The False Flag Flying of ‘No Institutional Racism’
Written by Rachel Clarke
Working with many leaders to improve schools, Rachel is a "passionate, dedicated and inspirational educator, who strives for success with students and educators".
The absence of any acknowledgement of the existence of institutional racism in the UK education system, is a sad indictment of these times. In the context of George Floyd’s trial, the Oprah interview with Harry and Meghan and the glaring difference in response to Sarah Everard’s murder compared to Bibaa Henry and Nicole Smallman’s, much of the nation has been discussing race and the existence of racism. It felt as if education was slowly waking up to the systemic racism that exists within it. To then hear the outcome of this report, feels as though the conversation is firmly ‘off’ the agenda now.
The meritocratic framing of how well ethnic minorities achieve, makes no reference that where this is true, this is in spite of the racism that exists, not because it doesn’t exist at all. The ‘well if you have families with high aspirations, children will achieve’ sentiment is firstly not comprehensive enough and secondly, echoes the long held belief that it’s the fault of the individual and no responsibility needs to be taken by the institution to ensure all children achieve their potential.
Then we have those who are of Black Caribbean heritage, who appear to have outcomes that start off quite strong (68%) at the end of EYFS, then plummet to 26% at GCSE. The high exclusions are referenced, as is the need for more ‘diversity’ training to be on ITT programmes. However the report fails to unpick the link between individual racism, institutional racism and structural racism that exists that facilitates these statistics. The silence on this is shameful. Yes, wider factors do affect outcomes of children and young people but it is no coincidence that the group whose ethnicity is still framed around negative 17th century hierarchies of race, are the ones being over-represented in negative statistics.
With a workforce of approximately 90% from a White British background, our education system has a duty to ensure that biased views/opinions aren’t given the opportunity to thrive, but are deliberately challenged, so all children achieve their potential. Racism is not just a one off act of violence/aggression but more often, is the drip, drip, drip effect of racial action over time that has to be explored as being central to these poor outcomes.
Despite the report stating that “if there is racial bias within schools or the teaching profession, it has limited effect …”, it is clear that we have to change our approach if we genuinely have a desire to have an education system that meets the needs of all. Now is the time to educate the educators to start the hard work of challenging racism.
The Power of Multiple Perspectives
Written by Paulina Tervo
Co-Founder and Co-CEO at Lyfta; an immersive learning platform for educators.Her background is in documentary filmmaking and web production.
I’m holding a heavy camera in my arms, which are shaking from the sheer weight. It’s 35 degrees; hot, humid and I’m standing in the middle of the biggest slum in Dhaka, Bangladesh, filming a UK A-list celebrity who is crying and talking to the camera. We have just visited several homes in the slum, where we have met young mothers, who are still children themselves, who live in abject poverty and whose children are malnourished. My brief for the day has been to make the A-list celebrity cry in front of the camera, because that’s what will make people donate to the charity that I am doing the work for. I start crying myself, because of the absolutely devastating stories of hopelessness that we are telling, and because I have been told by the local staff that the families we filmed are not beneficiaries of their aid, and therefore will not be helped.
What this narrative was doing was problematic for many reasons. Not least because it reinforced the white saviour narrative, portrayed the poor as a helpless one-dimensional group who are only going to be saved by our charity. It also showed only one side of the story. What we didn’t tell was how the young mother might have been part of a women entrepreneur’s group, saving together to launch a business, or how she is a resilient and resourceful person. We didn’t humanise her, we victimised her, objectified her even.
I felt disgusted and embarrassed for being there. It was the first time I had ever taken an assignment like this, and it was absolutely going to be my last. It was clear to me that what we were doing would not bring about sustainable change. I realised that I wanted to tell stories that were empowering, and even if they had tragedy or difficulties in them, they would humanise and have hope.
A very different story
Fast forward 5 years, I am filming another young mother, this time in Helsinki, Finland. This is where I come from.
Habiba was a child when she came to Finland in the early nineties as a refugee from Somalia. To give you some background, in 2018 over 50% of Somalis in Finland were unemployed, and when it comes to women, that figure was even higher. Many Somali women become nurses or work in other caring professions. When Habiba told me that as a teenager she had been told by a school counsellor that she would be best off becoming a nurse, as that’s what most other Somali women do, she decided that wasn’t going to be her route. Her interest was in citizen activism and politics.
Habiba always knew she wanted her own career while also fulfilling her duty as a mum. By her mid-twenties, she was the proud mother of 7 children when the relationship with her husband broke down. Committed to her aims towards social justice and advocacy for others, she chose to become a city councillor and started to work for her community, to help young people who faced institutional racism which put them at risk of marginalisation. It hasn’t been easy for Habiba to do what she is doing, she faces constant hate speech and racial abuse.
The story we ended up telling about Habiba, like the other stories on the Lyfta platform, is emotionally powerful, yet hopeful, inspiring and empowering. Habiba is an incredibly resilient and positive person, reflective and committed and provides a powerful role model for us all. She makes us see that despite adversities, we can still follow our dreams.
Habiba’s story has now been seen by thousands of children and teachers in the UK and Finland. For many people, she is an incredible role model, and for others, meeting her has given them a window into someone’s life, whom they might otherwise never have met. They would have heard a story that showed them a new perspective.
Habiba’s story is one of many human stories featured in Lyfta’s learning environments called storyworlds. At Lyfta our mission is to share beautiful human stories from around the world to better understand ourselves, each other and our future – as individuals, as communities and as an entire planet.
Storytellers and media outlets have a big responsibility as to how we tell stories, because stories shape our world and shape perspectives and attitudes. So it really matters how they are told. The world is nuanced, complex and beautiful and there are a million ways of telling someone’s story. At Lyfta, we choose to tell stories that humanise people.
What is Lyfta?
Lyfta is an award-winning teaching platform made up of interactive 360° spaces and soundscapes of real homes, workplaces and environments from around the world. Students are invited to explore, unlock rich media content, and get to know real people through powerful and inspiring short films.
The resources are ideal for teaching a range of subjects, skills and values and the UN SDGs. The ready-made lesson and assembly plans cover a range of vital themes such as sustainability, wellbeing, human diversity and compassion, and are ideal for nurturing skills and values such as empathy, resilience, and critical thinking.
Lyfta offers free training and trial access – find out more at www.lyfta.com/training
Taking an intersectional approach to understanding mental health and self-identity
Written by Hannah Wilson
Founder of Diverse Educators
During my time serving as a school leader, I cared deeply about our culture and ethos. We spent a lot of time reflecting on our school values, and how they shaped our inclusive behaviours. As a school we were committed to diversity, equity and inclusion, at the same time as being committed to mental health and wellbeing – both underpinned our strategic vision and our approaches for our curriculum, our staffing, our policies and our practices. This intersectional approach to who we are, how we feel about ourselves and each other, our awareness of our place in the world as global citizens, created our sense of belonging as both individuals and as a community.
I now work independently – I am the Founder of Diverse Educators and I consult, coach and train with these two specialisms in mind. When I am commissioned to do a piece of work with a school, a trust, an educational organisation or training provider for one of these areas, I interweave the other focus back in as I find it hard to speak about one without reflecting on the other. For me this intersect is really important as we often consider mental ill health in isolation from one’s identity, and we need to remember that individuals with a protected characteristic are more vulnerable to experiencing mental health issues, as a result of how authentic and accepted they feel.
Various factors make up a person’s actual identity, including a sense of continuity, a sense of uniqueness from others, and a sense of affiliation based on their membership in various groups like family, ethnicity, and occupation. When we have a positive view of our identity within a group, we are more likely to relate well to other others in that group and feel positive emotions about ourselves. This social identity fulfils the psychological need for esteem from others.
Struggling with various parts of our identity is also natural and normal. It takes time to develop an identity or sense of self and the traits we desire to nurture in ourselves may be challenging. Not having a strong sense of self or struggling with identity issues can lead to anxiety and insecurity. Our sense of self comes from our self-esteem, something I worked on with many of my students over the 19 years I spent teaching and leading in schools. The value we place on ourselves creates a positive self-image which in turn creates our sense of self-worth. When we feel loved by others and by ourselves, we also feel trusted and accepted which boosts our self-esteem. A strong self-identity increases our self-confidence and enables us to assert ourselves and exercise good boundaries with our family, friends, and partner.
Mental health problems affect about 1 in 10 children and young people which can include depression, anxiety and conduct disorders, often as a direct response to what is happening in their lives. But what does the data tell us about children and young people and their race, their gender and their sexual orientation and the intersect with their mental health?
A significant risk factor for a mental health problem manifesting is the experience of race, religion or sexuality. Anyone experiencing a mental health problem should get both support and respect. However, for many people from Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic (BAME) communities this is still not the case. The reasons for this are complex but include systemic racism and discrimination as well as social and economic inequalities and mental health stigma. People from Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic communities living in the UK are more likely to: be diagnosed with mental health problems; be diagnosed and admitted to hospital; experience a poor outcome from treatment. The disproportionate impact of coronavirus on Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic communities has further highlighted the inequalities in the system and has made many people’s mental health worse at an already difficult time. Furthermore, research has found that children of Black, Asian and Ethnic Minority heritage are suffering disproportionate damage to their mental health, as a result of the pandemic than their white peers. There has been a large rise in anxiety, stress and self-harm in non-white under 18s.
Some questions to consider as a school regarding the intersect between race and mental health:
- How engaged are children and young people from black and minority ethnic communities in your mental health and wellbeing activities?
- What are the barriers which put young people from black and minority ethnic groups off from accessing mental health services in your context?
- How culturally sensitive are your mental health processes and services in being appropriate and acceptable to children and young people from diverse families?
Returning to the risk factors, we also need to consider the layers to our identity which are not always visible nor known. Young people establishing their self-identity do not always feel the psychological safety at home and at school to be out but one in every 25 Britons aged 16–24 years old identifies as lesbian, gay, or bisexual. Cross-sectional studies consistently report that sexual-minority young people have poorer mental health profiles than their heterosexual peers, including higher prevalence of self-harm and suicide attempts. The pandemic has exacerbated many existing dangers, and introduced a few new ones, in particular, social isolation may have been especially challenging for LGBTQ youth. They may have been quarantining with rejecting family-members and have lost contact with supportive social networks. The nature of quarantining means that these problems may have been invisible to the school. Even before COVID-19, LGBTQ youth were at higher risk for depression, suicidality, and tobacco, alcohol, and other drug use than their heterosexual peers. Moreover, this increased risk stems from increased rates of rejection, discrimination, and victimisation. During the pandemic, risk was further compounded by loss of relationships in school, clubs, or other community venues where LGBTQ youth find support and affirmation.
Some questions to consider as a school regarding the intersect between sexual orientation and mental health:
- How engaged are children and young people from the LGBTQIA+ community in your mental health and wellbeing activities?
- What are the barriers which put young people from the LGBTQIA+ community off from accessing mental health services in your context?
- How have you made efforts to address gender and sexuality-based inequities so that they might be appropriate and acceptable for children and young people who identify as being LGBTQIA+?
As our schools fully re-open and our support systems are mobilised once again, we need to consider how we can support our marginalised youth groups to rebuild their sense of belonging. Some ways we can do this:
- Recognising that representation matters and that we need to be intentional about the make up of our teams so that there is increased visibility of diverse role models in our schools.
- Reviewing school policies and practices for how inclusive they are in meeting the needs of all our children and young people so that they do not harm nor further alienate individuals with diverse lived experiences.
- Creating safe spaces for young people to explore their self-identity and to surface their lived experiences to be supported and signposted to appropriate interventions.
- Developing resources and peer advocacy programmes that will empower young people to nurture their own resilience whilst at the same time engage them in supporting others.
Which is why Diverse Educators are collaborating with Worth-It CIC on their Wellbeing Ambassadors Programme as we believe that by nurturing peer to peer relationships that we can build trust and increase feelings of belonging and connection for individual young people. The programme coaches them to develop the internal resources and strategies to learn how to develop positive relationships and positive support networks. Come and join us for our free webinars on April 27th to find out more.
Deepening and Demonstrating an Understanding of Diversity - A Governor’s Journey
Written by Mair Bull
Former teacher and content writer for BBC Bitesize. Now works at Manchester Metropolitan University in the Curriculum and Rise teams.
When the pandemic hit, I had only been a governor for a few months. Therefore, I felt compelled during the lockdown to take advantage of the many free webinars and training sessions that became available as everyone flocked to zoom and other similar platforms.
I particularly enjoyed the sessions by Hannah Wilson and Diverse Educators – the recordings can be found here if you wish to check them out. I made notes about diversity, inclusion, decolonising the curriculum and specific ideas for governance around diversifying the board and recruitment – to name but a few!
The style of the sessions meant they felt approachable and empowering – normalising the discussions around race, culture, identity and disability. In fact, the sessions made it clear it was strange not to be challenging and questioning the current position within our schools. This was galvanised only a few months later when the world witnessed the death of George Floyd and the subsequent Black Lives Matter campaign.
Alongside these experiences, I was privileged to be part of a conversation about the importance of building a representative Drama curriculum in schools with the Royal Court Theatre, as part of my previous role with Open Drama UK. Subsequently, the network published a really useful document for teachers on building a representative curriculum, which I highly recommend exploring.
During the governors meetings in 2020, I slowly felt more emboldened to ask those questions that Diverse Educators encourages us to pose; I triggered conversations about text choices and our curriculum, about the diversity and inclusion of staff and the recruitment process to our governing board, plus many more. As Hannah has said several times, it is uncomfortable to ask those questions, but they need to be posed. The status quo needs challenging.
In December 2020 we had an Ofsted training session for governors across the Trust, and I was fired a question about the Equality Act in a mock-interview set up. I felt uneasy answering in front of a large number of senior leaders and hugely experienced governors, but I was able to outline what we had achieved in school, the provocations we had discussed, and our plans for the future.
Then in March 2021, I experienced my first real Ofsted visit (virtual) as a governor. In my interview the importance of all that layering of knowledge and small but regular confrontations of the norm, felt acknowledged, important and relevant. I was able to talk about the value of diversity, inclusion, recruitment and curriculum with more confidence and power than I would have been able to a year ago.
Like every school, we still have a long way to go but it is important to acknowledge the evolution and development from where we were before. I am really proud of the lovely school where I am a governor and the crucial progression that has been made on the journey out of special measures. It is important that I am educated and empowered to keep challenging the school to be the best version of itself as it can be. I am only small cog, but we as governors do have the power to enact change and empower others, steadily but positively.
I am really pleased to say that we are now in a position to recruit new governors and are of course, determined to broaden the diversity of the board. If you are interested in a governance role in the Cheshire region please get in touch.
Empowering Change Through Education
Written by Leslee Udwin
Activist, filmmaker, UN Women for Peace awardee, and Founder and Executive Chair of Think Equal, a global non-profit.
‘No one is born hating another person because of the colour of his skin, or his background, or his religion. People must learn to hate, and if they can learn to hate, they can be taught to love, for love comes more naturally to the human heart than its opposite’. Nelson Mandela
There is a profound chasm in our global education system – a missing dimension. How can we teach our children numeracy and literacy, yet not how to become loving, inclusive and empathetic human beings? In fact, even the most superficial glimpse of the values which bombard our children’s senses evidences a reality that needs to be effortfully countered if we are to disrupt the pretty archaic views of stereotypes which abound. Discrimination is the rule and at Think Equal we are determined to make it the exception.
So how do we educate inclusion, self-esteem (for all) and celebration of diversity? In fact, it’s so simple that if we continue to ignore it and neglect to implement the programmatic tools that exist, we should hang our heads in shame.
It’s not rocket science, it’s neuroscience. We work with our children as partners to co-create pro- social neuropathways in their developing brains. This is why our programmes work exclusively with children aged 3-6. Quite simply put, this is when the brain is ripe with neuroplasticity. By focusing on this specific age group, we can co-create pro-social behaviours with the child, and empower long-term change.
Embedding Social and Emotional Learning competencies and skills at an early enough age to be of material foundational value, is the key to unlocking the power of human kindness, inclusion, and connection, which is all too relentlessly overshadowed by divisiveness, sexism, racism, and deeply embedded bigotries.
We are all aware of the issues that are plaguing society, and now is the time to act on this awareness by implementing social and emotional learning programmes, such as that which Think Equal has designed for both classrooms and homes, at a global scale.
Think Equal has developed an innovative early years SEL programme which tackles the root cause of discrimination and violence from the outset. With input from world education and though leaders, such as Sir Ken Robinson, the Dalai Lama and the Yale Centre for Emotional Intelligence, we have designed an evidence-based, scalable, and replicable SEL programme. Think Equal’s mission is to actively transform the fabric of society through this curriculum: from a world that is apathetic, to one that is empathetic, from a society of passive living, to one of active empowerment.
We have created a comprehensive set of children’s books, one for every week of the Think Equal curriculum, accompanied by step-by-step teaching plans. We set clear outcomes for each week of the Think Equal programme. These include showing responsibility towards our planet and acknowledging the interconnectedness of all living creatures. We actively draw from the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals to expand the breadth of existing social and emotional learning programmes.
To celebrate International Women’s Day, I had the privilege of speaking with Hannah and Isa about how my work and Think Equal’s disrupts and challenges the patriarchy. One week later, the UN’s statistic, citing that 97% of women aged 18-24 in the UK had been sexually harassed, went viral. This study, drawn from the UN Women UK’s Safe Spaces Now project, resurfaced in light of the tragic disappearance of Sarah Everard. Claire Barnett, executive director of women UK, writes that ‘This is a human rights crisis. It’s not enough for us to keep saying ‘this is too difficult a problem for us to solve’ – it needs addressing now”.
This is precisely what Think Equal’s social and emotional learning programme does: starting at an early age, we anchor values of gender equality and respect in children’s mindsets. Think Equal urges you to recognize the genuine power that bringing teachers together can have in catalysing change. Teachers are the backbone of our society. It is by providing them with the training and distribution of Think Equal materials that we can really start to make a difference on our own doorstep, and as global citizens.
If you missed our chat on International Women’s Day, you can learn more about how Think Equal is leading the change in our global education system by registering for our webinar.
Now, this change can also happen with the help of parents across the globe. At the start of the Covid-19 pandemic, Think Equal worked hard to reach families in their homes. You can now order our free SEL home kits online.
Finally, you can help us catalyse this change by donating to Think Equal today. A donation of just 2 pounds will provide a child with the positive life outcomes to make a real difference in society.
Why taking part in School Diversity Week can help LGBT+ young people struggling with mental health
Written by Dominic Arnall
Chief Executive of Just Like Us, the LGBT+ young people's charity.
The pandemic has hit us all hard – whether it’s through job losses, being furloughed, losing loved ones, loneliness or our lives simply turning upside down. However, new independent research by Just Like Us has found that young people who are LGBT+ (lesbian, gay, bisexual or trans) are struggling significantly more.
LGBT+ young people are twice as likely to feel lonely and more than twice as likely to be worrying daily about the state of their mental health.
On top of this, one in four (25%) are facing daily tensions in the place they’re living and seven in 10 (68%) said their mental health has worsened during the pandemic, compared to just half (49%) of young people who aren’t LGBT+.
Sadly, Just Like Us’ independent research found what we suspected to be true when the pandemic began – LGBT+ young people are facing far more challenges than their peers and this is having a devastating impact on their mental health. And we found that LGBT+ young people who are also Black, disabled and/or eligible for free school meals face even worse mental health.
While we’ve all had a tough time not being able to see our loved ones and socialise like we used to, many LGBT+ young people are having to cope with living with families who may not accept or understand them, while also being cut off from their usual support networks or safe spaces where they won’t be judged for who they are.
School, while it may have been virtual for much of the pandemic, can be a fantastic source of support for young people. Sadly, for pupils who are LGBT+, school still often isn’t a place they are able to feel safe, welcome or happy being themselves.
Our research shows that half (48%) of 11 to 18 year olds say they have received little to zero positive messaging at school about being LGBT+ in the last 12 months. One in five (18%) young people say they have received no positive messaging from their school about being LGBT+, which suggests that a significant number of schools are not taking action to meet Ofsted requirements of preventing homophobic, biphobic and transphobic bullying.
It’s a real shame to see that Section 28 is still having such an impact on LGBT+ young people’s experiences of school. As adults, we could be forgiven for thinking that things have moved on – after all, we have far more legislation to protect us these days – but education still has a long way to go in being LGBT+ inclusive.
No child should feel scared to be themselves at school. And pupils in primary schools should know that there’s no shame in having LGBT+ parents or families either. Growing up bisexual, if I’d known and could’ve seen that my school accepted me, my journey would’ve looked very different.
We know that teachers and school staff are doing an incredible job in an overwhelmingly challenging environment. That’s why we are doing everything we can at Just Like Us to make taking the first step to LGBT+ inclusion in education as easy and accessible as possible.
This summer is School Diversity Week. We’re asking all primary schools, secondary schools and colleges to please sign up to take part. It’s free, you’ll get a toolkit of teaching resources for all key stages, across the curriculum, and celebrating means your pupils will know they can be safe, happy and accepted at your school.
We’ll be running free online masterclasses that you can stream, there’ll be Rainbow Friday where pupils can dress up as a colour from the Pride Progress flag, and we have many new resources for staff to inspire your celebrations. LGBT+ young people are facing disproportionate mental health challenges and need to know who they are is not something to be ashamed of – please sign up for School Diversity Week and celebrate with us and thousands of schools and colleges taking part 21-25 June.
Doing the Inner Work, to do the Outer Work
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/
Voice Led Early Intervention for Student Wellbeing and Belonging
Written by Liz Robson-Kelly
Educator, Positive and Organisational Psychologist, leading expert on Positive Education in the UK.
My research and extensive work for the last 10 years has focused on increasing capacity to prevent young people develop long lasting mental health problems. Listening to and understanding young people themselves, what they want, and need is the key to providing effective early intervention and mental health problem prevention.
The whole ethos of Worth-it Positive Education CIC as an organisation has been founded on co-produced insights and ideas from the young people we work with and support. This passion for empowering young people to have a voice has led me to publish grounded theory research on how coaching and positive psychology approaches can help young people prevent the onset of common mental health problems. Through this research and our work with young people, time and time again they have said that being sharing their stresses and concerns with another young person ‘like them’ and who understands them, and their situation is essential to the way they want to access support. That knowing that there is another young person who can share their ‘experience’ and ‘helpful information’, supports them to improve their mental health and wellbeing.
Looking beyond the experiences of individual young people and focusing on the wider school environment, school connectedness, belonging and positive peer relationships have also been demonstrated to be essential for the prevention of mental health problems in young people. Students are more likely to engage in healthy behaviours and succeed academically when they feel connected to a school and have positive peer relationships. Experiencing positive peer relationships and a sense of belonging at school makes a major contribution to young people’s ability to increase their own wellbeing resources. This then enables them to deal with challenging situations, stress, or pressure and reduce the onset of mental health problems. Empowering students to lead projects and interventions that support the development of belonging and positive relationships fosters wellbeing and is integral to supporting a whole school approach to mental health.
To prevent mental health problems, it is essential we support young people to develop and use their own personal resources for wellbeing. This includes enabling them to identify and access support networks provided by peers or the school environment. This ability to nurture wellbeing resources and increase access support networks is something that can be shared peer to peer. Young people are often more likely to listen to a peer about what helps them increase their own wellbeing than any well-meaning adult.
Combining the importance of offering early prevention and supporting young people develop and share resources for wellbeing, led us to develop our Wellbeing Ambassadors programme. This programme is based on peer-to-peer coaching and positive psychology research. Through testing our approach, gaining feedback from young people, schools and organisations including, CAMHS and local authorities. We designed and shaped an intervention that empowers young people develop their own internal resources for wellbeing and then share them with peers and lead initiatives that support wellbeing to be developed across the school environment. The Wellbeing Ambassadors Programme builds and nurture on positive peer relationships that support the development of belonging and connection at school.
The Wellbeing Ambassadors programme trains young people coaching skills and supports them to become an empowered team of peer wellbeing leaders. They then decide and implement their own wellbeing initiatives that will support their peers to feel included, develop positive relationships and strategies for wellbeing in their own schools. Nurturing peer to peer relationships builds trust and can increase feelings of belonging and connection. This can have a significant impact on supporting the school to become inclusive and built on a foundation of belonging and positive relationships that promote and protect wellbeing.
Young people more than anything need to belong and need strategies to learn how to develop positive relationships, and into positive support networks is more important now than ever. Not only to reduce the negative impact to mental health caused by the lockdowns but to support all young people enjoy and flourish at school.
Find out more
We are pleased to be working collaboratively with Hannah Wilson and Diverse Educators who is championing and sharing her passion for supporting pupil belonging, inclusion and wellbeing. We have come together to share our insights into our Why Have Student Wellbeing Ambassadors? – Webinar.
To find out more about how a Wellbeing Ambassador Programme, can help you support student mental health and wellbeing join our Live 1 hour Webinar on the 27th April 2021 at 11am or 4pm.
Next Steps
To find out more and book your place on the ‘Why Have Student Wellbeing Ambassadors’- Webinar follow this link
https://worthit.org.uk/why-student-wellbeing-ambassadors-webinar/
For more about my work at Worth-it click here.
You’re Not Just Marrying the Person…
Written by Jackie Hill
An experienced teacher trainer, Jackie is a Founding Fellow of the Chartered College, Network Leader for WomenEdNW and Co-Founder / Strategic Leader for WomenEdNI.
“You’re not just marrying the person, you’re marrying the family and, in this case, an institution” – striking words spoken by Oprah Winfrey to Meghan, Duchess of Sussex in her recent interview. For many couples listening they may well have resonated with them too, in relation to their own particular context and relationship.
As the editor of the chapter on Marriage and Civil Partnerships in the forthcoming book “Diverse Educators: The Manifesto”, I was particularly struck by those words as they appear, in a deceptively neat and brief sentence, to sum up so many of the issues and influences that impact not just on Harry and Meghan, but indeed on many couples when they decide to formalise their relationship. Not many will marry into an “institution” but change that to family business or different culture and you’ll see what I mean.
Of course, for anyone it’s rarely a case of “just marrying the person” and the underlying story is almost always much more complex than what can appear on the surface so, for this chapter, we’re gathering a really broad range of experiences, stories, insights and views about marriage, civil partnerships and, by extension, families – which, of course, come in a wonderful variety of shapes and sizes.
We’ve already got a team of fantastic writers on the case, each working on their contributions and, between them, covering a wide range of issues.
However, in order to fully capture the collective voice of our community, I would still like to get some additional perspectives, particularly (though not exclusively) views from more men across a range of contexts. I’m looking for just a sentence or two expressing a view, or giving an insight from experience.
I’d also be interested to gather perspectives from anyone on divorce, re-marriage and blended families.
So many factors can impact on whether and how a couple may decide to formalise their relationship and for many, their religious beliefs play a large part in this, but can also complicate things when not shared. I’d also be keen to hear from anyone who would like to share any insights and/or experiences relating to this.
The diverse lived experiences of educators are essential elements for The Manifesto in order to produce a solutions focused resource in relation to all the Protected Characteristics – one which will impact on practice, pedagogy, people management and policy in schools and education settings.
It’s understandable that some people may not be comfortable to talk about their experiences in relation to Marriage and/or Civil Partnerships but any insights that are shared will be valued and will help to ensure the collective voice of the community in this chapter is as representative, diverse and relevant as possible (and comments can be anonymised).
If you do have something you’d like to say in relation to Marriage and/or Civil Partnerships, I’d love to hear from you so please DM me (@hill1_jac) or email your comments to hilljac@yahoo.co.uk
The Fallout of ‘That’ Interview
Written by Rachel Clarke
Working with many leaders to improve schools, Rachel is a "passionate, dedicated and inspirational educator, who strives for success with students and educators".
Meghan and Harry’s ‘bombshell’ interview was one that has re-ignited the conversation about racism in Britain; our thoughts about it, our experiences of it and more revealingly, the opinions of those who we call friends as well as those who are in the public sphere.
For me, there were no surprises aired.
That there could be racism in close proximity, or within the institution of the Royal Family, was not a shock. The institution is one that has been predicated upon ideals of ‘god-given’ superiority and has carried out atrocities in the name of Empire and Imperialism. A family member being ‘concerned’ about the skin tone of Meghan and Harry’s baby, again isn’t surprising.
I think the real surprise and revealing element is in the conversation that appears to be widespread on television programmes and social media. The seemingly comfortable way in which people speak to justify, make excuses for and explain away the ‘casual racism’ espoused, through “well doesn’t it depend on how it was said?”, or “we all have people from an older generation who say the wrong thing”, is evidence enough that we as Britons in Britain haven’t spoken about race, or racism enough.
As a Black female, I find the conversations exhausting. Feeling as if I have to justify and prove my experiences doesn’t support me to feel a sense of belonging. Seeing and hearing other Black and Minority Brits do the same thing, further cements the lack of trust I feel and the feeling of ‘otherness’ that is becoming more not less familiar.
Yes everyone is entitled to their opinion. Yes progress in terms of race relations has been made. Yes I often have pride in the country I have been born in and have generational links with that spans hundreds of years. But enough is enough. I am tired. We are tired. Conversation needs to take place where voices of Black and minorities are listened to, not just tolerated. Real commitment to achieving racial justice has to be made if we are to truly live harmoniously. This doesn’t mean challenging conversations can’t and shouldn’t be had but rather, progress has to be made as a result.