The recent collaboration between the Department for Education and television personality, Gemma Collins, sparked considerable debate across the education sector about influence, accountability and how educational messaging is communicated and legitimised.
The campaign, designed to encourage engagement with post-16 education and alternative pathways, was defended by former Education Secretary, Bridget Phillipson, on the basis that influencers can reach audiences “politicians can’t reach”. On one level, that is understandable. Schools, local authorities and government bodies have long struggled to engage some young people through traditional communication methods alone.
However, the reaction from teaching staff, parents and carers, and even children and young people themselves, suggests the conversation is about much more than a “bit of fun”, or celebrity involvement.
Sophie Hearn, Education and Partnerships Adviser at 1decision, examines the growing role of influencers in educational messaging and asks whether celebrity reach is being prioritised over professional expertise, lived experience and the voices of schools.
Not Snobbery, But Frustration
In response to the criticism, Bridget Phillipson suggested that some of the backlash reflected snobbery or an overly negative reaction to ‘light-hearted content’. However, this does not reflect what many professionals across the education sector are actually expressing.
Teaching staff and senior leaders are not reacting from a place of elitism, they are reacting from a place of lived experience.
Schools are currently operating in a climate of:
- rising attendance concerns
- increasing safeguarding complexity
- growing special educational needs
- stretched pastoral systems
- limited funding and capacity pressures
When campaigns feel disconnected, it is understandable that educators question their purpose and impact within the sector.
The criticism is not a rejection of accessible or relatable communication. There is a difference between making communication engaging and reducing educational messaging to personality-driven promotion. Many professionals felt the campaign with Gemma Collins fell into the latter category.
Who Should Be Shaping Young People’s Understanding of Education?
If young people are being encouraged to think about their futures, there is value in ensuring they also understand the system that underpins those choices. For me, education should surely include helping children and young people understand how the sector operates. This includes:
- who the Department for Education and other key stakeholders are
- how decisions about curriculum, funding and accountability are made
- the way schools are inspected and held to account
- how different education and career pathways are shaped and supported
The concern is not that influencers are speaking to young people but whether they are the right people to lead educational messaging. This is particularly important in environments where children and young people are already navigating large volumes of online content that shape their perceptions of success, aspiration and identity.
Rethinking Influencer Culture in Education
It is important to be clear that not all “influencers” sit in the same category.
There are many educators, school leaders and safeguarding professionals who use social media effectively to share advice, explain practice and support wider understanding of education. These voices are often grounded in first-hand experience of teaching, leadership and safeguarding responsibilities. That is very different from influencer culture in its broader sense, where reach and engagement are not necessarily linked to professional expertise.
Young people can benefit from seeing trusted professionals communicate in accessible ways. Many teachers are already doing this exceptionally well, however, when educational messaging becomes driven primarily by celebrity reach rather than educational credibility, it raises important questions about where authority is being placed.
Schools, especially at secondary level, are already spending significant time helping pupils critically evaluate online content, including:
- misinformation
- persuasive marketing techniques
- unrealistic lifestyle portrayals
- distorted ideas of success
- harmful or misleading narratives online
In many ways, schools are already teaching the critical thinking skills needed to navigate influencer culture safely and confidently.
Supporting Positive Conversations in Schools
At 1decision, we work alongside schools to create content that reflects the experiences, challenges and perspectives of young people today. Rather than being detached from the classroom, our resources are shaped by educator input and pupil voice, helping to ensure they are relevant, relatable and age-appropriate.
This approach supports teachers in facilitating meaningful discussions around real-life issues such as safety, relationships, emotional wellbeing, online influence and decision-making. Instead of relying on personality-led messaging or external narratives, the focus is on equipping pupils with practical skills to understand risk, recognise influence and make informed choices.
Rebuilding Trust in Educational Expertise
Ultimately, this debate raises wider questions about trust within education and how authority is established when communicating with young people about their futures.
With Andy Burnham becoming Prime Minister and Lucy Powell being appointed Secretary of State for Education in July, the change in leadership provides an opportunity to reconsider how educational messages are developed and communicated.
The original campaign’s central aim, promoting respected alternatives to purely academic post-16 pathways, remains highly relevant. The new cabinet has placed greater emphasis on technical education, work experience, local employment opportunities and routes into skilled careers. Lucy Powell has also signalled that she wants to move away from a one-size-fits-all approach to education and examine whether the curriculum is adequately preparing young people for their future lives.
A recognisable personality might help open the conversation, however, professional voices and young people’s lived experiences should shape its content and direction. Future campaigns should demonstrate that engaging communication can still be credible, informed and grounded in educational expertise.
Explore how the 1decision curriculum supports age-appropriate learning around online influence, critical thinking and informed decision-making here.
