Flour on my Face

Siya Twani portrait

Written by Siya Twani

I am a Motivational Speaker who speaks in schools and businesses, on Diversity, Equality & Inclusion, Resilience and Mental toughness.

My name is Siya and I speak in schools and businesses across the country and internationally. Like Nelson Mandela I am a man who stuck my neck out like a giraffe and spoke up against the Apartheid regime. This resulted in me being arrested, tortured, and put in prison for four years. I have a lived experience of facing, the odds, and reinvented myself by defying the regime in letting my voice be heard and recognised as co-equal. The struggle for belonging has been my life long struggle. I went to prison because I wanted to create a South Africa and a world where all of us as human beings can experience the joy of belonging, not just some but ALL OF US TOGETHER.

Our children are dual heritage. My children have struggled with belonging and acceptance or not being accepted for who you are.  

My youngest son is Sipho. When he was about nine years old, Sipho and Megan were friends at primary school and one Friday after school Sipho went to play with Megan at her house. On collecting Sipho I noticed that he was covered in white powder, before I could enquire Megan said, ‘Look Siya I made Sipho white like me.’  I said, ‘That is so lovely Megan’, as she was just an innocent child, wanting a friend to look like her. All Megan’s dolls were white and so thought because all her world is white therefore Sipho as friend needed to be white. It was an innocent gesture and attempt of acceptance and inclusion. She wanted Sipho not to feel different.  

Now fast forward to when we moved from Essex to Edinburgh.  Now in Edinburgh one beautiful summer’s day,  I decided to take my three beautiful children to a park to play on the swings at a local park. As we entered through the gate, myself and my children were subjected to racial abuse, called monkeys and told to get out of her you are dirty, you brown people. They taunted my children. They went on to say, ’You are not welcome here’, and my children broke down in tears. I approached these ignorant white kids who were never exposed to a people of different colour or background. They all ran out of the park. Three of the older teens came back to the park to apologise. I then took that opportunity to educate these young people and expand their horizons. I asked them, can you imagine what it must feel like being spat at, called names, being bullied all because I was different? Can you imagine the power of your words, attitudes, and behaviours towards my children? I went to ask them. One day how would they feel if their own children were subjected to racial trauma and abuse.   They were stunned and all they did they kept apologising and their apology was accepted as I said to them. it takes a strong person to apologise for their mistakes. 

I wish I could say that was the last time that my three little children were subjected to racial trauma and abuse. That incident is stuck in their minds as they often reminisce about it and how big daddy protected then form those empty-headed idiots.

In writing this blog I do not want you anyone of you as readers the impression that either myself or my children had persecution complex. It was our daily bread” our daily experience of being a dual heritage family in predominantly white village just outside of Edinburgh, called Black Hall and by the very nature of the demographics was predominantly white. 

My daughter who was then 10 and my son who was then 8 were the only dual heritage children in the whole school. Again, the demon of racism that taunted me growing up in South Africa was now tormenting and terrorising my children and impacting on their mental health and wellbeing. I remember my daughter having cultural and racial identity crisis. One day she locked herself in the bathroom bleached herself because she wanted to be white like all the other kids in the school. She took the scissors and cut her hair off because it was not blond like her mums and the kids in the school. These two stories of my children’s lived experience and their struggle of belonging or not belonging is a real one to this very day. When people see my children, they don’t see white people first they say black children because they are not “pure white” like everybody else around them.

To this day my children live with this creative tension that, for white people they will never be white enough and for black people they will never be black enough. They are in no man’s land. I went to prison in South Africa so my children and my grandchildren could experience the joy of belonging and not have to go through what I went through because of racially divided South Africa.  Not so long ago in this country there were signs in the 60s saying, No blacks, no Irish, no gay, no Jews and no dogs.

It was Dr Martin Luther King in his famous speech ‘I have a dream’…….  who said, “I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the colour of their skin, but by the content of their character.”  The question I ask myself is …why should they be judged in the first place whether they are black, white gay or not gay, trans or not, short, or tall?

The incident I related above of those young people in the park. They did not realise the impact of their words, attitudes, behaviour and the racial trauma my children suffered as the result of their ignorance. Because really, racism is a child of ignorance.  They did not know how it would make my children feel for the rest of their lives. ‘Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me’ those words cut deep into the psyche of my children, and profoundly affected their mental health, wellbeing and sense of belonging.

“I’ve learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.” ― Maya Angelou

My passion is to educate, empower and expand young people’s horizons about Diversity & Inclusion That is why I speak in schools and delivery inclusion and diversity workshops and promoting mutual respect. Celebrating diversity and not seeing diversity as a threat but as a strength that unites all human beings. Because there’s only one Race …The human Race.  

In my culture we do not have the concept of stranger danger. Every is potential friend or a friend you haven’t met yet. The word for community in Zulu is Umphakathi meaning we are together on the inside. No one is excluded or marginalised, picked on, we all experience the sense of belonging to one another. 

In the stage play and movie HIGH SCHOOL Musical : After Gabriella and Troy successfully perform their song (“Breaking Free”), Ms. Darbus gives them the lead roles, making Sharpay and Ryan understudies. Both teams win their respective competitions, and the entire school gathers in the gym to celebrate (“We’re All In This Together”). Chad asks Taylor out, and Sharpay makes peace with Gabriella. We need to be curious, embrace, celebrate diversity and respect differences and not see differences as threat but as a strength. 

This is what drives me into schools because as Nelson Mandela said, “Education is the most powerful weapon with which we can change the world”.

As a passionate, engaging educator I have moral obligation to educate, empower and enthuse young people to make this world a better place to live in.

Instead of putting flour on my face… let’s put flowers in each child’s life so they can thrive.

“No one is born hating another person because of the color 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


Tackling unconscious bias within UK schools

Sonia Elmer-Soman portrait

Written by Sonia Elmer-Soman

Sonia Elmer-Soman has a background in both law and education. She is a qualified law lecturer and has many years’ experience working as a legal practitioner in two prestigious law firms in the City and now within a reputable law firm local to her home town in Essex. She is also a qualified primary school teacher and is a guest writer for professional journals.

This blog was written for the National Association of Primary Education (‘NAPE’) and Primary First.

What is Unconscious Bias?

If statistics are to be believed, the Gov.uk paper on School teacher Workforce – Ethnicity Facts and Figures (2019) revealed that 85.7% of all teachers in state funded schools in England were white British. 3.8% of teachers were from the White Other ethnic group, the second highest percentage after the white British group and 92.7% of head teachers were white British whilst only 65.4% of pupils are from a white British background.

Whether we like it or not, we all exhibit unconscious bias in some way whether deciding which friend to honour a dinner date with when we’ve double-booked or making application shortlists that reflect our own cultural experiences.  Unconscious bias is about patterns of behaviour that affect our everyday decision making and which are influenced by shared background, culture, and personal experiences. 

Surely it is time to address the implications of unconscious bias within UK state schools? Of interest is how biases drive high turnover and high attrition among black Asian and minority ethnic (BAME) teachers, in a system where BAME pupils do not see themselves represented in the ‘school community’ and the ‘school community’ does not reflect how wider society or ‘Global Britain’ looks today. 

Experiences of BAME teachers

  • Tereshchenko, Mills and Bradbury (2020) shows us that the proportion of students and teachers from minority ethnic groups is disparate, meaning that BAME students and teachers may not see teaching as a viable option without role models to inspire. Research participants stated that they regularly experienced:
  • being ‘passed over’ in senior promotions and hitting a glass ceiling which may not have been obvious at the outset. ‘I look at the people at my school that have been promoted or given opportunities to learn and they’re all white British’;
  • a ‘culture of toxicity which took the form of micro-aggressions, covert bias and injustices’. ‘It matters what the culture of the school is, how they view ethnic minorities and if one walks around a school on interview and they don’t see diversity reflected in the pupils or staff’, then they would be ‘more likely to opt for a school which had encouraged and supported this’;
  • a revolving door resulting in BAME teachers having to move to more diverse and disadvantaged/SEN schools in London in order to advance their careers;
  • feeling that ‘wider social inequalities are mirrored and reproduced in school power hierarchies which underpin and drive BAME teachers’ unequal career progression’.  

Examples of Unconscious Bias

However, it is not just in education where we see unconscious bias being played out. Channel 4’s Hollyoaks aired a powerful episode on the subject.

In one scene, Martine, a black woman, attends a cancer diagnostic appointment and is first to arrive at the surgery. Tara, a white British woman, arrives after Martine for the very same reason. The receptionist informs the two women that the appointment has been double booked and that only one of them can see the Doctor that day. Tara begins to cry. Martine awaits the decision in silence. The receptionist chooses Tara and tells Martine ‘Tara is clearly upset’ and ‘Have some sympathy’.

It is not unusual for NHS staff to have to make these decisions against the backdrop of a system which is overwhelmed and underfunded. However, Statistics show black women are twice as likely to be diagnosed with late-stage breast cancer due to systematic racism and misinformation  (Morris, 2021). When Martine questions the receptionist, she is told to ‘ take a step back and stop being aggressive’. The writers skilfully make the point that the word ‘aggressive’ like intimidating are so often used against black people and people of colour who have ever dared to stand up for themselves. Seconds later, Martine tries to explain that ‘I have a lump too. I am terrified too’, but the scene ends with Martine standing outside in the cold whilst the two women make their way inside the surgery.

This will not have been the only problematic person or challenging situation Martine will have faced that day. For instance, where could she be in her job she wonders, if ‘it weren’t for so many barriers’. ‘The micro-aggressions are so subtle and covert it is hard to prove’. There is a sense throughout the episode that Martine must be’ strong’ and toughen up. Any injustice she feels must be borne with unflinching humility.

Parm Sandhu was the most senior Asian woman in the Metropolitan Police Force and the only non-white female to have been promoted to Chief Superintendent in the history of the Force. Her book entitled ‘Black and Blue – One Woman’s Story of policing and prejudice’ she tells of a challenging thirty year rise through the ranks of the Force where she faced racial and gender discrimination and spurious claims of misconduct after whistleblowing.

In her nail-biting account, Sandhu observes how persons of colour get the jobs and perform as well as, if not better in some cases than, their white British counterparts, but when they come to knock on that door for promotion or to raise a concern, the path is fraught with complexity and struggle and the rules are very different depending on who knocks. 

So, could unconscious bias have played a part in the situation with Megan Markle?  In her infamous interview with Oprah Winfrey, Megan spoke of the need to avoid polarising people and she found it hard being blamed for something ‘not only that I didn’t do’, but ‘that actually happened to me’. Megan’s quote ‘If you love me, you don’t need to hate her [Kate] and if you love her, you don’t need to hate me’ is the money sentence and will likely resonate. Megan felt she was often compared to Kate, with Kate usually coming off better because when one is faced with fewer battles to fight, they can concentrate on the battles worth fighting. One is far less likely to miss-step when not constantly on a back-foot. 

What can Senior Leadership Teams and Ofsted do to improve recruitment and retention of BAME staff?

    1. Diversification of the workforce only occurs if there is an ambition and an appetite to make it happen.
    2. Look around your school. How many teachers or teaching assistants of colour do you see? Who sits on your leadership team and at the table of the Board of Governors? 
    3. When advertising for teachers, try to advertise in two different demographics and avoid language as ‘will suit someone from the local area’, but rather you could advertise in such a way as to actively source and welcome applicants from the BAME community. 
    4. Consider whether opportunities for training are open to persons of colour. What does that training look like? 
    5. Is there a pattern as to whom you choose for advancement.  As one of the participants in the earlier research paper commented ‘First level the playing field and then let’s talk about merit’. 
    6. Move out of your comfort zone. Spend time with people from different cultures and backgrounds and see things from a different perspective. Less diversity means conformity of thought and exclusion.
    7. Ofsted could revise their reports avoiding language relating to demographic as being eg ‘mostly white British with lower than average children with EAL, a statement of need or pupil premium’ and they could also score schools according to if they have made some attempt to recruit and retain BAME staff.
    8. Provide opportunities to raise concerns with a diverse team. Use Gary Klein’s “premortem”. Imagine a decision or conflict leads to disaster and detail how it might have happened. Thus, search for overlooked problems.
    9. Be comfortable talking about matters involving race. Avoid language as ‘She is more English than us’ or ‘I don’t see colour’ as this only serves to invalidate a person’s background. 
    10. Think about what social media platforms you share with your staff. Can you remain objective and professional if Facebook (staff) friends are commenting on every aspect of your personal life. 

Conclusion

Schools roll out PREVENT training to staff, but do we really understand that those young people influenced into radicalisation are those who are in search of belonging and identity. However, we ‘prevent’ a sense of belonging when our institutions are not geared up to providing role models as part of a pupil’s lived daily reality. We are very good at teaching pupils about tolerance, equality and diversity, but we don’t show them what that looks like within the school environment. 

In the wake of the George Floyd Killing, there was much emphasis on social media about ‘learning from it’ and ‘moving on’. Prima facie, this is an ideal but, in reality, how do you ‘learn’ and ‘move on’ if those uncomfortable conversations about colonialism, slavery and trade are not discussed in any meaningful way? This can leave young, vulnerable people grieving and in a situation which is inexplicable to them.

When we only look to recruit and retain those who conform to our own set of values and perspectives, we risk losing skills within the profession but also, we can inadvertently develop some negative and harmful cultures out of complacency, which can threaten the integrity of structural practices. If leaders only create other leaders in the image of themselves with replicas of models that already exist, what real steps have we taken to progress diversity and integration?

Senior Leadership Teams have a key role to play in making diversification of the workforce happen and in shaping the culture, vision and ethos of the school (see Benjamin Aishnine, who is Head of Equality, Inclusion and Culture at the British Medical Association and Racial Literacy at Integrity coaching). 

References:

Aishnine, B. (2021) Aishnine. [Online] Available at: https://www.aishnine.com/ 

HM Government (2019) School teacher workforce. [Online]. Available at: https://www.ethnicity-facts-figures.service.gov.uk/workforce-and-business/workforce-diversity/school-teacher-workforce/latest 

Integrity Coaching (2022) Coaching & Leadership Development. [Online]. Available at: https://www.integritycoaching.co.uk/ 

Morris, N. (2021) ‘We are not listened to’: Why Black women are twice as likely to be diagnosed with late-stage cancer’, 27 April, Metro [Online]. Available at: https://metro.co.uk/2021/04/27/black-women-are-twice-as-likely-to-be-diagnosed-with-late-stage-cancer-14475521/ 

Sandhu, P. (2021) Black and Blue: One Woman’s Story of Policing and Prejudice. Atlantic books.

Tereshchenko, A; Mills, M; Bradbury, A; (2020) Making progress? Employment and retention of BAME teachers in England. UCL Institute of Education: London, UK


What DEI Metrics are you using to measure the impact of your strategic actions?

Hannah Wilson portrait

Written by Hannah Wilson

Founder of Diverse Educators

We are data rich when it comes to the students in our schools, but we are data poor when it comes to our staff.

Any organisation leaning into a DEI strategy and action plan needs to consider the data that they have, and the data that they need to have, to inform the why, the how and the what of their approach.

I find that the CQ framework helps us to think about the cyclical steps we need to take to gather, interpret and act on our DEI data:

  • CQ Drive: Why do we need to gather DEI data? Are our intentions clearly being communicated?
  • CQ Knowledge: What do we need to know about our workforce and workplace? How psychologically safe do employees feel?
  • CQ Strategy: How will we gather meaningful data? How will this data be handled and shared?
  • CQ Action: How will this data be used to inform our next steps? How will this data  make our workplace more inclusive? 

DEI Metrics in a school / trust thus need to include:

  • Baseline data 
  • Benchmarking data
  • Progress data
  • Qualitative data
  • Quantitative data
  • Stakeholder engagement data
  • Stakeholder feedback data
  • Recruitment, retention and promotion data
  • Salary data

We need to remember that this data is about human beings.I once heard a school leader say, we need to focus on the ‘names not the numbers’ in our data trackers in schools. Each piece of data is thus a story, a story about a person.

So this data needs to be handled with care. DEI data is asking people to share their identity, their lived experience and to disclose personal details. This can only happen in a culture of intentional trust and psychological safety.

Moreover, the data needs to be handled in an intersectional way. We need to look at trends within groups but also across groups, for example, pay progression for men v women, pay progression for white v black employees, pay progression for white men v white women v black men v black women.

Recruitment and retention data is a great place to start:

  • Who are we attracting?
  • Who are we longlisting?
  • Who are we shortlisting?
  • Who are we interviewing?
  • Who are we recruiting?
  • Who are we promoting?
  • Who are we retaining?
  • Who are we losing? 

Some other questions for us to discuss before we create and send out a staff survey. 

How do we measure diversity?

Conventional measurements rely on counting the number of people within an organisation who belong to each of the protected characteristic groups, as identified by them.

How do we gauge how people feel about the culture of their workplace?

Employee feedback is one of the most useful data sources for measuring inclusion, especially when leaders can use a “pulse,” a quick survey, to check in with employees without adding to distractions. The challenge, however, is in first establishing the right metrics and then asking the right questions.

How do we frame a DEI survey?

To create a DEI survey that captures employee attention and gets engagement, there are a number of factors to consider:

  • Creating Inclusive Demographic Questions
  • Making the DEI Survey Anonymous
  • Making Questions Non-Required
  • Being Forthcoming With Intent
  • Using Expert Resources

What is a DEI dashboard?

A diversity, equity, and inclusion dashboard is an interface that provides companies with a visual representation of their current diversity, equity, and inclusion practices.

How do you create goals for DEI initiatives?

  • Define goals using benchmarking data 
  • Measure outcomes, not just output
  • Focus on retention, not just recruitment
  • Review inclusion, not just diversity
  • Use surveys to measure inclusion

How do you measure DEI effectiveness?

  • Resources/ funds allocated to DEI strategy
  • Number of diverse employees across the organisation
  • Percentage of diverse employees in leadership positions
  • Investment into development programmes for diverse employees
  • Gap in pay between different demographic groups
  • Length of time diverse employees stay with the organisation
  • Feedback in exit interviews from diverse workforce
  • Number of incident reports e.g. microaggressions

To help you think about the data you are, and could be, using we are hosting a series of free DEI Metrics webinars with some of our collaborative partners, so that you can find out more about their tools to help you measure DEI in your school/ trust.

3 teams, 3 platforms, 3 solutions:

  • On Fri 21st October 12.00-1.00pm we will be joined by the Edurio team
  • On Mon 7th November 12.00-1.00pm we will be joined by The GEC team
  • On Thu 24th November 12.00-1.00pm we will be joined the Flair Impact team

Register to attend but also to receive a link to the recording of each session.


I’m not weird, I’m neurodivergent – masking as a ND teacher

Catrina Lowri portrait

Written by Catrina Lowri

Catrina Lowri is the founder of Neuroteachers and a neurodivergent teacher, trainer, and coach. As well as having 22 years’ experience of working in education, she also speaks as a dyslexic and bipolar woman, who had her own unique journey through the education system.

Early in my teaching career, I got good at masking. I felt I needed to do this because, at that time (late 90’s/ early 00’s) there was little understanding of neurodiversity. I’m dyslexic. I hid this because I’d get questions like ‘But how can you teach spelling and reading?’ I’m also bipolar. I didn’t know this at the time, even though I’d been in a secure ward. I wouldn’t get diagnosed until I was 10 years into my career. At the beginning I hid this unknown mental health issue because of the shame I felt. I learnt to mask so I could survive working in schools designed for neurotypicals.

The term ‘masking’ originates from the autistic community, but my straw poll of ND friends and family tells me that we all do it. This involves studying the neurotypical people around you and acting like them, whilst also hiding our ND in plain sight. It can be incredibly damaging. Masking takes a huge amount of energy.  There is a possibility of fatigue. This can lead to burnout. Dropping the mask in such a fashion can be traumatic.

For more information, please read my blog here https://www.neuroteachers.com/post/it-s-like-her-shoes-don-t-fit-a-story-about-the-consequences-of-autistic-masking

Even though I have understood masking for years, I didn’t consider that it applied to me until, after 19 years of success, it all unravelled. 

Carrying the mask requires perfect conditions; I control my sleep, have cut out all alcohol and caffeine. I draw boundaries around my working life so I can fully concentrate on it. This means I don’t indulge in trivial social interactions because I just can’t. If I do, I burn through the energy I need to do my job, which is what I’m paid for. Teaching is a social job. I use what little ‘social’ I must, to build relationships with the children and their families.

That doesn’t mean I don’t make friends at work, I do, I just need them to understand that I can’t/ won’t take part in the following activities.

  • Banter, small talk, watercooler chat
  • Group jokes/ threads about your pets/kids or memes shared via email or the office chat facility
  • Any Christmas do\ Secret Santa\ carolling\ staff pantomime
  • Going to a pub/ café for lunch during school hours

It’s not unreasonable to ask that I have 20 minutes out of the day, to sit quietly in the office and eat my lunch, without having to interact with anyone. I need decompression time to deal with the demands of your neurotypical world.

I’m not being weird or stuck up. I’m not a recluse or a nutter. I’m neurodivergent and I need to be allowed to remove the mask for a short while, so that I can do my job.


What is your school’s infrastructure for DEI?

Hannah Wilson portrait

Written by Hannah Wilson

Founder of Diverse Educators

I get asked a lot to work with schools to help them shape their DEI infrastructure. There is not a one-size fits all approach as it depends on the size of your school and staff/ student bodies. But a helpful way of thinking about it is to parallel it to the team structure you have for safeguarding – a named lead on SLT, a deputising team, an attached governor but an expectation that all staff are trained, vigilant and take collective responsibility. 

As a former start-up headteacher, I apply the same concept to staffing DEI as I did to growing a school staff model year by year – map out what you want the long term staffing structure and stakeholder map to look like and use it as a shadow to capture what you have in place and set yourself targets by term, by year of how you will grow the team and distribute the leadership.   

Some school-level roles to consider putting in place, over time to create the infrastructure to bring your DEI strategy to life: 

DEI Strategic Lead (like a DSL)

This is the person who has DEI in their job title. Ideally they sit on the SLT so they can work with the strategic plans for the school. 

DEI Operational Lead (like a DDSL)

This is the person who deputises for the DEI Strategic Lead. They often sit in the MLT and are part of the curriculum and/ or pastoral team. They might have a specific remit or share the responsibility and co-lead on the strategy.

DEI Governor (like a Safeguarding Governor) 

This is the link person on the governing body. Someone to represent the governors but to also build the bridge to the school, furthermore to support and to be a critical friend to the DEI leader. 

DEI Working Party

This is a group of staff champions and ambassadors, they can sit anywhere in the staff structure, but it is important to invite everyone and see who steps forwards. Non-teaching staff need to be invited and included as well so consider when the meetings take place. 

DEI Student Ambassadors

This is a group of students who are the advocates and activists in the school. They might already be prefects, student council reps or involved in student groups like an anti-racist group or a LGBT group. It is a great way to create new leadership roles for students.

DEI Parent and Carer Champions

This is a group of parents and carers who are the advocates and activists in your community. They might already be involved as your parent governor, as your parent association or as your parent helpers. It is a great way to engage parents and carers who might be the critical friends of the school on these issues. 

Some trust-level DEI roles to consider if you are working at macro scale:

A lot of trusts we work with are asking all of their schools to nominate/ appoint a lead for DEI and then they create a horizontal group across the group of schools to bring these representatives together to look at trust-wide DEI needs. There are some key functions to make sure you include in this group such as someone from HR who is looking at the people strategy and recruitment practices.

Some other things to consider:

The language used to frame each of these roles and groups is important and needs to be discussed at length. 

  • Are you using DI, EDI or DEI as your acronym?  What are the nuances of each and how do they frame your commitment?
  • Are you using leader, champion, ambassador, head of or director as the title? What are the nuances of each and what do they say about the power/ scope of the role?
  • How are you remunerating the role? If you have not given time and money to this role, why not? Would you ask someone to be a SENDCO or DSL without additional allowances?
  • How are you resourcing the role? Does the DEI lead have a budget that they are responsible for?
  • How are you investing in and training the DEI team? Does the DEI leader have leadership training coaching and/ or mentoring in place? Are they being set up to succeed or fail in this role?
  • How are you safeguarding the DEI team? Does the DEI leader have supervision in place to look after them and their mental health and wellbeing to mitigate the emotional tax of the role?  

Some signposting for further support:

We have collated job descriptions and personal specifications for different DEI roles to help you frame them. Find out more here:   

https://www.diverseeducators.co.uk/diversity-equity-inclusion-dei-leaders/ 

We have a DEI leaders network on different social media spaces including a DM group on twitter and networking groups in our Mighty Network community space: 

https://diverse-educators.mn.co/feed?autojoin=1 

We have designed and we deliver a 1 year DEI leaders programme, there are 10 monthly virtual sessions for each cohort. Find out more here: 

https://www.diverseeducators.co.uk/our-dei-leaders-programme/  


The Anti-Racist Journey of a Secondary School in Manchester

Laura Morris portrait

Written by Laura Morris

Laura Morris (@MissMorrisManc) is head of RS and Citizenship at a secondary school in Gorton, Manchester, with additional whole school responsibilities for SMSC and anti-discrimination. She has been teaching for 15 years. Her website is MissMorrisManc.co.uk.

Before the Black Lives Matter mobilisation of 2020, and all that followed, staff at the school I work at in Gorton, Manchester, would largely have felt positively about the work we were doing to celebrate our students, myself included. We went all out for Black History Month every year with relevant lessons across departments and external visitors invited in (as showcased in this video from October 2019), we had very few complaints of racist incidents from the students, and some work had been undertaken to decolonise the curriculum, particularly in subjects like RS, Citizenship, History and Geography. We could pat ourselves on the back for a job well done!

With all the work we’ve done since, and the huge changes that have been made, I now feel embarrassed to reflect back to pre-2020 when I thought we were already doing enough for our students. We weren’t.

Before we broke up for summer this year, I wrote a report detailing what we’ve done so far with the hope it could give ideas to other teachers and save them some time if they are starting from scratch. It’s been a process of trial and error and, while we’re still far from perfect and keen to collaborate with other schools to help us further improve, I am confident that we are now having a much more positive impact on our students in making them feel seen, appreciated, safe and loved. 

In this blog I will summarise the most important parts from the report for people who are keen to improve the anti-racist practice in their school.

Named members of staff

Towards the end of the 2020-21 academic year, my colleague Ben Wilson was given a TLR to focus on anti-discrimination work in the academy and I was made associate assistant head with the same priority, which I realise puts us in a very fortunate position. Our head teacher included this anti-racist work as an objective in the school improvement plan and believed it was necessary to appoint people in posts to achieve our goals. I can’t stress enough how important it is for all schools to be willing to give time and money to staff doing this work and can only hope the example from our school will help other teachers feel confident to take similar proposals to their head teachers. 

Staff groups

If I had to single out the most impactful elements of our process, it would be the staff and student groups. So many changes have been made but it’s hard to think of anything we’ve done that didn’t first come from conversations held in these spaces. 

I realise how lucky I am to work alongside enough people who recognise the institutional racism present in education and were prepared to give up their time to do something about it, and that’s how the anti-racist working group (ARWG) was formed in September 2020.

We created sub-groups, each taking responsibility for a different area that we decided needed to improve, like the behaviour system and reporting incidents of discrimination, student voice, the curriculum, and staff CPD.

If you don’t feel as though you’ve got enough members of staff with the interest or time capacity to take on this work, there is no need to panic, as it is the students who have guided so much of what we’ve achieved. They are the experts and are invaluable to bringing about change.

Student voice

Student meetings started in early May 2020 during lockdown on Zoom with organisations like Kids of Colour (who still lead student meetings half-termly) and The Black Curriculum, and continued informally during lunch times when we returned to school the following academic year. It became clear how important it was for our young people to be given time to talk about their experiences of racism both in and outside of school.

At the start of the 2021-22 academic year we interviewed Year 11 students for anti-discrimination ambassador roles. They decide the agenda for the separate fortnightly KS3 and KS4 meetings, which are held during the 30-minute form time slot, lead the discussion, and, while I am in the room (to take back any pressing concerns to the ARWG), the ambassadors take responsibility for the meetings. Students discuss their personal experiences outside of school, what they believe needs to change in school, and anything that is going on in wider society that they would like to talk about. Any students who don’t feel comfortable reporting incidents of discrimination to teachers can go to the ambassadors who then feed back the details to Ben or me. 

One of last year’s anti-discrimination student ambassadors said: “I feel like having this space for students is really important because we come together as a community to discuss issues that really matter to us and we think of ways to resolve it and deal with it.”

We have an annual anonymous anti-racist student survey, to help us identify issues that may be affecting students who don’t attend the meetings, and the student groups have delivered assemblies in response to the feedback to educate all students on discriminatory behaviour they might knowingly or unknowingly be perpetuating.

Towards the end of the 2020-21 academic year, Year 11 students wrote down examples of times that staff had said or done racially or culturally insensitive or offensive things. I recorded them reading out the statement of another student, to ensure anonymity, and played the video to staff during a CPD session. 

Hearing the accounts woke up so many members of staff to the experience of the students, which has meant that all the work that has followed, that has resulted in an extra time commitment for pretty much everyone working in the academy, has been easier to achieve. There’s little room to question or complain about the need for change when you have student testimony to support the cause.

Discriminatory incidents

Discussion in the student groups highlighted the need for us to better deal with incidents of discrimination between students. Racism was very rarely reported but feedback from the student groups revealed this was down to the students feeling as though nothing would happen as a consequence, either because they had reported something in the past and hadn’t heard how or if it had been dealt with, or their belief that it wasn’t a priority for staff.

Ben created a reporting system (that you can read about in more detail in the report), which was trialled at the end of the 2020-21 academic year and put in place the following year, which has currently significantly increased the workload of staff who deal with behaviour incidents. But it has also meant we are in a much stronger position to educate and sanction students involved in discriminatory behaviour, as well as validate the feelings of, and bring resolution to, the victims. Different forms of microaggressions are the most commonly reported incident and students have responded incredibly well to the educational sessions they attend with Ben or me as a consequence. Victims are given the opportunity for a restorative conversation, once pre-restorative work has taken place with both students, and they almost always choose to take up this offer in the process. 

The number of repeat offenders is minimal, if not close to non-existent. But the number of reported incidents has increased. Students now have the confidence in the school to respond appropriately to accusations of discrimination.

As one of last year’s ambassadors put it: “when I look back at when I was in Year 9, if someone said something racist to me I would just go home and cry. But now I would feel empowered enough to report it and I hope younger students feel that way too.”

Curriculum changes

All subject leaders completed The Key’s anti-racism curriculum review document, which identified areas for improvement for departments already on the journey of decolonising their curriculum and served as a fantastic starting point for teachers who didn’t know where to begin.

After being given department time to plan and create new resources, we’ve had a carousel format for whole school CPD sessions to share these across departments. Most departments now have a member of staff with an objective in their appraisal relating to diversifying their curriculum. During the carousel CPD we have a ‘speed dating’ format where staff spend a few minutes listening to the changes each department has made, and having discussions on the impact and any possible cross-curricular links, before moving on to the next department.

We recognised the need to better signpost these changes to students. Bennie Kara delivered a bespoke CPD session for our staff last December where she suggested posters to be placed around school. Now every classroom has a subject specific poster highlighting content relating to race (as well as sexuality, gender and religion) in our curriculums. Before breaking up for summer, subject specific PowerPoints were shown to all students too so they knew what to expect in the year ahead. Examples of what we teach can be found on our school website.

For more details on the processes above as well as other initiatives we’ve implemented, check out the report in full. Feel free to reach out to me on Twitter too!


Building a Multi-Faith Space

Hollie Panther portrait

Written by Hollie Panther

DEI Lead, Mental Health First Aider, secondary Science & Psychology teacher and Teach First Ambassador.

Experiences of, and learnings from, establishing a space for prayer and celebration of religious diversity in a secondary school.

The last school I worked in had a majority non-religious student population, but a diverse spread of religions among those who did follow a faith; many religions had just one follower within the student body. A parent of one such student had mentioned that they were uncomfortable being open about their faith due to the amount of discrimination they’d received in the past. As D&I Lead, a large part of my strategy to improve religious inclusion in the school was to open a Multi-Faith Space. When I started, there was no designated place to pray; my previous school did have a prayer room, but it was hidden away and only students or staff who asked about it were encouraged to use it. I wanted to create a space that people from all religions could use, so that it would encourage some sense of community, which I thought those who were the solo followers of their faith within the school might’ve been lacking. I also wanted it to be a place of celebration and curiosity, so that any student could learn about diverse faiths if they wanted to. The space was initially opened as a work-in-progress during Ramadan, to give Muslim students a place to pray and be away from food if they needed it. During this time I also designated a toilet block for Wudu, the practice of washing before prayer, and delivered whole school talks educating students about Ramadan and how to support students who were fasting. Feedback from this was unsolicited and overwhelmingly positive — parents of Muslim pupils wrote in to the school to congratulate and give thanks for the ‘exemplary inclusion effort for Ramadan’; my wish is for this approach to Ramadan to become the norm in all schools, so all pupils can celebrate the diversity of religious practices alongside one another.

Working alongside the Multi-Faith Space was the Religion & Spirituality Society, which I established as a student-led club who met at lunchtime to explore and learn about various religions. The leaders of the society planned activities and presentations for the group, and brought in occasional themed snacks too — I’m hoping the society will meet in the Multi-Faith Space going forwards, to ensure they are surrounded by diverse religions, with the opportunity to learn about them being easily accessible.

The Multi-Faith Space is two small rooms off of the Library, where I have put up shelves on each wall and designated each of the six walls to a major world religion (Christianity, Islam, Judaism, Sikhism, Hinduism, Buddhism). I reached out to religious leaders in the community to see if they would be happy to donate a copy of their religion’s text or any artefacts that could go on the shelves. This took the form of finding email addresses of local Mosques, Churches, Gurdwaras etc, or filling in contact forms on their website, and Googling ‘free copy Jewish, Hindu, Buddhist etc text’, and making sure in my message I invited them to send my request on to anyone else they thought might be able to help out. As a result of this I had an incredible array of items gifted to the Multi-Faith Space by several local religious groups, and had an insightful and useful meeting with the representative of Judaism from the West Sussex SACRE (every county council have representatives of world religions, who are keen to come into schools to deliver lessons / assemblies etc on their religion, I’m hoping the next D&I Lead and teachers of RE will be able to make use of this otherwise untapped source after my introductions — none of the RE teachers in the school had heard of them). Several sources of items and books posted them to me or dropped them in to the school, but I also visited several organisations to collect their donations, which I really enjoyed, as it took me to places I wouldn’t have ordinarily visited within my local community.

I organised a Grand Opening for the Multi-Faith Space to which I invited all the local contributors, as well as staff and religious students. The student leader of Religion & Spirituality Society was invited to cut the ribbon; it was a great opportunity for me to connect up school staff and the pupils who will be running the Religion & Spirituality Society next year with community religious leaders (over donuts and cookies), so that they are able to lean on them for support with the society and also with RE teaching as the school grows. One community attendee at the Grand Opening came from the Baháʼís, a religion I admittedly hadn’t heard of when they initially made contact, but which I learnt much about through talking to this local follower at the event. They also donated several items and books to the Multi-Faith Space, and though they didn’t have a designated wall and shelves, I set up a table in the space to display their information, and was really glad to be representing a greater diversity of faiths than I had originally planned for.

I had a student volunteering with me for their Duke of Edinburgh’s Bronze award, who helped me plan the space and also worked in the Design Technology (DT) room on a signpost to go outside of the Multi-Faith Space, which featured laser-cut arrows, each one with a different place of worship on it — ‘Hindu Mandir’, ‘Sikh Gurdwara’ etc. Unfortunately, because the student could only work on this under supervision by the DT teacher, due to technology issues and absence, the sign was not finished in time for the Grand Opening — I look forward to seeing photos of it in pride of place when it’s completed in the Autumn term.

My advice to anyone thinking about building such a space would be to absolutely go for it — the only spend was on the shelves and snacks for the Grand Opening, as well a couple of items to represent religions who didn’t get back to me to contribute anything. The rest was furniture that was already in the school, and the items and books gifted by the religious community were invaluable — so it’s doable on a tiny budget, I would just encourage anyone wanting to build one to start early, and get your message with the call for help / donations really clear and send it to as many people as possible, ideally alongside an invite to a Grand Opening — and then chase them up if they haven’t replied; I got the impression that everyone wanted to help, but that sometimes there are multiple people within a place of worship who read the emails, so they may not get picked up the first time around.

On the whole, I really enjoyed building the Multi-Faith Space and I’m really proud of what I achieved with this — the Grand Opening was on my penultimate day working at the school, so it really feels like a legacy I’m leaving behind; a tangible asset to the school community that will continue my work without me.


Representation, Challenges and the Importance of DEI in Schools

Taiwo Bali portrait

Written by Taiwo Bali

Taiwo Bali writes education updates, teaching tips and well-being related content for secondary school teachers.

From receiving hate mail to leading a booming community that celebrates all people, Hannah Wilson has shown her commitment to DEI. She sat down with Beyond Digest to share why she believes DEI is essential in all schools.

Hannah Wilson is a leadership development coach and trainer with a passion for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) in education. She is the Co-founder of #DiverseEd, an organisation dedicated to tackling issues faced by underrepresented communities and furthering DEI in schools.

Her former roles as a Secondary English Teacher, Head of Secondary Teacher Training and Founding Executive Headteacher allowed her to develop rich expertise in education. Hannah kindly spoke to Beyond Digest about her journey with DEI and the importance of diversity in schools.

Q: What sparked your passion for diversity and inclusion?

H: As a student doing GCSE English I was indignant about the lack of diversity in the curriculum. It just never sat right with me. I was exposed to postcolonial literature at university and learned about topics such as diversity in social justice during apartheid and the caste system in India. It was really interesting for me to look at literature in that way and also the critical theory around it. So when I trained to be an English teacher, I guess I just brought that into my teaching and into my curriculum design because I worked in quite challenging schools. I worked in a boys’ school in Kingston, I moved to an academy in Mitcham and then an academy in Croydon. I’ve taught really diverse students and I think when I’m looking to see whether they see themselves in the displays and in the library, in the curriculum, you can see the disengagement because they can’t. 

Q: What has being a DEI ally taught you?

H: As I’ve been promoted, I’ve thought about what I can do in my roles as a curriculum leader, pastoral leader  and headteacher to help affect change. When I co-founded #WomenEd we had lots of conversations about gender representation, but quite quickly, the feedback from the network was that it felt like it was white feminism as opposed to true feminism because it was a group of white women predominantly talking about it. At events, I put myself in a room with all black teachers, talking about their experience of education and headship. At that moment my bubble got popped and my own privilege got checked. Even as someone who felt quite aware of some of those issues, I discovered a whole trench load of information that I didn’t know. That’s when the need to diversify the organisation became the top priority. 

Q: As someone who ran a school, why do you think it’s important to have a diverse SLT?

H: I have worked in six different schools and the SLT and governing bodies never represented the children. When I left London and then moved up to Oxford to be a headteacher, I recruited a very diverse team because I care about diversity. I recruited a diverse SLT because I knew it was going to be part of our school culture, policy and practice. Diversity needs to be humanised so by having a visibly Muslim member of SLT who did assemblies about Ramadan and spoke to the children about his faith, he demystified and de-stigmatised what it meant to be Muslim. He educated the children and their parents on his faith. We also had openly gay and bisexual members of staff which supported young people who were exploring their own sexual orientation and allowed parents and carers in same-sex relationships to feel accepted. Visible representation and role modelling made the children, parents and fellow staff feel safe. 

Q: How important is it for young people to see diverse staff?

H: I worked in schools with 55% black boys and there were no black men on the governing body. For me, there needs to be that mirror, there needs to be a reflection of the children we are teaching and the communities we are serving. Young people need to be able to see themselves in the staffing, leadership and governance. There’s great irony in a young person walking through their school and not seeing themselves. I have done talks at heads conferences where quite often, people think their school is more diverse than it is. You may have diverse adults in the building but what job are they doing? Are staff from underrepresented groups in positions of power and can they influence decision making? What messages are the children receiving about their future prospects and opportunities to succeed? We tell young people they can be anything they want but we implicitly cap their potential by not being intentional about who is appointed into which role. We can’t say one thing in assembly and then on staff recruitment day, do something completely different. Young people have got to see it to be it. 

Q: What challenges have you faced in championing DEI?

H: After moving to Oxford, I think my team and I were all a little bit shocked that the DEI work we were doing in schools in London, Reading and other parts of the country felt really alien in this part of the world. I got quite a lot of pushback because they weren’t quite ready for it. The challenge came from the people in the wider community. We had parents and carers who chose not to send their kids to our school because they didn’t want their kids to go to a school where there were LGBTQIA+ posters in every classroom. I had parents say to me, your school is beautiful, I love your vision for education, take those posters down and I’ll send my kids to your school. It didn’t sit right with us so we kept them up. This was part of our school culture and ethos. We were committed to creating psychological safety and a sense of belonging for all children. It all kicked off when one complaint from a parent ended up in the local media and the story went from regional to national. There were nasty comments from a popular newspaper’s readers and 3000 comments in a local Facebook group and I even received 86 letters threatening my life.  DEI brings the worst out of people sometimes. 

Q: How did the negative press impact the DEI work you do?

H: People get loud, defensive or just spew hate because they think their actions will stop you. If anything it made us even more committed to the work because it showed the ignorance and lack of empathy in some people. I do a lot of work talking about values and ethics and for me, remaining committed to DEI is ethically the right thing to do. My values drive this work. Though advised not to, I wrote a blog post to address the negative press because I didn’t want to be silenced as a woman. I didn’t want to be silenced as a school because we were committed to this work. The blog went viral. I think we had about 14,500 thousand hits and I got a lot of disclosures from other heads and school leaders around the country who had been in a similar situation and were happy I spoke out.

Q: Where can schools get DEI training?

H: After the death of George Floyd schools needed to do something about DEI but didn’t know how to get started. Everyone in my network was looking for training. DEI is very overwhelming because it touches every single policy and practice. You don’t know what you’ll find out about your school until you start looking. It is a difficult and emotionally draining journey to go on and schools need support. The #DiverseEd website is a one-stop-shop for all aspects of DEI training. We use the directory to signpost specialists so if schools need anti-racism, menopause awareness or gender identity training they can find the best trainers. #DiverseEd now works with 185 organisations that are tackling DEI all over the world. We also offer toolkits and reading lists based on different aspects of DEI for schools to use.

The #DiverseEd community continues to grow. Last year they held its first virtual event (June 2020) which had a reach of 13,500 people from around the world, who joined for 5 hours on a Saturday morning to listen to all things DEI. The next free event will be held virtually on the 22nd of January 2022. Find out more here.

Hannah and her friend Angie Browne have also joined forces to create a programme to help schools navigate DEI. Both former headteachers use their expertise in headship to offer paid leadership training courses in governance training, SLT training and diversity masterclasses. The training covers topics ranging from inclusive language to curriculum development and now has 20 cohorts of leaders, which is a testament to the value they offer. 

DEI should be an integral part of every school. Having a safe learning environment that celebrates diversity and raises aspirations is something all young people deserve. How does your school tackle DEI? Share your thoughts with me via Twitter.

Find Hannah @Ethical_Leader and #DiverseEd on Twitter and #DiverseEd via the website.

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Extending our welcome, transforming our schools

Artemi Sakellariadis portrait

Written by Artemi Sakellariadis

(she, her) Director, Centre for Studies on Inclusive Education (CSIE)

Introduction:

Artemi Sakellariadis’ contribution to Diverse Educators: A Manifesto is a detailed look at disability in education, drawn from her substantial experience in working with CSIE. In her sub-chapter, she cited guidance from CSIE that was edited for brevity. Following discussions with Artemi, we have decided to publish the original version of the text, with the edits removed, to ensure that the full meaning of the guidance is clear and evident. 

“Any fool can know. The point is to understand.” Albert Einstein

This chapter is a call to transform schools on the grounds of human rights.  It invites us to reflect on how we treat disabled people and explores:

  • inconsistencies in the implementation of law and policy
  • established practices which are incompatible with disabled children’s rights
  • perceptions of disability and the impact of stereotypes on children’s life chances.

National laws

The Human Rights Act 1998 brings the European Convention on Human Rights into UK law and asserts people’s fundamental rights and freedoms.  It lists 16 basic rights, including the right to an effective education, and specifies that all rights must be secured without discrimination.

The Equality Act 2010 protects people from unfair treatment with regard to nine protected characteristics, including disability.  It also places a duty on all public service providers, including schools, to make reasonable adjustments in response to people’s impairments, for equality of opportunity (UK Government 2010). This is an anticipatory duty: organisations must not wait until a disabled person arrives, before transforming their cultures, policies and practices.  The aim is to ensure no disabled person misses out or is disadvantaged.

Part III of the Children and Families Act 2014 concerns the education of children and young people identified as having special educational needs or disabilities (SEND).  It confirms every child’s right to a mainstream education, as long as this is consistent with their parents’ wishes, the efficient education of other children, the efficient use of resources, and that the education offered is appropriate to the child’s needs.  The last three conditions are often cited as reasons why a child cannot be included in a particular school, even though these issues largely depend on the way teaching and learning are organised in school.

The SEND Code of Practice explicitly states in paragraph 1.26 that the UK Government is committed to inclusive education and that the law presumes that all children and young people will be educated in a mainstream school (Department of Education and Department of Health, 2015, p. 25, emphasis added).

International laws

The UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (1990) protects all children (0 – 18) from discrimination (Article 2) and states that all decisions should be in the child’s best interests (Article 3), aiming for the child’s optimal development (Article 6) and taking into consideration the views of the child (Article 12).  Article 23 confirms that disabled children have all rights in the Convention and Articles 28 & 29 that every child has a right to an education which develops their personality, talents and abilities fully.

The Committee on the Rights of the Child has issued a number of General Comments (documents clarifying the meaning of the Convention).  General Comment no. 9 (2006, on the rights of disabled children) states that disabled children are still facing barriers to the full enjoyment of their rights, that the barrier is not the disability but a combination of social, cultural, attitudinal and physical obstacles which disabled children encounter, and that “inclusive education should be the goal”.

The UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (2008) states that all disabled children and young people should participate in the state education system and that this should be “an inclusive education system at all levels”.  General Comment no. 4 (2016) clarifies that inclusion necessitates ‘systemic reform’ involving changes in content, methods, approaches, structures and strategies in education, so that all pupils can have an equitable and participatory learning experience.

Putting laws into practice

It follows from all the above that the legal imperative for including disabled children in ordinary schools is clear and undeniable.  To achieve this, it is essential that examples of effective inclusion are shared widely and that educators are better prepared and better supported to work with disabled pupils.

At school children learn more about themselves and others, develop their sense of identity and belonging, and can make life-long friends.  All children should have these opportunities together, and learn from and about one another.

Some people argue that disabled children should not be included in local schools because teachers may not have the training, experience or time to respond to their needs.  Initial teacher education and continued professional development can, indeed, be improved, as can practical support to make inclusion effective.  As for evaluating what time is considered well spent and what not, we may need to pay closer attention to who is valued and on what grounds.

Judith Snow, Canadian Disability Rights Advocate, describes (2001, pp. 53-54) her experience of having a classmate who was an Olympic diver.  She lists the support offered when this other girl had to miss school for training or competitions, and compares it to her own experience of missing school for medical appointments. She concludes that adults seemed to find it exciting to support an Olympic diver to achieve in sport, and a burden to support a disabled child to attend their local school.

Recent evidence suggests a twofold benefit of supporting disabled children’s learning and development in ordinary schools: it leads to improved educational outcomes for disabled and non-disabled children, and better supports the social and emotional development of every child (Hehir et al, 2016).

In England the picture is patchy. Latest figures show an almost tenfold difference between the local authorities which send the highest and the lowest proportions of children to special schools (Black and Norwich 2019).

There is much that schools, other settings, or individual educators can do to honour disabled people’s rights and help align education practice with education law.  If nothing else, it helps to make disability visible, treat it as an ordinary part of life and ensure our language and interactions reflect this.  Here are some suggestions from CSIE’s equality toolkit (2016) and online Knowledge Box (2020):

  • Ensure disabled people are represented in positive ways in the curriculum, displays, books and other resources.
  • Maintain a positive attitude and ask “How can we …?” (rather than “Can we …?”).
  • Ask for the support that you need to make inclusion effective.
  • Ensure that disablist bullying and any indication of prejudice or harassment are consistently challenged.
  • Help disabled children get a stronger sense of belonging in school.
  • Ensure disabled people are treated in ways which confirm they are valued and respected.

Conclusion

A widespread assumption that separate special schools are usually preferable is out of sync with the law, and inconsistent with contemporary values of disability equality and human rights. This chapter invites readers to contribute to the long-overdue transformation by becoming agents of change in their own setting or sphere of influence.

Key Takeaways

  • National and international laws call for a transformation in education, so that disabled children can be routinely included in ordinary schools.
  • There are likely to be more similarities than differences between any two people. We must not let one striking difference overshadow many similarities.
  • We are all of equal value, by virtue of being human, and should all know not to judge a book by its cover.

Key Questions

  • On what grounds is it acceptable to exclude disabled children from their local community?
  • If we do not question the futility of stereotypes about beauty or intelligence, where does that leave those of us who do not have what society values?
  • Are you, or your school, working in ways which breach disabled children’s rights?

Manifesto Statement

Education practices need to be brought in line with education law as a matter of urgency. This is a call to action to challenge inequitable practices and develop more inclusive settings.

References

Black A and Norwich B (2019) Contrasting Responses to Diversity: School Placement Trends 2014–2017 for all Local Authorities in England. Available at: www.csie.org.uk/resources/free.shtml#trends2019 (accessed April 2021).

Children and Families Act (2014) Available at: https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2014/6/contents/enacted (Accessed April 2021).

Committee on the Rights of the Child (2006) CRC/C/GC/9 General Comment no. 9 (2006) The rights of children with disabilities.  Available at: http://www.csie.org.uk/inclusion/GeneralComment9_Sept2006.pdf (accessed April 2021).

Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (2016) CRPD/C/GC/4 General Comment no. 4 (2016) on the right to inclusive education. Available at: https://tbinternet.ohchr.org/_layouts/treatybodyexternal/Download.aspx?symbolno=CRPD/C/GC/4&Lang=en  (accessed April 2021).

CSIE staff and associates (2016) Equality: Making It Happen – A Guide to Help Schools Ensure Everyone is Safe, Included and Learning. Bristol: Centre for Studies on Inclusive Education (CSIE).

Department for Education and Department of Health (2015) Special educational needs and disability code of practice: 0 to 25 years. Available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/send-code-of-practice-0-to-25 (Accessed April 2021).

Equality Act (2010) Available at:  www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2010/15/contents (accessed April 2021).

Hehir T et al (2016) A Summary of the Evidence on Inclusive Education. Available at: https://alana.org.br/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/A_Summary_of_the_evidence_on_inclusive_education.pdf (accessed April 2021).

Human Rights Act (1998) Available at: https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1998/42/contents (accessed April 2021).

Knowledge Box on Disabled Children’s Rights in Education (2020) Available upon free registration at: https://dlot.eu/course/index.php?categoryid=22 (Accessed April 2021).

Snow, J. (2001) ‘Dreaming, speaking and creating: What I know about community’, in Great Questions: Writings of Judith Snow. Available at: https://resources.depaul.edu/abcd-institute/publications/Documents/Judith_book_1.1%20copy.pdf (accessed April 2021).


Hidden Histories: Black in Psychology

Sinmi and Parise Carmichael-Murphy. Hidden Histories book cover

Written by Sinmi Ekundayo and Parise Carmichael-Murphy

Sinmi is a Year 9 student with an avid interest in politics and humanities subjects.

Parise is a PhD Education student who is passionate about decolonising the curriculum and widening access to the psychological professions.

Hidden Histories: Black in Psychology celebrates the contributions of Black people to the field of psychology and its allied professions. It is an open resource for people of all ages who are interested in psychology’s past, present and future. The booklet encourages young people to develop critical thinking skills by exploring ideas of anti-racist psychology, social change and activism, race and racism across psychological practice, and racial disparities in mental health. It also introduces readers to the requirements and steps needed to pursue a career in psychology and highlights how a range of skills, qualifications, and experiences can inform and shape our interests and expertise in psychology. 

Parise Carmichael-Murphy and Adam Danquah are co-authors of Hidden Histories: Black in Psychology; they developed the resource in the hope that it has the potential to inspire future generations of anti-racist psychologists. Sinmi Ekundayo is listed in the ‘Acknowledgements’ of Hidden Histories: Black in Psychology as one of many contributors who helped to support and develop the book. 

Sinmi was invited to review Hidden Histories: Black in Psychology by her teacher Laura Morris. Sinmi took a printed copy of the booklet home and reviewed it over a few weeks. Sinmi provided some really insightful feedback that highlighted areas of interest and some spaces for improvement. Sinmi’s comments highlighted some of the terminology used that could be better explained and in response, we added the term ‘cultural competence’ to the glossary. 

Next, Parise invited Sinmi to collaborate on a blog post to highlight Hidden Histories: Black in Psychology. Some of the feedback and comments from Sinmi’s review have been expanded on in this blog:  

“The fact that African Psychology is such a new concept that I have never even heard of it is astounding. It seems so simple when you think critically, obviously the culture you grow up in will affect the way your psyche functions and will not align with a completely different culture’s way of interpreting the human mind. It’s fascinating! I love this booklet so much. 

I’ve always felt a bit of alienation from psychology as it always felt like a very white field to go into and now I understand why. Honestly, if the goal of Hidden Histories: Black in Psychology is to get more Black students into psychology it will succeed. Hidden Histories: Black in Psychology introduces psychologists that are telling our stories and interpreting them in a way that feels personal. 

The poem at the end by J.Chambers is beautifully written. I love the ‘Useful Links’ section at the end where they list all the organisations that were made for Black education by Black people, it makes me feel so hopeful, especially since I have first-hand experience with some of them. It’s good to know someone is looking out for us. A lot of the time I was stopping to look further into new ideas and people I was being introduced to. 

I sincerely believe that keeping Hidden Histories: Black in Psychology out of the curriculum is a disservice to ourselves. It would help Black students feel a stronger connection to themselves and psychology and I believe it would endow non-Black students with a sense of cultural empathy. The exemplary Black psychologists introduced in the booklet would intrigue anyone, but especially young Black students (such as myself) who will finally see themselves reflected in a field that feels very exclusive to rich white men. 

This booklet is tremendously helpful in increasing Black students’ confidence in their ability to succeed in psychology in a way that isn’t too distant or convoluted. I’d recommend this to everyone, regardless of race. It’s genuinely an interesting insight into psychology that anyone would be interested in.”

To read, download and share the Hidden Histories: Black in Psychology resource, please use the following link: https://gmhigher.ac.uk/resources/hidden-histories-black-in-psychology/

We thank Laura Morris, our teacher and friend, for supporting us both to connect and collaborate on this blog post. Laura is Head of Religious Studies and Citizenship at Cedar Mount Academy and has a whole-school responsibility for anti-discrimination.