Celebrating Culture Without Being Tokenistic

Building Meaningful, Sequential Diversity in the Early Years

In recent years, there has been an increased focus within the Early Years sector on celebrating culture and promoting diversity. This shift is both necessary and welcome. Children deserve to grow up in environments where difference is recognised, respected and understood, and where they feel a genuine sense of belonging.

However, as confidence around cultural celebration grows, so does the need for careful reflection. One question settings increasingly face is how to celebrate culture meaningfully — without it becoming tokenistic.

A common example is the celebration of cultural festivals, such as Chinese New Year, in settings where there may be no children, families or staff with lived experience of that culture. While the intention is often positive, the impact can be limited if learning is reduced to a single activity, themed craft or annual event, disconnected from children’s everyday experiences.

At Marathon Early Years Consultancy, we encourage settings to move beyond one-off celebrations and towards intentional, developmentally appropriate and sequential learning that builds children’s understanding over time.

From One-Off Events to Embedded Learning

Tokenism often appears when cultural learning:

• Sits outside the wider curriculum
• Is based on surface-level symbols or stereotypes
• Is not revisited or built upon
• Is driven by adult planning rather than children’s experiences and curiosity

This does not mean settings should avoid exploring cultures not represented within their community. Instead, it requires a shift in thinking — from celebrating for visibility to teaching for understanding.

Cultural learning should be woven into everyday practice, not reserved for special days.

Thinking Sequentially: Culture Through Age and Stage

Just as with communication, physical development or early mathematics, children’s understanding of diversity develops gradually. Cultural learning should therefore reflect children’s age, stage and developmental readiness, building knowledge and experience step by step.

Babies: Sensory Foundations and Familiarity

For babies, cultural learning is rooted in sensory experience rather than explanation. At this stage, practice should focus on normalising difference through:

• A wide range of textures, fabrics and materials
• Music, rhythms and sounds from different cultures
• Books that reflect diverse skin tones, families and experiences
• Sensory play using patterns, colours and natural resources

Babies are forming their earliest understanding of the world. Diversity here is about familiarity and comfort, not concepts.

Toddlers: Language, Belonging and Identity

As toddlers develop language and a stronger sense of self, cultural learning can gently expand. Meaningful experiences may include:

• Naming similarities and differences using respectful, simple language
• Seeing themselves and others reflected in everyday resources
• Exploring patterns, symbols and objects through play
• Responding thoughtfully to children’s observations and questions

At this stage, the focus is on belonging. Practitioners model inclusive language and help children understand that people live in different ways — and that difference is normal.

Preschool Children: Curiosity, Context and Meaning

Preschool-aged children are ready for deeper exploration, provided learning is handled with care and intent. Rather than focusing on isolated festivals, settings might:

• Explore where people live, using maps, stories and real experiences
• Compare daily routines, homes, food and celebrations
• Use stories and discussion to challenge stereotypes
• Revisit ideas regularly so learning builds over time

If a setting chooses to explore something like Chinese New Year, the focus should not be the activity itself, but the learning behind it:

• Why do people celebrate?
• How is this similar or different to our own experiences?
• How does this connect to what we have already learned?

This approach moves learning from a single event to meaningful understanding.

Representation Beyond the Calendar

Genuine inclusion is not defined by how many cultural days appear on the calendar.

Inclusive settings reflect diversity through:

• Everyday resources, not themed weeks alone
• Books that show a range of families, cultures and abilities
• Thoughtful responses to bias or assumptions
• Environments where difference is visible, normal and valued

This work is often subtle, but it has the greatest impact.

Reflective Practice: Supporting Staff Understanding

To embed meaningful cultural learning, staff need time and space to reflect together. The questions below can be used during staff meetings, supervision or training to support professional curiosity and shared understanding.

Reflection Questions for Staff Teams

Intent and Purpose

• Why do we choose to celebrate certain cultural events in our setting?
• What do we want children to gain from these experiences?
• How do these experiences link to our wider curriculum intent?

Knowing Our Children and Families

• What cultures, languages and lived experiences are represented in our current cohort?
• How well do we know families beyond what is recorded on paper?
• How do we invite families to share without creating pressure or expectation?

Avoiding Tokenism

• Are any cultural experiences isolated events with no follow-up?
• How do we ensure we avoid stereotypes or assumptions?
• How confident are we that our representations are respectful and accurate?

Age, Stage and Sequencing

• How does cultural learning look different for babies, toddlers and preschool children?
• How does children’s understanding build over time?
• Do we revisit ideas or treat them as one-off topics?

Everyday Representation

• Where do children see diversity reflected on an ordinary day?
• What messages might children take from what is visible — and what is missing?

Practitioner Confidence and Language

• How confident do we feel responding to children’s questions about difference?
• What language do we model when children notice similarities or differences?
• How do we support each other to grow in confidence and awareness?

Leadership and Improvement

• How do leaders model inclusive practice?
• How is this area of practice reviewed and strengthened over time?
• What is one small, meaningful change we could make?

A powerful closing reflection for teams is:

If a child spent a full year in our setting, what would they learn about the world and the people in it — even without special celebration days?

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The Marathon Approach

At Marathon Early Years Consultancy, we believe that promoting diversity is not about ticking boxes or delivering perfect activities. It is about slowing down, being intentional and thinking long-term.

When cultural learning is embedded thoughtfully and sequentially, children don’t just learn about difference — they grow up comfortable within it.