Education Reform by Design: Transforming Bermuda’s Education System

Bermuda’s public schools are modelled on the UK education system and influenced by the US where many Bermudian teachers study. Over time it became clear that this blend was no longer fit for purpose in a Bermuda looking towards a thriving, decolonised, and self-determined future. In most jurisdictions, education policy is determined by politicians, public servants, and technocrats, leaving little scope for public participation in policy design. In Bermuda, education is so central to shared public narratives and intergenerational memory of racially segregated schools, land ownership injustices, and deep inequalities that a different, more participatory approach was required.

Learning First is a design-led process to modernise public education policy. Large-scale community-led user research, persona development, co-design workshops, and extensive public prototyping are setting new directions for core education policy areas, including curriculum, teaching and learning, and assessment. An Education Reform Unit (ERU) of Bermudian educators leads participatory policy design for national system conditions, including ensuring inclusivity and cultural relevance, graduation requirements, workforce development, and school and system leadership. The ERU also convenes and co-facilitates with IUANZ School Design Labs, supporting design teams to create unique blueprints for their school, which adapt national policy to their local contexts.

Policies designed with the public are rapidly reshaping Bermuda’s schools. In 2022 two senior schools expanded to provide Signature Learning Programs, which link in-school learning with future careers and further education, and engage partners to deliver real-world, industry-based learning. In 2023 two schools reopened as Parish Primaries, community schools offering new locally-determined features, including integrated, project-based learning in inclusive and culturally-responsive ways. More schools have entered the School Design Lab for opening in 2025. Beyond education, Learning First is changing expectations for how public policy is decided in Bermuda, with attention now turning to other policy areas including Early Years.

Communications and engagement Education Reform is under extreme public and political scrutiny, so another key feature of this work is a dynamic communication and engagement strategy, codesigned and co-led by IUANZ and the ERU. Important priorities are openness and storytelling about the change at public access events and in mainstream and social media, as well as creating ongoing opportunities for community challenge and contribution to the work as it develops. Capability and capacity building Design thinking and practice are not commonplace in education systems generally and this was certainly true in Bermuda. IUANZ partnered with Bermuda’s Ministry of Education to design and launch Learning First in 2020-21 however it was always understood that Learning First would, over time, be Bermudian-led. One-to-one and group coaching in the early stages quickly grew into co-design and co-leadership of school and system redesign by the ERU and IUANZ teams. There is also now increased leadership from a renewed Governance Committee confidently holding and making sense of complexity, referring to horizon scanning and user insights to raise ambition and aspiration and engaging in stage gate reviews to quality assure the work and to make time and mission critical decisions.