults, we don't just lose good teachers to burnout. We lose the most powerful vehicle for the hidden curriculum.

(2) The parent relationship writes a significant portion of the hidden curriculum.
When school and home are relationally aligned, children experience coherence and when they're not, children experience friction. We see this in their behaviour, their anxiety, their readiness to learn. What happens at home doesn't stay at home. If a school wants to truly embody their mission, they need to align with parents - or engage parents to align with them. That doesn't happen through better policy but through improved relational practice.

(3) Policy doesn't change the hidden curriculum. People do.
I've written enough educational policy to know a good-looking one when I see it. I've seen brilliant policies gather dust and ordinary ones transform schools based entirely on the relational culture around them. What adults do always speaks louder than what schools write.

(4) Regulation is the hidden curriculum in action.
Whether an adult stays calm under pressure or completely loses it, they're always teaching. Regulation isn't a personality trait, it's a professional skill. And when adults build it deliberately, regulated children follow. Regulated children learn better, connect better and do better.

The relational health of a school community is its most underinvested asset and its most influential through the hidden curriculum.