Exploring Masculinities: An AoC Masterclass
Venue: Online
Date: 11 June 2026
Time: 4:00 PM - 5:30 PM
Fee: From £60 +VAT per session for AoC members and £90 + VAT for non-members
The AoC Exploring Masculinities Masterclass is a practical and engaging online 90 minute masterclass for college staff, focused on promoting positive behaviours and attitudes among boys and young men. The training provides immediate, high impact strategies that educators can use to better support male students in their development.
Delivered by experienced former teachers, the session supports staff to confidently address topics that are often considered sensitive or taboo within the male world. These include mental health, online influences and the wider social narratives shaping ideas about masculinity. The focus is on understanding, guidance and support, helping staff respond to behaviour in ways that are constructive and effective.
The masterclass is structured around three key questions:
- What are the prevalent views of masculinity among boys and young men?
- What social and cultural factors are shaping these views?
- What evidence based strategies can be used to challenge regressive, dominance based models of masculinity and promote a healthier, more aspirational understanding of what it can mean to be a man today?
Alongside exploring these challenges, the session also focuses on recognising and nurturing the positive potential of masculinity. Staff are encouraged to reflect on how they can support male students to develop confidence, responsibility and positive relationships, while countering overwhelmingly negative narratives about masculinity.
This is a highly practical session, grounded in real world educational experience, and is relevant to teaching, pastoral, safeguarding and student support roles.
| Dates | Times |
|---|---|
| Thursday 11th June 2026 | 4:00pm – 5:30pm |
| Wednesday 8th July | 1:00pm – 2:30pm |
| Tuesday 22nd September | 9:30am – 11:00am |
A 10% discount will be applied at checkout if you register for 2 or more participants to attend the masterclass
Charlie has worked in education, mental health, and social care for over twenty years. He trained as an English teacher, before working predominantly in SEND education, as well as residential support work and mental health support. He has developed particular experience and expertise in behaviour support, inclusion and attendance, Autism, and physical and mental health. Having grown up in a somewhat matriarchal family dynamic, Charlie became fascinated by the performance and perception of masculinity, especially given how individuals’ – including his own – behaviour and interactions vary in different contexts.
Often feeling like a tourist and frustrated at a lack of inclusivity within “typically” masculine environments, such as when playing football, listening to hiphop, going to the gym, etc, and wary of mainstream portrayals of masculinity, he did some reading and research into the area, before sending a speculative email to Progressive Masculinity enquiring about their practices and philosophy. Now he’s honoured and delighted to be supporting others in exploring their sense of self and their perception of others in our continually evolving society.
Mike Nicholson has over seventeen years of experience in education as an English teacher and middle leader. Having worked in schools from every Ofsted category, he has a wide range of expertise across the educational spectrum. Early in his career, he began to develop a reputation for his ability to impact boys and men deemed ‘difficult’ and ‘challenging’. Recognition of his work with this group led to a Pearson National Teaching Award nomination.
In 2009, Mike took a sabbatical year to manage an education program called The English Language Improvement Centre in a rural area of Ethiopia, Africa. Whilst the conditions during this time were very challenging, they provided Mike with a ‘once in a lifetime’ experience and a chance to change lives by developing the literacy skills of many who had previously been unable or denied the opportunity to learn.
Over the years, Mike became increasingly interested in how our male pupils’ understanding of masculinity was pivotal in their attitudes and behaviours. Researching, developing, and piloting an early version of the Progressive Masculinity Program allowed him to see how so many of our men put on a performance and a mask of what they think it means to be a man’ gleaned from films, games, social media, etc.
The refined version of the Progressive Masculinity Program is Mike’s effort to give our men the freedom and confidence to remove this mask and, through open dialogue and practical activities, reconstruct a healthier and more open-minded understanding of what it can mean to be “a man”.
