Reflection

Education as the Practice of Freedom

Laura Ciftci portrait

Written by Laura Ciftci

Head of School, NET Academies Trust, #BigLeadershipAdventure participant.

As a rookie member of Big Education’s ground-breaking leadership programme – Big Leadership Adventure – I have been exposed to a wealth and breadth of experiences, key-note speakers, ideas, design-thinking, innovation and new ways of leading. All with the key purpose to ‘develop the mindsets, competencies and behaviours required to innovate in education’.  

More recently, we experienced a headline module on diversity, equity and inclusion. Hannah and Adrian McLean, our guides for this module, did not pull any punches and stated from the outset that this session was going to be challenging and would possibly make many members feel rather uncomfortable. Nevertheless, they both insisted, education – especially educational leadership – needs ‘to start getting comfortable with being uncomfortable’. In truth, I found the whole process immensely challenging, both professionally and personally. 

In hindsight, the module’s real impact was to champion our cohort into action – real action – with a determination to transfer theory and rhetoric into practice. This rallying cry to alms for all leaders was a clear message on the importance of producing and utilising a diversity, equity and inclusion strategy within our schools. Moreover, instigating conversations that would raise further questions around how we need to rethink teaching practices and policies in an age of multiculturalism. Otherwise, how else would we be able to educate our children to address the many disparities and inequalities within our society? 

To Allyship or not to Allyship…? That IS the question: 

One such practice and commitment centred round ‘allyship’; more specifically an expectation for all Big Leadership Adventurers to acknowledge and engage with the ‘allyship continuum’: from apathetic, to aware, to active and finally onto the desired goal – to be an advocate for diversity, equity and inclusion. An advocate of diversity, equity and inclusion would actively highlight and raise questions about situations, events, meetings, settings, organisations, senior leadership teams, subject leaders and headteachers, whereby the representation or membership did not reflect the cohort or group they were leading. What struck me as the most poignant part of the whole ‘allyship process’, was a genuine recognition from all the leaders in our cohort, that their journey along the allyship continuum would be a deeply, individual and personal journey. 

Moreover, I realised, as I listened to the many painful and explicit narratives of prejudice and racism experienced by my colleagues – as infants, school children and adolescents and now as adults – that my journey to where I am today, had been an infinitely easier one, beyond my ‘disadvantaged’ label. If anything this made my purpose clearer – I wanted to celebrate and showcase our school’s rich diversity, to ensure that we authentically challenged institutional racism and other forms of discrimination. Subsequently, in order to kick start our school’s journey to allyship, we drafted a whole school strategic approach to diversity, equity and inclusion, that embraced the voice of our staff, pupils and wider community. Almost instantly, staff recognised that this commitment would take us beyond diversity, equity and inclusion, but further into social action; the co-dependence of societal changes through a strong, ‘lived’ diversity, equity and inclusion strategy. A focussed strategy, with professional training from the charismatic and knowledgeable Angela Browne helped us to explicitly outline expectations for the culture and climate of our school; facilitating classroom learning to connect with the experiences, histories and resources that every pupil brings to their classroom. Imagine a whole literacy spine that included the cultures, experiences and backgrounds of the pupils they sought to teach! Whilst this process may be in its infancy, we are rightly proud of its authentic germination …

Why here? Why now?  

As I reflected further upon the intensity of that diversity, equity and inclusion module, it became apparent we were really being asked to champion a social conscience and critical pedagogy for our future pupils, leaders, work force, politicians and so on. Recognising that pupils and staff need to feel safe, valued, listened to and genuinely appreciated for who they are, rather than complying to a given, predetermined expectation. This sense of belonging, coupled with the freedom and encouragement to determine and discover who they are, would help our pupils to realise that the education system does not define them. Once equipped with the necessary skills, knowledge and beliefs, from diverse and inclusive school communities, they will have the freedom to construct their own unique futures for themselves. Armed with a broad skills base, resilience, acceptance (rather than tolerance, thank you Adrian Mclean for assisting me with the semantics), a good work ethic, humility and an acute awareness of social justice, our pupils and staff will in turn, readily challenge cultural, social and economic biases, that alas, are still systemic within society today. Never has the time been more right to challenge social inequality and to encourage pupils (and staff) to take positive and constructive action under the cultural umbrella of diversity, equity and inclusion.  

Hope for the future… 

Clearly, the education system is neither perfect nor paradise; quite the contrary in fact. Nevertheless, the system with all its limitations, remains a location of potential, hope and possibility. In that field of possibility, we have the opportunity to work towards diversity, equity and inclusion for our pupils, staff and wider community members. Likewise, to demand of ourselves and those in our charge, ‘an openness of mind and heart that allows us to face reality even as we collectively imagine ways to move beyond boundaries, to transgress. This is education as the practice of freedom’. (Bell Hooks) 

And finally… 

As our second day of diversity, equity and inclusion module concluded, I felt a deep kinship and professional respect for my fellow ‘Adventurers’. This diverse group of authentic professionals, had challenged me, and in and through that challenge, had allowed me a space of radical openness where I now felt able to authentically support diversity, equity and inclusion, within my own setting. This promising start would, I hope, encourage those in my charge, to learn and grow without limits. This gift of ‘freedom’ for our children today, now seems totally achievable. 

by Hannah Wilson

My experience of geography fieldwork as a trans kid: a call for reflection

Kit-Marie Rackley portrait

Written by Kit Rackley

Kit (they/them) identifies as a trans non-binary demigirl and taught high school Geography in Norwich for 13 years. Kit now works for the UEA as a Higher Educator outreach officer.

Kit (they/them) identifies as a trans non-binary demigirl and taught high school Geography in Norwich for 13 years. They have a degree in Environmental Sciences from the University of East Anglia (UEA), specialising in meteorology, climate change, environmental risk and scientific communication. Kit now works for the UEA as a Higher Educator outreach officer, but is still a member of the geography teacher community via their website Geogramblings.com and continues to run CPD for teachers at all stages of their careers.

I want to share it in order to encourage all educators who engage in fieldwork, field centres and tutors to reflect and consider the extent they create a safe environment for all children, in this case, gender non-conforming and transgender children. I won’t be delving into the ‘debate’ about trans kids: they exist, and they deserve support, respect and safety not just because it is our safeguarding duty to do so, but because it is also the right thing to do. A content warning before you read on regarding social trauma, abuse and bullying. 

I’ve been proudly visible and vocal throughout my education work, including this blog. So most reading this already know I am transgender. But if you are new here, then hello! The vast majority of my work on Geogramblings doesn’t centre around my identity as a trans person at all, but rather my identity as a geographer and educator. But from time to time, those identities do intersect for the purpose of writing an article, and this is one of those occasions. I, like all transgender people, don’t owe anyone any information about my personal life other than what I am willing to share through self-consent. But in order to communicate my experience better, I do need to give a little context: I did not know I was transgender until I reached my thirties. However, I have always been transgender and what I am about to share are just droplets of evidence in a whole sea of tell-tale signs that I’ve now come to recognise. 

I loved Geography in high school. It was one of my favourite subjects, and although cliched as it is to say, one of the reasons was because of the field trips. My first residential field trip was to Bude at the end of Year 7. It was the mid-1990’s and I was exceptionally excited but I felt very unnerved by the prospect of sharing a room with boys. I figured it was totally down to being bullied a fair bit by boys in school and never felt totally safe – and of course, I was technically at school on the trip 24 hours of the day. So there was not the safe haven of getting home when the bell rang at half-3. I was too shy or nervous to ask any adult if it was possible to sleep in my own room, and I just thought that it would be a stupid thing to ask since it must be the case that boys must share a dorm, segregated from the girls who have their own. I didn’t want to share a room with the girls, either, that felt just as weird but for other reasons. I managed to muddle through that field trip. I enjoyed myself enough despite making sure I was the last to fall asleep and the first to wake up. I didn’t feel comfortable at all at night.

Fast forward a few years and I’m now in Year 10. I’m taking a GCSE Geography and we’re on a residential field trip to Bradwell in Essex. With the exception of the precious moments when I was able to go out and do my data collection or squirrel myself away in some study room to work on my coursework, I hated every minute of that trip. I had deliberately chosen a topic that was as divergent as possible from all the other students just so I had as much peace as I could. That was easy enough, as the ones that gave me the hardest time had their clique and were doing more or less the same thing amongst themselves. My topic instead overlapped a little with one of the girls in my GCSE class, so we worked together a bit. We weren’t friends but I felt so much safer and comfortable with her. And because we were doing our coursework, at least I had a water-tight reason for hanging out with her during the day. But, it was the social and evening hours which were the problem. My ‘study partner’ was off with her clique of friends and so I was left to try and look busy on my own with my work or hang out with the boys. 

The bathrooms and the dorms were the biggest issues. When we first arrived at the study centre I was actually very relieved to find that there was a room, with a door, with one bunk bed in it, while the rest of the dorm was open-plan. I figured it was for staff but the lead teacher (who I got on very well with and still think fondly of) said it was free and my ‘closest friend’ and I the time can use it. So we popped our stuff in, went off to do other bits as instructed, only to come back and find all our stuff tipped out onto one of the beds in the open-plan area. I’ve suppressed much of the memory of the hateful abuse that was arrowed towards us by our peers; towards me in particular. But us attempting to take the one room that had a door, well… you can guess. I didn’t complain to the teacher, for fear of reprisal from my peers, but I did manage to move to a bottom-bunk bed in a corner and find a spare blanket which I tucked into the frame like a screen so I had some sense of privacy. I cried myself to sleep that first night. No one mentioned it the next morning, maybe because it must have been in the early hours of the morning when I did eventually drop-off; maybe I did what I could to muffle my moans – all I can remember about that particular detail are the tears and no one noticing. After all, it’s not very ‘manly’ to cry, right? I did get as far as asking the teacher if I could use one of the staff bathrooms, so long as I checked in advance before I needed to go relieve myself or take a shower. At least that was one place I could feel safe and on my own. 

I often think about how things might have been different if I had known I was transgender back then. Perhaps things wouldn’t have been much better, or perhaps even worse, given it was the mid-1990s. Instead, I like to think if I was that kid today in 2021; not only would I have known more about myself and all the confidence and security that comes with it, but I probably would have had some allies amongst my peers. I probably would have been able to have a conversation with my teachers about the real reasons why I wanted my own room and bathroom, or at least share one with a friend I felt comfortable and safe with. I would have been able to solely focus on the geography in my work, rather than use my work as a means to escape. That leads me to think how much better I would have done overall in school, in that respect. 

I feel like I shouldn’t end this by giving suggestions or recommendations about what teachers, educators and field centres should do. Instead, I would ask all to reflect on what they have read, which is a very real experience, by someone who knows that the crux of much of the issues is related to their gender identity. And I would ask that everyone make efforts towards creating learning environments, be it the classroom, the playground, the field centre or beyond, that are safe for transgender kids. Share this article with the Educational Visit Co-ordinator (EVC) in your school, or the field studies centres that you regularly use. The bare minimum is to know that trans kids exist; that their experiences are real and if they approach you at the height of their vulnerability, then they should be listened to. Each trans person’s experience is unique to them. Listen and be guided by them.

Further reading

While explicit and comprehensive guidance on supporting transgender children with fieldtrips is rather thin on the ground, here are some useful documents regarding supporting school students:

Citing this post:

APA: Rackley, K. (2021, April 4). My experience of geography fieldwork as a trans kid: a call for reflection [Blog post]. Retrieved from https://geogramblings.com/2021/04/04/my-experience-of-geography-fieldwork-as-a-trans-kid-a-call-for-reflection/

MLA: Rackley, Kit. “My experience of geography fieldwork as a trans kid: a call for reflection”. Geogramblings. 4 Apr. 2021, https://geogramblings.com/2021/04/04/my-experience-of-geography-fieldwork-as-a-trans-kid-a-call-for-reflection/.

Harvard: Rackley, K. (2021). My experience of geography fieldwork as a trans kid: a call for reflection [Online]. Geogramblings. Available at: https://geogramblings.com/2021/04/04/my-experience-of-geography-fieldwork-as-a-trans-kid-a-call-for-reflection/ (Accessed: day month year)

by Hannah Wilson

Think Equal – Equality Education in Action

Ben Mearhart portrait

Written by Ben Mearhart

M.Ed. in Educational Leadership and in his 10 years as a senior leader developed practices and curricula which progressed teaching, learning, outcomes and personal development to ‘Outstanding’ levels.

Intent

 

As a joint-Headteacher of a forward-thinking primary school I was always on the look-out for initiatives which spoke to the heart of what I most value – the children’s actual experience and equipping them for leading rewarding lives. Think Equal’s social and emotional literacy programme achieves this and so much more.

 

I can’t think of anyone I know who wouldn’t benefit from enhanced social and emotional literacy.  From engaging the compassion that it can grow, for ourselves and everyone around us.  What do you do when you feel completely lost?  When you feel you’ve made a terrible mistake?  How do you support yourself or others when they feel this way?  How do you treat people as they would like to be treated?

 

This, to my mind, is the true work of a curriculum, of a school; namely to cultivate an authentic social and emotional literacy which is steeled with a depth and breadth of real world understanding that together can make the world we leave for our children better than the one we inherited.

 

Implementation

 

You may of course learn such things through trial and error.   Or, to be more certain of success, you can embrace social and emotional literacy as a golden thread of your learning and understanding as a student, of your pedagogy and support as a teacher and of your vision and impact as a leader.  The mission, content and execution of Think Equal’s programme achieves this too. Bold claims I know, but treat those seeds of doubt to a quick glance at Think Equal’s Committee of Advisors and Academic Partners to see how this might be possible.

 

From Understanding the World to Personal, Social and Emotional Development – and all the fertile vertical and horizontal links between and beyond – Think Equal’s programme can instantly enhance your curriculum, pastoral care and ultimately the love and cohesion that unites your school community. And at a time when children’s minds – at their most plastic – can be so ripe to engage with what so many adults, myself included, can find paralysingly-awkward and difficult to negotiate in reality.  What is true fairness?  How are we different and how are we similar?  How do I show you that I genuinely appreciate you as a human being? The programme largely enables these developments through consistently engaging and inspiring stories and activities.  

 

Diverse narratives:

At age- and stage-appropriate levels, the children explore and embrace vital concepts like equality, emotion and race within the comparative safety of the experiences and choices of a beautiful range of characters.

 

Emotional intelligence in action:

Their discoveries are then reinforced with the help of the programme’s carefully scaffolded and inclusive activities so that they are ready to respond when reality calls.

 

Impact

 

And oh the difference! At its most essential, we found that our planning for Personal, Social and Emotional Development for the year was pretty much covered.  Done.

 

More importantly…within weeks we saw elevated levels of kindness and consideration.  We saw children often reserved and tentative now emboldened and asserting their values.  We saw children who knew themselves and their friends with deeper understanding and confidence, who had normalised the range of emotions we experience but not the negative actions they can drive. 

 

Children who, self-confident and upright, were happier, more engaged, independent and much more likely to approach conflict with courage and solutions(!).   The positivity rippled through our staff and to home too. These days there is rightly much talk of a mental health and well-being crisis (pre- and post-Covid 19).  In times of joy, sorrow and everything in between I don’t think we can expect more than to ride those waves to the best of our ability. Pursuing the Think Equal programme enhances that ability and not as a reactive solution – a bolt on – but as a pro-active and living, breathing and growing reality.

by Hannah Wilson

Using Students Voice to understand Diversity

Roma Dhameja portrait

Written by Roma Dhameja

Secondary Vice Principal responsible for Teaching and Learning with a particular passion for Student Voice and teaching students Business, Economics and about Money.

Google ‘What is Diversity’ and you will see it defined as the ‘process of involving people from a range of different social, ethnic, gender, sexuality backgrounds.’ However, the way we often portray it is through a lens of polarisation. White or non-white. Male or Female. We know life is more complex than that. I, as a woman in her 30s of Indian heritage, cannot speak for every woman with that background and in that age bracket. Our experiences vary. It also doesn’t mean I have nothing in common with a middle-aged white man.

 

This doesn’t mean that we shouldn’t endeavour to ensure diversity in our board rooms/staff body. It means we have to pay closer attention to experiences rather than the way we classify ourselves, and that’s why I want to focus on the element of ‘involving people’ in the above definition. Because unless the communication channels are open, our understanding of unique experiences and similarities will remain stunted.  

 

With this in mind, I have loved conducting student voice activities throughout my teaching career. Our students’ backgrounds affect the way they engage with education. I know this, I have experienced this. At age 4, I joined the British education system with English as my third language and not entirely fluent in it either. Rather than celebrate my trilingual abilities, I was always innately aware that having not mastered English first I was seen to have a disadvantage. This became more apparent as I studied English Literature at A Level and whilst my peers could reference Greek Gods I had a wide variety of Hindu God’s I could refer to with an impressive array of powers but none that were going to make me understand references in the poetry required on the syllabus.

 

Often this lack of exposure to Western cultural references can be seen as a gap, something to fix and fill, and I understand that. After all, we have to prepare our students to pass exams and wrestle with the demands of the English language. But we also have an opportunity to unpick what they come to the table with.

 

I recently spoke to a group of students with English as an Additional Language and was in awe at the experiences not only they, but their parents had. One spoke to me about his parents being refugees from Pakistan and how his dad had obtained a degree in the Netherlands, which is where he was born and had then moved to the UK at eight. When I asked him of his experience moving to the UK he spoke about how he was going to one up his dad by making sure he did his A Levels in the UK, degree abroad and then an MA in another country. To him the world was his home, he just needed some time to figure out society in each country. He was a global citizen.

 

I’d gone to speak to these young people to look at home/school communication. Many of the questions had been asked before.

  • Do your parents receive the letters we send home?
  • Do they read them?
  • Is it ok to send them in English or would you prefer them in a different language?

 

Yes, Yes English is fine, had been the response.

 

Digging a little deeper, it became apparent that the students were reading the letters going home to their parents. When asked if they read everything, their initial reaction was yes, of course. When I asked them to translate a paragraph for me in Urdu, it became apparent they would skip some bits. This made the school simplify the language of their home communication further, with students giving feedback.

 

I learnt a lot that day about the way we communicate with our young people and their parents. I learnt a lot about ensuring that we know who we are writing for. I learnt a lot about how many students are happy to talk about their background if they feel comfortable, and we are willing to listen and celebrate the richness of it.

 

On another occasion I learnt a lot more about why some of our students from diverse backgrounds were not applying to Oxbridge despite having the grades than I ever would sitting making assumptions. I won’t tell you why because their reasons may not be the same as those of the young people not applying at your school. And that’s what we need to unpick, all of us, through regular, consistent student voice activities. What I did love however is how many of them were making the right choices for them, taking into account their culture and the lifestyle they wanted to lead.

 

We also need to be careful about the way we interpret student experiences. For instance, students’ parents may not attend parents evenings because they have no experience of the British education system and may send older siblings, uncles or aunts instead. In these instances you can have a very engaged extended family. How do we work with that? The cultural experiences of our young people can be very rich and we have to ensure we are not, at some level judging them as good or bad when they may just be different.

 

Listening to our students’ voices can teach us so much: what our students value in their homes… what shapes their perspectives… who are their role models… This is all powerful knowledge. It is a two-way gift. Not only does it give us an insight into their world, it also encourages them to talk confidently about their experiences, no matter how different to the status quo they may be.

 

by Hannah Wilson

Autie@40

Katie Friedman portrait

Written by Katie Friedman

Katie Friedman is an ex-Deputy Headteacher and Future Leader who now runs https://www.goldmindneurodiversity.com/ and is an accreditation coach with the MTPT project.

I was diagnosed as Autistic with Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD) this year, aged 40. When I first discovered my brain was different, I felt like an imposter – like I had only been autistic for five minutes but of course, I was born this way. What is new is the unlearning of unhelpful narratives thrown together in the absence of diagnosis. It feels like this late discovery has propelled me to the core of who I really am, past the layer of who I pretend to be and the layer of who I am scared I am.

Nearly three years ago, spurred on by a national leadership programme, I felt it was time to move on from the school I had been in for 10 years. I was promoted to a school whose Executive saw my ambition and verbal skills at interview. What they and I didn’t acknowledge was the disorganisation that had been masked by admin support. I went to expand my repertoire moving from a Teaching and Learning remit to be a Deputy Headteacher with responsibility for Behaviour and Safeguarding. The conditions for successfully making the leap in expertise were not there; soon after starting, the Headteacher and Assistant Principal in charge of Safeguarding went on long term sick leave; my husband who was sharing a lot of the childcare of our three young children, landed a promotion in London.  It soon became clear I was out of my comfort zone and my support structures were dissolving at home and at school. I started to crumble much like the 1960s building I was working in. I couldn’t mask for long. I was overwhelmed, stopped sleeping and burnt out. When the decision finally became black and white: keep going and crash the car on the way to work or get well and parent my kids, I went to the doctors and got signed off. I now know that my experience of burn out was not simply the ‘glass cliff’ (where women often have to negotiate difficult roles in order to get promoted) and that my neurology also played a part.

After some mindfulness counselling and help from my union, I finally understood that walking away was wisdom and not failure and I decided to hand in my notice. I would have to do leadership differently and decided to train as a coach alongside part-time strategic leadership positions.  I realised that ease and staying with not knowing (essential to coaching) were not things I had much practice of after 15 years in teaching and school leadership.  Coach training helped me reconnect my mind and body, grounding me in the present and slowing my thinking to hold the space for others to think. 

I got great feedback on my coaching course but everyone said I needed to be kinder to myself. I realised there was a block to my self-acceptance. A psychometric test pointed to an unusual brain with all my top strengths being in one category: strategic. These milestones of self-discovery led me to read about autism. Tiana Marshall’s Asperger traits in women profile took about three reads before I realised just how much the profile described my lived experience. Suspecting autism was not helpful however as I was subscribing to all kinds of ignorant stereotypes of deficit; no empathy, no emotions, no theory of mind, black and white thinking blah blah blah….. 

I finally decided to brave a diagnosis. Just before the report was sent to me, I remember being really scared, a bit like the fear of social rejection; that I wouldn’t be autistic ‘enough’. I think I was scared that it would undermine my growing confidence in my intuition; that I was born this way and could stop trying so damned hard to do and be better. I needn’t have worried. Not only did I pass but ended up getting tested for ADHD which I had not been prepared for. 

My brain had to process all this in the middle of an intense period of home school/ work juggle when my husband had to work away for a week. I started to see everything I had masked over before and suddenly understood why the difficulties were described as a ‘disability’. It’s really frustrating when you are well above average in some areas and under average in others. It can feel like you are two people. Since the external validation of diagnosis, frustration has become empathy. I am starting to recognise my sensory needs and propensity for overwhelm and take steps to manage. I am more accepting of my challenges and find support rather than getting frustrated or believing they will go away if I just try harder. I can really appreciate my strengths having seen my test scores for the cognitive assessment and have stopped dismissing them as things that everyone must have. I can finally accept myself and take care of my unique brain and manage my energy and concentration. 

I am so glad I now know but I actually dread to think what rubbish I could have imbibed about myself if I had been labelled in the 80s and 90s. This insight is thanks to a well explained history of autism from the brilliant ally Steve Silberman in ‘Neurotribes’. Some adults from my generation have really shown their age with beauties like; 

– ‘we are all on the spectrum’. This negates my experience and misinterprets the spectrum as linear.

– ‘Alright, Rain Man’. Wow.

– ‘You’re still my friend’. Actually, not anymore. 

– ‘I always thought your dad and your aunt were weird’. Brilliant.

I am privileged to be married to someone who is well connected to his intuition, quietly confident, brilliant at admin, tidying and planning and for the most part, always up for the next adventure I instigate. I’m lucky to have many friends, educator colleagues and coaches in my life working in the self-acceptance, belonging, equality and diversity space. They are an army of people who own their labels and are willing to work hard in allyship with the intersectionality and inclusion of others. They have supported and championed me when I couldn’t. They have leant me their intuition when I couldn’t feel it, educated me, advocated for me, called me in and edited my work, applications and writing. @Clairerising, @itsaishathomas, @abitidball, @Angela_Browne, @comcoachingorg, and @DominiChoudhury I see you!

When I came out to the #actuallyautistic community on Twitter, I laughed through the tears as I realised I was expecting an outpouring of love and emotion from a tribe whose emotion comes when it comes not when someone asks for it. Integrity, challenge, drive and true kindness have been offered in abundance by people in the community and I know I am home. 

Lockdown has made me realise that my kids are neurodivergent too and we are now in the process of their diagnosis. I hated the admin but it was very empowering to say ‘I am an ex-Deputy Headteacher and I am autistic with ADHD’ to the SENDco in my children’s school. It pays to be a privileged insider. It also pays to lead, bravely.

I coach leaders in education who want to do things differently and people who think differently (diagnosed and undiagnosed). Coaching works on the premise that we are all OK and whole and do not need ‘fixing’. The truth is we all need to change, not who we are but assumptions and perceptions we have so that we can see ourselves and our leadership clearly. Coaching helps us explore safely without fear of failure. Really good coaching helps us see our gifts and access our wisdom free from sabotage. 17% of the population are neurodivergent (Autistic, ADHD, Dyslexic and Dyspraxic) whether they know or not. My intuition is that there are far more neurodivergent people who think differently in education than we realise. My guess is that many of us deeply understand the process of learning and yet we are described from a place of deficit as ‘disorders’. Whilst there are challenges to thinking differently, there is brilliance which we can’t afford to overlook. I am often taken with the creative language Neurodivergent clients use or the way they can get to the crux of something quickly and how they can generate ideas about how to move forward. I also know that there will be many creative minds who have left education as their Schools would not be flexible around their needs. 

Post-pandemic, we have proven that flexibility in work patterns and environment is possible and for some it may be desirable. People who are different and think differently are key to propelling the innovation needed to ensure education meets the changing needs of the 21st century, post-pandemic. The educational landscape has changed and neurodivergent trailblazers, liberated through understanding their neurodivergence can lead ahead of the curve if we nurture their talents.

You can find out more here: goldmindneurodiversity.com

by Hannah Wilson

Journey to the Job

Azuraye Williams portrait

Written by Azuraye Williams

Year 6 Teacher, Science, PE, Diversity and Inclusion Lead.

Initial Thoughts

It can be so hard looking for a new job as a black or brown teacher. Your first thought might be to look at the teaching staff of the school and see if there are any other people of colour working there. With the recent statistics that have been made wide news, you will understand that it can sometimes be quite hard to find such a place. 

 

Once you have searched, you may have a few of the following questions to think about:

  • Is the school ‘ready’ to have a black or brown teacher there?
  • Am I ready to work somewhere that I will be ‘culturally alone’?
  • How will the school deal with anything towards race, identity, racism and culture?
  • How will they respond to me if I talk about something I feel uncomfortable with?
  • Will the school support my progression or will I just be there to ‘tick a box’? 

 

These questions will be flowing through the minds of people of colour before they even think about if they really want to apply for the job. Sometimes this process alone is enough to talk you out of even applying. 

 

The Process

The next thought is the writing process. You may worry that to even be in with a chance of an interview your letter has to stand out even more – especially if your name is of a cultural background- as the schools may have already shown that it does not openly employ black or brown people.

 

Then you think about the interview with thoughts such as:

How can I seem as though I can ‘fit in’ to the school, while also wanting to embrace my own true self?

Or, 

Will I see someone who looks like me on the interview panel?

 

What Now

Now although I say this, I am not speaking for all black and brown people or indeed about every interview. I just wanted to speak my own truth to share experiences and conversations I have had with other black and brown educators. 

 

The reason I say this is because although it is important to teach the children about different people and cultures, to truly bring the teaching world alight for people of colour, it starts at the top. Employing people of colour and actually listening to them when they make suggestions or point out something in school rather than just feeling it is ‘the right thing to do’ to tick a box or ‘look good’ from the outside.

 

It isn’t enough for schools to put a plaque up and a heading on their website to say they are anti-racist if their whole culture and ethos shows the opposite. Employing and learning about other cultures is one thing but truly allowing eyes, hearts and minds to be challenged in their biases and allowing the discomfort this may bring to elicit deeper change is what is really needed in schools.

 

So many black and brown teachers enter into this system as enthusiastic, knowledgeable and hard working individuals and yet they leave the profession years later being down-trodden, overlooked, misrepresented and sometimes (more often than many would like to say) mistreated.

Remember, this is a whole school approach and it is everyone’s responsibility to develop this across school. Higher leaders and educators have the capacity to make these real changes as without the support and backing from those higher up in the hierarchy, no amount of diversity lessons will make any real difference to the school culture.

by Hannah Wilson

Decade of Diversity: a cross-industry coalition of organisations and individuals supporting schools to increase diversity and inclusivity

Temi Akindele Barker portrait

Written by Temi Akindele Barker

Temi Akindele Barker is the founder of Inclusion Labs, an organisation dedicated to amplifying every voice and co-creating a more inclusive future by using data as a foundation for change. Inclusion Labs partners with schools to gather, share, and activate insights from DEI surveys, driving meaningful and measurable change. Temi began her career as a consultant in Legal Executive Search, working in both the UK and internationally. She led senior teams serving US and UK law firms as well as financial institutions, helping local and multinational clients achieve their strategic goals.

During last year’s global BLM protests, I watched as friends and schools scrambled to find more diverse books to share with the children in their care. It struck a chord with me – the realisation that for many like myself this is a daily practice ignited from the moment you know you are bringing a child into this world.  As a mother raising two ethnically diverse daughters in a dual heritage home, surrounding my daughters with true representation: female empowerment, ethnically and culturally diverse stories and role models, is a necessity.  But I also passionately believe it is just as essential if you are not from an underrepresented group – it is about “windows and mirrors”.

 

When I think of my children, my hope for them really boils down to wanting them to know they have a place in this world.  That they truly belong.  That they are seen for who they are.  But for that to happen they have to recognise themselves in the world they inhabit.  They need to feel represented; they need to see others who look like them in leadership positions.  There can’t be a ceiling to their hopes and dreams.  And whilst I strive to emphasise this at home, I need the wider world to reemphasise this.

 

From my work with Inclusion Labs, I am acutely aware that the influence and impact a school have on a young person is profound, whether it is positive or negative.  And it endures.  From the moment they step into reception until their final day of sixth form, and they carry it with them long after that, shaping their perspective and expectation of the world around them.  Ideas and attitudes are formed simply from who and what is placed in front of them on a daily basis.  This is why representation of every form is vital.

 

The Decade of Diversity initiative is about representation.  It is a bold and ambitious call to action and a way for schools and organisations to plant a flag in the ground on its importance.  It is a visible and vocal commitment to do the work of diversity and inclusion, but significantly it is not an expectation that we do this alone.  This commitment is a two-way one: Inclusion Labs and our partners are committing to supporting and guiding schools that are brave enough to plant that flag.  We reached out to individuals and organisations of every kind and we all connected on this shared purpose and belief that we all have a part to play in the development of young people. “We were all children once – and we are now the parents, grandparents, uncles and aunts of children” (Kofi Annan) and by virtue of that, we must all be invested in their development.  And so, a cross-industry coalition was formed, one to create inspiration and action around the Decade of Diversity pledges: 25% Diverse Literature and Diverse Governing Boards by 2030.

 

We asked ourselves the questions: “what needs to be done?” and “what part can we play in the answer?”  We recognised the work being done by many schools, individuals and organisations and knew we must contribute to making change happen, recognising that together we are more impactful.  It is a long-term commitment, a shared vision of a collective journey over the next ten years.

 

This coalition cannot end with words but must be about actions.  And our founding partners’ commitments cover a breadth of support, everything from creating support materials; workshops and training; access to diverse role models; developing programmes; and so on.  Each and every partner rallied around this initiative and committed to actions with only two stipulations: 1) they must be about diverse literature or diversifying governing boards, and 2) they must focus on supporting students and/or teachers as well as the overall school community.  Crucially, our support will evolve every year in response to what is needed by our signatory schools.

 

To embed diversity, equity and inclusion into every young person’s educational, cultural and personal development, Inclusion Labs focuses in on our four outcomes:

Learning: what they learn, how they learn and who they are learning from; 

Accessibility: having access to a diverse and inclusive community; 

Balance: embedding equity – the different elements of any setting in the correct proportions; 

Society: preparing them to be active participants in the world, including positive representation and interactions with those from underrepresented groups.

 

At Inclusion Labs, we believe that every teacher can have a role to play when it comes to leading DEI in their school.  For us, the literature pledge is the moment where a school librarian can lead, and we have ensured that our partners can support them and their colleagues.  From library management system organisations to independent publishers, booksellers, writer development agencies and authors – we bring them together to inspire, support and guide schools.  And of course, we are fundraising to donate diverse literature directly into our signatory schools.

 

Recently, a student questioned the role of their school governors and why they were invisible to students.  As the conversation progressed, many in the group raised the point that their school governors felt far removed from them as individuals.  Our governing board pledge partners are all working together with Inclusion Labs to increase the diversity of board leadership in our schools, with outreach campaigns across industries, including alumni and families – after all, parents can do more than bake sales! In addition, we are supporting schools to create the optimum environment in which both pledges can thrive for the long term.

 

The Decade of Diversity pledges are for our young people.  They deserve and need diverse literature and leadership, whether they inhabit a state or independent school, primary or secondary, in the centre of a city or somewhere rural.  Our initiative echoes their protest whilst being about ambition and action – “we are tired of talking about this” was a phrase that was aired in many of our focus groups as well as meetings with our founding partners. From these two pledges, we believe much else flows (diverse curriculums, diverse staff, a greater sense of belonging and awareness).

 

We do not claim to be the silver bullet – the truth is, there is no one answer, and no one way to solve these issues.  We have to apply different methods and involve as many as possible to actively work towards breaking down barriers and transforming our world to one that is inclusive for all.

Join our movement for change – let’s turn intent into action!

Find out more about the #DecadeofDiversity pledges and become a signatory school or a partner:

https://inclusionlabs.co.uk/decade-of-diversity/ 

Follow us for updates about this initiative and our partners:

Twitter: @inclusion_labs

Instagram: inclusionlabs

Linkedin: Inclusion Labs

#InclusionLabs #DecadeOfDiversity 

by Hannah Wilson

Is the sketch "Gerald the Gorilla" on "Not the Nine O'clock News” racist?

Ninna Makrinov portrait

Written by Ninna Makrinov

Organisational Psychologist with over 20 years' experience in Higher Education. Currently the Chair of Governors at Water Mill Primary School.

Someone I respect, who works in education, recently shared the sketch on a social online meeting as one of the best comedy sketches of all time. My immediate reaction was physical discomfort. It felt totally inappropriate. I strongly believe this material is racist and we need open conversations about why people still find it funny. In this blog, I share the reason for my reaction. My aim is not for you to watch the sketch (although I have added a link below), but to share some points that might help a conversation if you ever find yourself in a similar situation.

About the sketch

Gerald the Gorilla is a short sketch that portrays an interview where a white professor talks about his work on communication with a gorilla. The gorilla is a white man dressed in a gorilla suit. The gorilla acts as a human and acts as more intelligent than the professor acts. The professor dismisses every comment the gorilla makes.

My reaction

I suppose it is useful to know I am white; I was born and grew up in Chile. It is also useful to know that I have been learning about anti-racism for the last 4 years. I should also point out that I share the view that we are all racist because we live in a racist society (if you want to know more about this, explore Critical Race Theory). I am not judging the individual who shared this, but the specific choice to have shared this material. I am quite sure I might have had a different reaction to the sketch had I watched at some other point in my life. I take this as a sign we can all learn to be more sensitive to the lived experience of people of colour.

When I watched Gerald the Gorilla now I reacted with disgust and disbelief. My visceral reaction was so strong that my body ached for an hour after the meeting. Even as I was experiencing this, I doubted myself. Was the material inappropriate or was I being racist for seeing the link between a man dressed as a gorilla and a black man?

My immediate actions

I did not call the sketch out as racist during the meeting. I wish I had. But I did not. Instead, I looked shocked on camera. I also sent a message off meeting to a friend who was also there to gauge if I was overreacting. They did not see anything wrong so I downplayed my reaction and was saved by the bell, as I had to leave for another meeting.

After 1 hour, I was still uncomfortable. So I Googled: Is the sketch “Gerald the Gorilla” on “Not the Nine O’clock News” racist? I did not find a response. I learnt a little bit more about the programme. I also learnt that people seemed to agree it was very funny. This did not sit right with me.

I then contacted two other great friends who are involved in anti-racism. They both thought the content was shocking and inappropriate. I am sorry I did this, as I caused them additional pain. They both have mixed race children. But I am also glad I shared it with them, as their conviction gave me the energy to take the next steps.

 

Why the sketch is racist

Historically, black people have been compared to (non-human) apes. This has been used as an excuse for slavery and genocide. You can find out more in this great article on the Historical Foundations of Race by the National Museum of African American History and Culture. For a more specific example, read the article “The man who was caged in a zoo” in The Guardian.

Black people are still mocked by being called monkeys. The term ‘monkey chanting’ is defined by the Oxford Learner’s Dictionary as “rude and offensive comments shouted at a black player by white people who are watching a contest, especially a football (soccer) match.”

I am focusing my reaction on racism. As this was the most obvious to me. I also noticed homophobic and misogynist comments. I might have missed others.

Being anti-racist

The day after the incident, I took action. I posted a comment on the meeting chat. I said:

“Dear all, anyone who saw my face on camera during one of the skits shared yesterday will know I was shocked. I will not explain further here. However, if you want to know more about what I felt, or just drop me a line or call. I did not raise yesterday as I did not feel comfortable about it, but I have been reflecting since and cannot leave this unsaid.

Also, if anyone else felt there was something inappropriate and would like an ally, an informal chat or even a confidential one, please let me know.“ 

This has sparked conversations. At various levels. Mostly very personal. I am glad that I felt safe to share. I also wonder if others, particularly people of colour, felt othered or directly offended; I imagine they might also have felt that they could not speak up. I hope the conversations keep going. I still have questions: What conversations do we need? How can we understand the lived experience of others? How can we be allies?

Moving forward – how can we prevent this happening (again)?

To finalise, my top ideas on what we can do to prevent situations like this:

  1.       Make a point of meeting and understanding people who are not like you, whatever ‘what you’ means to you. I have learnt a lot about how judgemental I could be through my friends. Those who don’t have the same level of education, who come from different places, who look different, who disagree with my views.
  2.   Organise conversations about race. For me, participating in the anti-racist pedagogies forum at the University of Warwick has been life changing. I have since also organised an anti-racist book club with my (white) friends. I am thinking of an anti-racist film club at work, it feels more relaxing. For those who work in Further or Higher Education, this Box of Broadcast curated list on Law, Race and Decolonisation by Dr Foluke Adebisi is a great starting point.
  3.   Ensure your organisation’s diversity policy is clear on behavioural expectations, available support and formal procedures for complaints.
  4.   Let people know that you support anti–racism.
  5.   Be an active bystander, I took the step a little later than I would have wanted. I hope next time I will speak on the spot. Think back to occasions where you have acted, what happened? When you did not, what could you to when you experience something similar again?

I thought this video proves my point. You can see a family’s reaction while watching the original sketch. Spoiler alert: they were not shocked. Please beware that the contents might be sensitive (it angered me so much I wrote this blog).

by Hannah Wilson

Enough is Enough: Tackling Sexism and Sexual Harassment in Schools

Kate Hollinshead portrait

Written by Kate Hollinshead

Head of Operations, EqualiTeach

The last few weeks have seen an outpouring of grief, fear, concern and anger after the details of the murder of Sarah Everard have emerged. Feelings have run high in the political sphere, on social media and in schools, with more and more women contributing their experiences of sexism, sexual harassment and violence to the wider call for action against these pernicious and pervasive acts. 

In the wake of the Sarah Everard case, the National Education Union have once again called on the government to implement a strategy to tackle sexism in schools, expressing their disappointment at the Department for Education’s action when the NEU’s report into these behaviours was first published in 2017. The report, written in collaboration with UK Feminista, found that almost a quarter of female students at mixed-sex schools had been subjected to unwanted physical touching at school and almost a third of teachers witness sexual harassment in school on at least a weekly basis. The website, Everyone’s Invited, was set up by Soma Sara after her post sharing her experiences of sexual abuse on Instagram caused a huge number of responses from others highlighting similar experiences. In the past few weeks, this website has been inundated with thousands of allegations about sexual harassment at British schools and universities. 

At EqualiTeach, we have seen an increase in calls from teachers who are dealing with these conversations in schools, wondering what to say in response and what resources exist to combat sexism and sexual harassment in their classroom. There have been incidents where girls have been upset and angry and boys have been dismissive of the severity of the situation, suggesting that girls are ‘over-reacting’ or that it’s ‘not all men.’ One school has approached us to share that girls have been expressing their upset at the historic behaviour of some of the boys in their class. In another, a year 6 boy has been internally excluded for making comments about rape. Many of the conversations and incidents here are an extension of those happening on social media or in the press, highlighting that young people are consuming news and need help in dissecting the discussions effectively in a safe and open environment. 

The suggestion that the incidents women are sharing online are overreactions or the dismissal that sexism and sexual harassment isn’t as big an issue as women think comes from a place of privilege; of a life lead without constant fear of abuse in public spaces or of a lack of understanding that incidents that appear ‘small’ or ‘low level’ are often so regular that they build up into a picture of continual harassment for a woman from a very young age. Someone might only witness sexism or sexual harassment of a woman a couple of times in their life, but the same woman may have many experiences of such behaviour, just not within the same line of sight. What is often missing in the response about women ‘overreacting’ is an understanding of how seemingly low-level incidents feed into a societal acceptance of sexist behaviours and sexual harassment, which, left unchecked, can escalate into the levels of violence against women and girls we experience in the UK. According to a 2021 survey from UN Women UK, 97% of women aged between 18 and 24 said that they had been sexually harassed and 80% of all women of all ages said they had experienced sexual harassment in public spaces.

Such a normalisation of sexism and sexual harassment can disguise the true prevalence of behaviours. Sometimes, experiences may simply go unnoticed by targets as behaviours can be so normalised or the expectation that someone will take a complaint seriously is so low. A colleague of mine has spoken about being inappropriately touched throughout her school life, but only realised that this wasn’t acceptable when she was in her mid-twenties. Speaking about these issues can often educate those experiencing the behaviour that the behaviour isn’t something they should have to tolerate. Those young people in schools who are now speaking up about historic incidents of sexism or sexual harassment perhaps didn’t realise that this was unacceptable behaviour at the time or didn’t see the point in speaking up about it. Either way, these incidents should be dealt with seriously and robustly now. They should be investigated, and education and punitive measures should be administered accordingly. It is important for the school to adopt a robust and consistent approach to challenging sexism and sexual harassment in the same way it would approach challenging any other prejudice or misbehaviour.

Whole school education on sexism and sexual harassment is vital to prevent incidents occurring again. This should be comprehensive and woven not just into the PSHE and citizenship curriculum for each year group, but opportunities should be taken throughout the curriculum; in English, RE, History and beyond to highlight and interrogate stereotypes, sexism and sexual harassment within the taught content. Stand-alone assemblies will not do. Education should focus on what sexism is, how it manifests and what reporting procedures are in place at the school for pupils. It should focus on understanding boundaries between people, consent and how to hold others’ behaviour to account if someone witnesses something unacceptable. It should focus on stamping out sexist jokes or ‘banter’, abolishing name calling and the different expectations between girls and boys with regards to sexual behaviour, and showcasing how to be an ally to women in the fight against these behaviours. 

Being an ally is about listening to women’s experiences. All too often the response to women speaking up about such behaviours is that ‘not all men are like that.’ I understand that many men will want to distance themselves from sexist behaviours and sexual harassment, that in itself is a good thing to want to do. However, this is a defensive response which can prevent people from listening. It dismisses women’s reality. Women are aware that not all men are like that but articulating that does nothing to help address the men that are like that.  It allows the conversation to be focused only on the ‘few monsters’ out there, those who have committed terrible crimes, without highlighting how smaller acts by lots of men can contribute to women’s unsafety. As Jameela Jamil put it in a recent Twitter thread:

“Do all men work to make sure their fellow men do not harm women? Do they interrupt troubling language and behaviour in others? Do they have conversations about women’s safety/consent with their sons? Are all men interested in our safety? You don’t get to exclude yourself from the wrong side unless you’re actively fighting on the right side.”

But this shouldn’t be a blame game. Men are a product of societal norms and values, just as women are. The focus needs to be on re-educating people away from sexism and sexual harassment and reforming schemes of work in schools to begin discussions from an early age. Not doing so does a disservice to men, women, everyone. Instead, we want to create a society where everyone feels safe, valued and able to succeed. 

The following resources may be useful to beginning these conversations with young people:

EqualiTeach Outside the Box Guide for Educators: Promoting Gender Equality and Tackling Sexism and Sexual Harassment in Schools: https://equaliteach.co.uk/for-schools/classroom-resources/outside-the-box/

EqualiTeach Outside the Box Workshops for KS2-5: https://equaliteach.co.uk/education/classroom-resources/outside-the-box/

UK Feminista How to Take a Whole School Approach to Tackling Sexism in Schools https://ukfeminista.org.uk/resources/wsa/

Further Reading

Department for Education (DfE) (2018) Sexual violence and sexual harassment between children in schools and colleges: advice for governing bodies, proprietors, headteachers, principals, senior leadership teams and designated safeguarding leads https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/719902/Sexual_violence_and_sexual_harassment_between_children_in_schools_and_colleges.pdf

End Violence Against Women https://www.endviolenceagainstwomen.org.uk/about/data-on-violence-against-women-and-girls/#:~:text=%20Data%20on%20violence%20against%20women%20and%20girls,and%20internal%20child%20trafficking.%20The%20vast…%20More%20

Gender Matters. Toward’s Women’s Equality in Scotland https://gendermatters.engender.org.uk/content/education-training/

Girl Guiding (2013) Girls’ Attitudes Survey https://www.girlguiding.org.uk/globalassets/docs-and-resources/research-and-campaigns/girls-attitudes-survey-2013.pdf

Murray, J (2021) The Guardian. Government still has no strategy for tackling sexism in schools, say teachers. https://www.theguardian.com/education/2021/mar/20/government-still-has-no-strategy-for-tackling-sexism-in-schools-say-teachers

NEU and UK Feminista (2017) ‘It’s Just Everywhere! Sexism in Schools’ https://neu.org.uk/advice/its-just-everywhere-sexism-schools

UN Women UK and YouGov (2021) Prevalence and reporting of sexual harassment in UK public spaces https://www.unwomenuk.org/site/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/APPG-UN-Women-Sexual-Harassment-Report_Updated.pdf

Women and Equalities Committee Report (2016) Sexual Harassment and Violence in Schools: https://publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm201617/cmselect/cmwomeq/91/91.pdf

by Hannah Wilson

Doing the Inner Work, to do the Outer Work

Ellie Lister portrait

Written by Ellie Lister

Ellie leads the Big Leadership Adventure programme at Big Education. A multi-academy trust and social enterprise whose mission is to rethink and reshape education.

We have spent the weekend working with our 2020 Big Leadership Adventure group. It is always an energising and uplifting experience – as we learn together as part of their journey as leaders who believe in a ‘big’ education that can change the system. The commitment, passion and dedication of this group of 30 leaders can not be overstated. We salute you all!

 

The overall theme of the two days was Design Thinking – how can we re-imagine practices by using a range of tools which get us to understand problems differently and then go about solving them in new ways? Inspired by the work of Ideo, this powerful methodology has much to offer us in the sector. 

 

As pupils return from lockdown, many more schools are looking to do things differently. Our leaders are all working on Innovation Projects that harness the learnings from lockdown, to help us to rethink and reshape education. 

 

We know that we cannot achieve ‘a big education’ unless our system values and embodies diversity, equity and inclusion. Having some of the sector-leading experts and trainers as part of the cohort gave an incredible opportunity to draw on their expertise and really explore how this is explicitly linked to our work on the programme. We explored the themes of user-centred design, really actually listening to what those with protected characteristics are saying, and creating the spaces where those conversations can happen. 

 

Adrian McLean and Hannah Wilson skillfully created a safe space for participants to learn, challenge and understand. It was so powerful to start with checking our knowledge of the equalities act – what are the 9 protected characteristics and how many can you name? Between the group we got there – but I for one would not have managed to get all 9 on my own. 

 

We were challenged to think about which of these are visible in our organisations. Where are there explicit practices in our organisation in supporting or addressing these protected characteristics? It was clear that for so many of us, there is not an equal balance of focus on each of those within our organisations. There were some fascinating reflections on the ‘emotional tax’ associated with some of the invisible characteristics, for example disabilities that are non visible.  Some areas of practice are much stronger than others, and it was powerful and, at times, very uncomfortable to delve into why this is the case. It was also fascinating to reflect on the difference between what is written in policies and what is actually happening which again can expose some uncomfortable truths. Adrian and Hanah recognised this and urged us to “get comfortable with being uncomfortable.” These reflections and conversations need to happen. 

 

A large focus was on encouraging us to look inwards first. “Doing the inner work, to do the outer work.” This means we need to look personally inwards and consider our own perspectives, privilege and biases before we can meaningfully bring that conversation into our wider organisations. We used the Wheel of Power and Privilege as a tool to consider our own identity and experience and as a way to consider what might be going on for others.

 

We made an interesting link with our concept of ‘making entry’ – the idea that an essential prerequisite of meaningful work together in a trusting relationship, and that this is achieved only through self disclosure and sharing information about ourselves. It raises many questions about what we choose to disclose – how much, about what and to whom. What is clear is that if we do not tell our own story, others will make one up for us.  Some of that story is based on what they can see – the visible characteristics – and some about assumptions they make. Whether we choose to inform them further is our choice.

 

What is also clear, however, is how powerful it is when people are open about aspects of themselves. We heard stories of the impact of staff sharing their sexual orientation with students and the transformation in attitudes this can enable, as well as safe spaces where students were empowered to be openly vulnerable and really challenge a culture of toxic masculinity.  

 

The group all made pledges for actions to undertake and we will hold ourselves accountable for these commitments.

 

Day 2 shifted us into some practical action in developing our leadership skills – what we call developing ourselves as a ‘leadership artefact’. We passionately believe that being able to clearly and effectively deliver a ‘stump’ speech is a tool in the changemaker’s tool kit. The ability to convince others, create a compelling narrative and inspire action is essential. Our leaders revisited their stump speech they had delivered as part of the application process, redrafted it in light of the philosophy of education module they have completed, and delivered it to colleagues in small groups. 

 

It was an incredible experience, for both those speaking and those listening and feeding back. Drawing on the 4 oracy strands as a framework for listening and observing, each leader then received detailed feedback about the impact their speech had had on others in the group. We were all reminded again of the power of feedback – such an important part of developing our self awareness and understanding the effect our behaviour has on others. We referenced the ever useful Johari’s window model as a framework where we consider what is known and unknown to self and others.

 

The energy, commitment and positivity from this group of school leaders, after the first week back at school, was quite a joy to experience. The power of the cohort and drawing on expertise and support from the group could not have been stronger. It is a pleasure to work with this group of leaders and the future feels a little brighter in their presence.

Are you passionate about the need for a holistic education for young people? Applications are open for the Big Leadership Adventure – closing at midnight on the 3rd of May: https://bigeducation.org/bla/

by Hannah Wilson

Privacy Preference Center

Privacy Preferences