At The Reverse Mentoring Practice, we want to have BIG, game-changing conversations
Written by Stacy Johnson MBE
Chief Scientific Officer and Founder of The Reverse Mentoring Practice. Stacy is a leading voice on the frontier of justice, inclusion and belonging work. She helps organisations to re-imagine, re-engineer and reset their culture. Her groundbreaking work on reverse mentoring and practice supervision is making waves. Stacy is #TriniToDeBone
We want to talk about reverse mentoring in situations where you’re trying to improve inclusion, as an approach to retaining staff, and who may also be dealing with barriers to inclusion, who may find themselves in tricky situations and circumstances related to their protected characteristic. We do not want to have superficial conversations.
We want to celebrate the lived experiences of people through the magic of reverse mentoring, whether it is informal or formal, whether it’s programmatic in your organisation, or ad hoc.
We want to help you listen differently, to spark change in your organisations by empowering you and your senior leaders to move forward with cultural humility to ignite equitable action.
We sat down with Stacy Johnson MBE, our Chief Scientific Officer & Founder at Reverse Mentoring Practice who shared her insight and research on reverse mentoring. In the online seminar Stacy also held a question-and-answer session where one member asked:
Q: How can we get the people that would benefit from a mentoring relationship interested?
Stacy: Whether you are a very senior person or a junior person, you should periodically pause and assess.
Ask yourself: Am I being mentored? Am I mentoring anybody else? And if one of those things is not true, you need to make that right. You should always, at any point whether it’s formally or informally, be mentoring or being mentored.
It’s about reminding people on both sides of the equation that there is benefit from being a mentor and being mentored.
As far as those who are already converted, we should be more open about what mentoring is.
For example, the way I got a reverse mentor was because an amazing young man said to me, “will you mentor me?” And I actually felt a bit of horror. In fact, I remember saying to him, “I’m a terrible mentor! Let’s just meet and have some coffees!”
And then eventually, after several of those meetings, I said, “actually, will you reverse mentor me?”
I guess that’s because I had never been formally trained as a mentor. Some people have the impression that you have to be really knowledgeable, and you have to have all the answers. The idea of being formally asked to be a mentor is probably quite intimidating to even the most amazing leaders.
For me, I just want to have interesting conversations with this amazing young man and share ideas about things that had worked for me, things that I’d seen had worked for other people who were similar to him, or different to him. As soon as he labelled that mentoring, I panicked. So, it might be the same the other way around.
Maybe for the people who are not yet converted, it’s about offering it up as an informal relationship and connecting with somebody who is more junior to you, or more senior to you. Maybe that pulls them in, they begin to see the benefits and then they can happily then label it mentoring. They will be extolling the virtues of mentoring, and you won’t have to convince them.
If you want to know more, join us at the Diverse Educators webinar where we will explore how we unlock the potential of reverse mentoring and cultural humility in driving personal growth and organisational success. The recording will also be available to playback afterwards.
Don’t Assume…
Written by Gerlinde Achenbach
Gerlinde Achenbach is a senior education consultant and former primary headteacher. Her career spans more than 35 years, with over 30 years teaching in schools. Since 2021 she has been supporting schools across the UK with Equity, Diversity & Inclusion, specifically LGBTQ+ inclusion. Her expertise is in leadership and changing school culture.
It is a reality that every LGBTQ+ stakeholder within a school community – child or young person, member of staff, visitor, parent or carer – is on the receiving end of constant heteronormative messaging. This isn’t because schools are not complying with their Public Sector Equality Duty or because they’re not focused on being inclusive. It’s because the world is set up to portray ‘usual’ as heterosexual.
The Oxford languages dictionary defines heteronormativity as: “denoting or relating to a world view that promotes heterosexuality as the normal or preferred sexual orientation.”
Heteronormativity permeates every aspect of school life. It’s in the images on our walls, it’s in the things we say and in what we do. Put simply, there’s an unspoken acceptance that it is ‘the norm’. It confirms for us that heterosexual relationships dominate the human experience. It also reminds us of the relationship between heterosexuality and gender inequity for women and girls through history. We see this every day, where gendered language, stereotyping and imbalanced expectations still dominate our lived experience in the wider world. We like to think we work hard to challenge this in our schools…but are we doing enough?
What can heteronormativity look like in schools?
Environments
- Most images of families show mums and dads. This can be on ‘welcome’ posters or in books and images on display.
- We find ‘corporate’ cartoon images depicting (stereotypical) boy, girl, boy, girl across school spaces.
- Books and literature have not been evaluated in terms of how representative they are of different types of families or identities.
Systems and Policies
- In primary schools we have a habit of assuming (unless told otherwise) that a child has heterosexual parent(s) and that our children will end up in heterosexual relationships.
- We include ‘mother / father’ on application forms and permission slips.
- The words ‘Mr & Mrs’ are on the tips of our tongues when referring to families.
- Our school uniform policies state gendered expectations for girls and boys, even down to shoe styles.
- Our staff dress code does the same.
- We appoint a Head Girl and a Head Boy.
- Our website staff lists denote marital status first – Mrs, Miss, Mr – and we have the same on classroom doors.
Communication and Language
- We welcome our children with “Good morning, boys and girls” and our staff, or parents and carers, with “ladies and gentlemen”.
- The phrase, “Tell / give this to / show / ask your mum and dad” rolls off the tongue for most school staff.
- Staff address girls as ‘darling’, ‘princess’, ‘sweetie’, and boys as ‘mate’, ‘mister’, ‘dude’.
- We hear the terms ‘Headmaster’ and ‘Headmistress’. We address staff as ‘Sir’ and ‘Miss’.
- We hear adults calling for ‘a couple of strong boys’ for certain tasks around school.
Practice and Culture
- We line up our classes in boys’ and girls’ lines, or in a boy, girl formation.
- We seat them on their carpet ladybird places or at tables in the same way.
- We separate and organise children by gender for the most random of reasons and activities.
- We organise role play, construction and crafts with different genders in mind, albeit subconsciously.
- We appoint class names of famous scientists, authors, sports people or musicians where the majority are male (and straight).
- The staff culture feels fixed, exclusive, cliquey and difficult to break into.
- Staff congratulate themselves on the way they have always done things.
I have deliberately not set out here inclusive versions of the above examples. They are a starting point for whole staff thinking and they’re guaranteed to promote worthwhile discussion. It’s important in our schools to do the hard work required, challenge heteronormativity in all its guises and ask the following questions:
- Might a child with same-sex parents feel quietly excluded in our school?
- Will their parents feel welcome?
- How about a child who has lost a parent, or a child who is care-experienced?
- Have we removed assumptions in all our interactions with families?
- Can a member of staff, whatever their sexual orientation or identity, can be their authentic self at work?
- Are our language and expectations truly gender-inclusive?
- Is our inclusive approach understood by all groups of staff in their varying roles across school?
Why does this matter? It matters because of the need for us all to feel we belong in the places where we, or our loved ones, spend a good deal of time. Marian Wright Edelman coined the phrase, ‘You can’t be what you can’t see’, and this matters if you rarely see yourself (child or adult) or your family represented in your school. Representation is validation.
It matters because subliminal messages such as those received (through unthinking words, gendered phrases and activities defined by gender) by girls and women, or by those for whom gender is not fixed or for whom gender causes anguish, can be damaging and self-fulfilling over time.
The one human skill that powers all others: Is empathy the secret to wellbeing, inclusion & the future of work?
Written by Ed Kirwan
Ed Kirwan is the Founder and CEO of Empathy Studios, an organisation using film to develop empathy, a vital human skill. A former science teacher and Head of Chemistry, Ed transitioned into filmmaking in 2018, launching The Empathy Programme in 2020. Ed also founded Empathy Week, the world’s largest empathy festival, reaching over 1.3 million students in 50 countries.
As an educator, you’re often faced with student situations you can’t anticipate. Those situations are almost always personal, nuanced and highly-specific to that individual. They require a human response. They require empathy.
Empathy is the skill to understand another and the ability to create space for someone to reveal their authentic self, whilst reserving judgement.
Empathy is no longer merely a nice-to-have; it’s essential and has been listed as one of the most vital skills for the 21st century. Is vital for conflict resolution, it helps increase creativity) and can even reduce cyberbullying. Empathy can be passed from generation to generation View here and so teaching it has far-reaching benefits beyond the immediate impact.
Neighbourhood diversity has doubled on average in the UK since 2001 and, in some towns, it has increased ten fold. This should be a wonderful opportunity of celebration and learning, yet we know from the UK riots this summer that cohesion and community isn’t a given. It also doesn’t come about from simply teaching students to ‘be kind’ and ‘be tolerant’. Empathy sits at the foundation of the human skills that enable inclusion, communication and adaptability that are crucial in our globalised world.
Since 2020, my team and I have been helping educators give their students the tools needed to develop empathy – and we continuously research the impact, in partnership with Cambridge University . In these last five years we’ve learnt a lot. Our Empathy Programme has engaged 175,000 students and our annual festival, Empathy Week, has reached over 1.3 million students in 50+ countries. But for me, it all started in the classroom.
At the age of 22, I began teaching science in North London at a co-ed state school – something I deeply loved. It taught me a lot about privilege, society and the importance of empathy. It also taught me that humans are complex social and emotional beings.
Much of my motivation comes from having taught the infamous (self-named) “U-gang” – a group of 24 boys who all received ‘U’ grades in their christmas mock exams.
They had a lot of anger and lacked motivation. In their eyes, they were already destined to be a failure. They hadn’t yet learnt how to communicate their needs effectively, or they were misunderstood – in all honesty I think it was both things at once. As I got to know them I realised they were, quite simply, scared young men.
Teaching that group was one of the most rewarding experiences in my teaching career. None of the “U-gang” ended up with a U grade, despite one of my students missing his Chemistry exam because he was in a police cell. They all passed.
Looking back now it’s not because I was the best science teacher, but because I took a genuine interest in them as individuals. Who did they live with at home? What hobbies did they have? What did they aspire to be? What made them tick?
I took as many steps as possible to understand and develop a healthy rapport with the class, including delivering science classes on the basketball court and shifting our practical lessons to be less daunting. I was using empathy, I just didn’t have language for what I was doing yet.
Empathy underpins everything needed to make a child feel seen, heard and understood. Everything that’s needed to make someone feel safe and like they belong and that’s what we’re all really after isn’t it? To belong?
Empathy is not a value or a trait. It is a skill which can be actioned and, crucially, taught. Our pilot research with Cambridge University explores the impact of our term long programme to develop empathy skills in 5-18 year olds. Teachers report a measurable impact to empathy levels – and excitingly they also report improvements to behaviour and increased global citizenship after completing the programme.
Crucially there are three drivers of success that manage to build empathy successfully:
1) Engage and entertain students – A lot of education content can be boring and only serves to transfer information rather than ignite genuine conversation and learning. Our programme and films are a trojan horse for empathy building. They excite students from the very start and in turn lead to conversations and connection.
2) Increase the amount & diversity of experiences of students – We can’t all fly around the world, but we can allow students to experience real life stories through film. From Lipa who talks about the right to wear a Hijab in sport to a Mexican paralympian who is now giving back,, students can gain insight into themes such as culture & identity, disability, bereavement, sustainability & mental health.
3) Skills building can’t be a one-off – Empathy is a muscle and the best results come with sustained and long-term intervention. It’s the schools that build empathy into a golden thread of their school that are seeing the benefits.
As educators and teachers, we need more support to help equip young people with the human skills they need. As the world becomes ever more connected and AI transforms the way we live and work together, it is our human relationships, adaptability and resilience that will allow us to thrive – and empathy is the one human skill at the foundation of this.
Are the Right People Sitting at the Table?
Written by Dr Fatima Bailey
Dr. Fatima Bailey is the Chair of the Department of Teacher Education and Teacher Leadership at the Sharjah Education Academy, in the UAE. Dr. Bailey worked in Pre-K-12 education as a director, school principal, vice principal and teacher in the UAE and US. Dr. Bailey also serves as a mentor in the Ta’Alouf Program for Career Based Teacher Development at the Al Jalila Foundation. Prior to her tenure at SEA, Dr. Bailey served as an advisor on high-level UAE national initiatives and projects. An avid researcher, Dr. Bailey is also the recipient of the prestigious Gordon Allport Prize Award for Outstanding Papers.
Originally published on the Sharjah Education Academy (SEA) website on 30/12/23: https://sea.ac.ae/are-the-right-people-sitting-at-the-table/
Authentic and Sustainable Leadership for Leading and Improving 21st Century Schools
The UAE has designated 2023 as “the year of sustainability” (1). The country continues to take leaps and bounds, inventing and forging new pathways of sustainable practices across all sectors, including education. Towards this end, a specific type of viable leadership is required for creativity and longevity in schools.
Sustainable and authentic leadership is one possibility. School leaders are entrusted to make changes and reform happen at their schools. Many are moving away from making pledges and commitments to creating meaningful and long-lasting change through sustainable strategies and authentic practices. The need to continuously improve schools has made it increasingly clear that it is time to accelerate our thinking, innovate new approaches, and adapt our actions. Through revolving conversations, we see school leaders collaborate, meet, and sit with members of their learning community to create pathways forward.
Welcome to the Table
School leaders are entrusted to create change, implement those changes, and find ways to maintain longevity. Sustainable and authentic leadership are two buzzwords I’ve heard come up at meetings, symposiums, and in research literature around current trends. Being invited to a meeting and sitting at “the table” is an opportunity to share and exchange ideas and build collective intelligence around paramount issues. It provides a platform to be heard and to listen.
Those invited to school leadership meetings typically use a level of influence. They leverage their credibility and expertise to make decisions, drive initiatives forward, initiate policies, and create change. School leaders come to the table often, at different intervals, and for different and distinct reasons. They must carefully think about who they invite to the table to help build collective intelligence, address complex problems, and arrive at solutions that will not only work short-term but long-term as well. The needs of schooling today are dynamic and complicated.
The Survey Says
Upon reflecting on conversations and dialogues I had with school leaders about the challenges they face to create meaningful reform and lasting change in schools, I was inspired to read about nuances and trends in leadership. Interestingly, I found one blog by the Center for Creative Leadership (2023) with a survey and poll. The question was about the most powerful communication skills that today’s leaders should demonstrate. When I first looked at the poll question, I thought, “Oh, this is easy.” In my opinion, I felt the number one and most powerful skill needed is “trust” or to be “trustworthy”. However, trust was not one of the four options.
I completed the poll using the possible answer choices provided. Poll respondents were given four choices: 1) authenticity, 2) setting clear expectations, 3) encouraging input, and 4) simplifying and being direct. I reflected on my reading and experience. Later, I returned to view the results of the poll. I was intrigued by all the responses. The response that was generated by over 55% was “setting clear expectations”. I disagreed and wondered why this response generated such a high percentage.
Making the Case
In my view, trust should have been one of the options and responses. But it was not, and I wondered why. Back to “sitting at that table” and why I thought that trust is so important. More questions came to my mind. What does it mean to be trusted? Why is that important? How does trust evolve? Can leaders do their best work if they are not trusted to do so or if they are unable to trust others in their team? Does the trait and characteristic of being trustworthy lead one to being authentic? How can one do this with longevity?
Leading Authentically
I then had an “aha” moment about the type of leader who is authentically trustworthy and how this can position one’s leadership. “Authenticity” is about consistently being true to yourself and your values and not pretending to be someone you’re not. School leaders should demonstrate authenticity. When they are genuine, consistent, and authentic, those who depend on them can sense it, see it, and are more likely to trust them because they feel their school leaders are not hiding anything or trying to hurt or manipulate them. Teachers, parents, and students might feel rest assured by school leaders who demonstrate “how they are truly, genuinely and intentionally committed” to caring about learners in schools and improving the learning journey for children.
Leading Sustainably
School leaders are responsible for changing lives by changing education. They should lead in authentic ways that can be sustained. Sustainable leadership is about leading others toward consistent, actionable, impactful, and long-lasting change. Sustainable leaders focus on making decisions that are rooted in strong moral and ethical principles and values and are committed to ensuring social responsibility. (2) They are mindful of how they interact with others, present their ideas, and share their thought processes through open dialogue with others. They galvanize and mobilize efforts for school improvement. They reset standards and reshape the tone. Schools today require principals, vice principals, middle leaders, teachers, parents, and students to be sustainable leaders, all serving vital roles in helping schools continue onward and upward. (3)
Take The Leadership Challenge: Tomorrow Starts Today
I encourage school leaders to think about what this means to them and how they might incorporate authentic and sustainable leadership in their work to help their learning community thrive. Are you ready to take on a new leadership challenge?
I invite you too! If asked to “sit at the table” and join a meeting to share your insights, expertise and/or experiences …consider whether you are the right person and ask yourself how you will do so. Because how you decide to “sit at the table” … will speak volumes about your leadership. It might shape decisions, actions, and future outcomes. The way you choose to “sit at the table” today might impact who “sits at the table” tomorrow. Happy sitting!
Citations and Footnotes
(1) Year of Sustainability. https://uaeyearof.ae/ accessed on November 15, 2023
(2) Liao Y. (2022). Sustainable leadership: A literature review and prospects for future research. Frontiers in psychology, 13, 1045570. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2022.1045570
(3) Özkan, P. (2022). School Principal as An Environmentally Sustainable Leader, Journal of Educational Leadership and Policy Studies, 6(1)
LGBT+ Education in School - Having Effective Conversations with Parents
Written by Mel Lane
Mel Lane (she/her) is Head of Education at Pop’n’Olly. She has been a primary school teacher and teacher trainer for nearly 30 years and worked in schools on LGBT+ inclusion policies with thousands of children and school staff. Mel is a co- author of What Does LGBT+ Mean? (Pop’n’Olly, 2021).
When it comes to LGBT+ education in school, parents are often portrayed in the mainstream media as unsupportive and battling with teachers – but the reality is completely different. 82% of parents actively want their children to be taught about diverse families, including those with same-sex relationships. Having worked with over 10,000 children, I have experienced, time and time again, that parents are almost always supportive of LGBT+ inclusion work in school.
However, there are of course still a minority of parents who struggle with, and have concerns, about LGBT+ education. This is why empowering schools and teachers to have effective conversations is important. But how do we do this? Here are some themes that you may wish to include in these discussions:
Ethos and Values
Chances are you already promote equality and celebrate difference in your school. Maybe it’s in your school mission statement? e.g.
‘Brave, unique, caring and kind’
‘Hope, community, respect, love’
‘Respect for each other, Respect for our school, Respect for learning’
LGBT+ isn’t an add-on, it’s part of this whole-school approach. So when having conversations with parents, it’s vital you keep coming back to your whole-school ethos and discuss how LGBT+ education is a part of this.
Children’s Mental Health
We know that children learn better when they feel relaxed and able to be themselves. One teacher was so pleased to share with me how much more animated and engaged a Year 1 child had become after a session on families included two Mums, just like her family. All children benefit from conversations about LGBT+ inclusion because when we celebrate diversity we send a message to everyone that they are welcome in school whatever their uniqueness looks like.
Knowledge and Understanding
63% of 8-15 year olds know someone close to them who is LGBT+ Children are already having conversations about LGBT+ lives and some of them are searching for information online. School is a safe place where children can ask questions of trusted adults to find out reliable, accurate information. UK children all live in a country where being LGBT+ is protected by law and we shouldn’t hide this information from students. In fact, under the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC), all children have a right to this information.
Legal Obligations
Helping young people understand and develop positive relationships with people who are different from them is part of UK law and included in the Relationships and Sex Education (RSE) Guidance for Schools
The Public Sector Equality Duty (Section 149 of the Equality Act, 2010) states that schools must have due regard to “the need to eliminate discrimination, advance equality of opportunity, and foster good relations between persons who share a relevant protected characteristic and persons who do not share it.”
Ofsted guidance also states that, “Schools can choose to teach the beliefs of any faith on the protected characteristics. They may explain that same-sex relationships and gender reassignment are not permitted by a particular religion. However, if they do so, they must also explain the legal rights of LGBT people under UK law, and that this and LGBT people must be respected”
Supporting Parents
Sometimes parents worry that life will be harder for their child if they are LGBT+. Sometimes they’re worried about being judged by other parents. Schools often have a lot more experience supporting LGBT+ young people than parents do. A parent of a trans child told me how much better they felt that their child’s school was supportive of their child’s transition – it gave the parent confidence and helped them navigate a completely new and sometimes challenging time.
Conversations with parents almost always eliminate fears, tackle misconceptions and build better relationships. You can find out much more information on how to have these conversations in Pop’n’Olly’s ‘Discussions With Parents’ document.
Mirrors, Windows and Sliding Doors: A Metaphor for the Diverse Curriculum
Written by Hannah Wilson
Founder of Diverse Educators
In the dynamic landscape of education, the curriculum serves as the foundation for shaping young minds. As we strive for a more inclusive and representative educational experience, the metaphor of Mirrors, Windows, and Sliding Doors offers a powerful framework for curriculum development. This metaphor, introduced by Dr Rudine Sims Bishop, encapsulates the essence of diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging within educational content, emphasising the importance of reflection, observation, and engagement for all learners.
Mirrors: Reflecting Students’ Own Lives
Mirrors in the curriculum are essential for students to see themselves – their cultures, identities, and experiences – reflected in what they learn. When students encounter stories, histories, and perspectives that resonate with their own lives, they feel validated and recognised. This reflection fosters a sense of belonging and self-worth, which is crucial for their overall development and academic success.
For curriculum specialists and subject leaders, this means incorporating diverse voices and narratives across all subjects. For example, in literature, selecting texts from a variety of authors who represent different backgrounds ensures that every student can see themselves on the page. In history, presenting a more inclusive perspective that acknowledges the contributions and experiences of marginalised groups and provides a fuller understanding of the past.
Windows: Viewing Others’ Lives
Windows offer students a view into the lives and experiences of people different from themselves. Through these glimpses, learners develop empathy, understanding, and a broader perspective of the world. Windows help dismantle stereotypes and prejudices, fostering a more inclusive mindset among students.
To create these windows, educators need to curate a curriculum that includes global perspectives and diverse narratives. In geography, this might involve studying various cultures and their relationships with the environment. In science, discussing contributions from global scientists highlights the universal nature of discovery. Providing opportunities for students to engage with content that portrays different lifestyles, beliefs, and challenges cultivates an appreciation for diversity and interconnectedness.
Sliding Doors: Engaging and Interacting
Sliding doors represent opportunities for students to enter into, and interact with, different worlds. This element encourages active engagement and personal reflection. When students can metaphorically ‘step into’ the experiences of others, they gain deeper insights of different identities and build meaningful connections.
Interactive projects, collaborative learning experiences, and role-playing activities serve as sliding doors in the curriculum. For instance, a history project where students re-enact historical events from multiple perspectives can provide profound learning experiences. In literature, writing assignments that ask students to create narratives from the viewpoint of characters unlike themselves can deepen empathy and understanding.
Integrating Mirrors, Windows, and Sliding Doors
To integrate these concepts effectively, curriculum specialists and subject leaders must be intentional and thoughtful in their approach. This involves:
- Reviewing and Revising Existing Curriculum: Conducting thorough audits to identify gaps and biases. Ensuring that the content reflects a diverse range of voices and perspectives.
- Collaborating with Diverse Communities: Engaging with parents/ carers, community leaders, and organisations to gather input and resources. This collaboration can enrich the curriculum with authentic, representative materials.
- Providing Professional Development: Equipping teachers with the skills and knowledge to deliver an inclusive curriculum. Training on cultural competence, unconscious bias, and inclusive teaching strategiesl.
- Utilising Technology and Media: Leveraging digital resources to access a wider array of content. Using online platforms, virtual exchanges, and multimedia can bring diverse voices and experiences into the classroom.
- Encouraging Student Voice and Choice: Empowering students to share their stories and choose projects that reflect their interests and identities. Designing student-centred approach fosters a sense of ownership and relevance in their learning.
The metaphor of Mirrors, Windows, and Sliding Doors provides a robust framework for creating an inclusive and representative curriculum. By reflecting students’ identities, offering insights into others’ lives, and facilitating active engagement, educators can cultivate a learning environment that values diversity, promotes equity, centres inclusion and builds belonging. As curriculum specialists and subject leaders, embracing this metaphor not only enriches the educational experience but also prepares students to thrive in a diverse and interconnected world.
#AllTheThings
Written by Helena Marsh
Helena is a WomenEd co-founder, mum of three and experienced school and Trust leader. In her ninth year of secondary headship, Helena has also held the role of MAT CEO. An advocate of flexible working, Helena co-wrote the ‘Flexing our Schools’ chapter in the first WomenEd book and has been an active supporter of the Flexible Working Ambassador Scheme and the MTPT Project.
Spending the day among some incredible inspiring women at the ‘Breaking the Mould’ event on 9th March at Milton Road Primary School, Cambridge, was a fabulous way to mark this year’s International Women’s Day.
Hannah asked me to contribute to the event when we met for an after work mocktail in May 2023. At the time, having this little spot of feminist joy to look forward to on the horizon really uplifted me at a particularly bleak moment in my leadership career.
Several months later, I was not disappointed. Featuring amongst a programme of kick-ass women gave me a real sense of personal and professional rejuvenation.
My session, entitled ‘What’s the point of cake if you can’t eat it?’, focused on my experiences, as a mum of three, of gendered perceptions of leadership. In my 15 years as a senior leader, I’ve been conscious of women stepping away from the profession, and their leadership potential, citing selfishness and a pragmatic need to focus on their families, as the reason.
To coin a phrase by Summer Turner, I questioned: ‘Are the boys also worrying about this?’ Do men perceive becoming a dad and maintaining their career as ‘having it all’?
Gender pay gap research reveals that they don’t. The Fatherhood Bonus, in stark contrast to the Motherhood Penalty, rewards men for becoming fathers. While women are stepping down or away to focus on caregiving and accepting the inevitability of this pause/permanent freeze in their professional journey, men are, statistically, enjoying promotion and pay progression when starting a family.
My presentation focused on the factors, institutional, societal and personal, that lead to women feeling as though progressing professionally is not a viable choice once becoming a mum. I concluded that wholesale changes to sector expectations of leaders is necessary. As Jill Berry wisely observes, if having a job and a life isn’t achievable, there’s a problem with the job.
The other inputs to the day complemented this theme. Particularly Niamh Sweeney’s rousing cry to tackle the injustices within the profession that inhibit and preclude. Niamh’s anecdote from her recent trip to the States chimed with many of us in the audience. The audacious goal of winning ‘all the things’ spoke to a refreshing cultural ambition. Meanwhile, many of the other talks highlighted the importance of acknowledging feminine leadership traits and valuing the benefits of diversity in leadership teams.
I left the day reflecting on how often ‘having it all’ is misunderstood for ‘doing it all’. My Mother’s Day stash of gifts that I received the following day from my little ones included various iterations of listing pads. As a fan of organisational stationery, I was chuffed with my haul. However, it did make me recognise how much of my sense of success as a mum and leader is measured through my accomplishment of ‘stuff’. Many women that I have worked with pride themselves on getting all the sh*t done and to an exceptional standard, often at the expense of their personal health and wellbeing.
As I acknowledged in my IWD talk, the weight of the mental load that mums carry, let alone mum leaders carry, is immense. It’s important that having #AllTheThings doesn’t necessitate us doing everything but having our fair share of whatever it is we strive for, whether that’s cake, career development opportunities or childcare responsibilities.
Diversifying Coaching in Education – A Funded Opportunity for the #DiverseEd Community to Train to Coach
Written by Yasmin Ariff
Yasmin Ariff is a Partner and Director of Education at the CVP Group. CVP Group specialise in professional coaching training for managers and business leaders. They create coaching cultures across UK organisations, supported by the National Apprenticeship Service.
I wish I’d found coaching earlier in my teaching career. It has made me a better person on so many levels. But it came at a cost. Having invested £8000 of my own money into coaching training, it’s fair to say, although it’s been worth it, it also broke the bank balance.
It made we wonder whether coaching would ever be a truly diverse and inclusive profession when only those with a higher-than-average income could afford the training. Even hiring a coach can cost around £100 per hour.
So, how can we, as leaders, democratise coaching in Education?
How can we create a pool of coaches that represent the diverse backgrounds of our Educators?
If only there was a government-funded training programme for aspiring coaches that removed the barrier of cost…
If only there was a coaching training programme that promoted and included a range of diverse educators…
Look no further!
CVP Group and #DiverseEd are partnering to deliver a funded training programme in October 2024 for aspiring coaches in England.
To apply, you will need to complete this #DiverseEd EOI and they will then send you the CVP ROI with the #DiverseEd Referral Code.
Introducing the Level 5 Coaching Professional Apprenticeship
Our unique approach supporting aspiring and existing diverse leaders will support you to:
- engage with your workforce
- promote active listening skills
- deepen your understanding of what motivates teams
- improve staff retention
- support other aspiring or existing diverse leaders
The 12 month apprenticeship programme is delivered online including an End Point Assessment.
The Level 5 Coaching Professional Apprenticeship enables learners to work towards a nationally recognised qualification that meets coaching professional body standards (ICF, EMCC and Association of Coaching). The coaching professional standard has been created by leading organisations with existing coaching cultures and expertise in leadership.
Figure 1. Organisations who created the coaching standard
In a group dedicated solely to Diverse Educators, you will cover coaching disciplines such as:
- how to plan and structure coaching sessions;
- cognitive behaviour techniques to reframe limiting beliefs;
- principles of neurolinguistic programming;
- schools of psychology such as Carl Rogers, Gestalt and Freud;
- leadership theory and change management;
- managing and celebrating diversity in your coaching practice;
- ethics and professional codes of conduct for coaches as well as how to demonstrate return on investment to stakeholders.
Over 12 months you will be provided with the tools you need to create a coaching model tailored to organisational needs.
Our #DiverseEd cohort will also have the unique opportunity to attend additional #DiverseEd sessions with Hannah Wilson to explore diversity, equity and inclusion in coaching further.
Figure 2. The Coaching Learning Journey
The apprenticeship requires the application of coaching skills in the workplace which will be tailored to fit into your day-to-day job role. Coaching apprentices will receive wrap around support throughout the year so they can apply their coaching skills in the workplace. Many of our current apprentices are using their coaching skills to develop different aspects of education such as:
- teaching and learning
- behaviour and attitudes
- well-being and leadership.
Ongoing careers guidance and support for apprentices includes attending a range of webinars delivered by expert coaches which demonstrate how your coaching skills support career advancement. In addition, there will be plenty of opportunities to develop personally through CVP’s well-being events, an online community and learning forum as well as your bespoke personal development plan, including an opportunity to win our Easter fitness hamper with CVP’s annual spring into fitness competition.
The #DiverseEd Coaching Community
We are building a #DiverseEd coaching community which will be the first of its kind.
We know the current coaching landscape in Education is not representative of the leaders it serves so we want to upskill educators as coaches in our community to empower each other.
CVP Coaching apprentices will be the first to pilot a funded coaching programme for the #DiverseEd community, where CVP coaching apprentices will have an opportunity to join the #DiverseEd Coaching directory.
The inaugural cohort will run October 2024 and we anticipate that places will be in high demand.
What Attendees are Saying About Us
Here’s what our current trainee coaches have to say about the programme:
“This course has been the perfect opportunity to keep learning and development at the heart of what I’m doing. It’s extremely well organised and resourced. Yasmin’s care, expertise and passion ensures we as the participants are motivated and supported every step of the way.”
Claire, Senior Leader Education.
“Great session, the demonstration where we got to see it in action was really powerful to have that practical example. It is about simple steps being done well. You have to learn the art (which can be complex) and then not let it cloud your basic best practice.”
Apprentice, Masterclass 2.
“The level 5 professional coaching course was thoroughly enjoyable and purposeful. I refined skills that were instantly transferable to the workplace but also deepened my reflective practice to understand how my own principles surface at work. I felt fully prepared going into to EPA and confident enough to show off my portfolio. Lots of elements in the portfolio I still use in my coaching sessions today. The course complemented full-time employment in education and didn’t seem too laborious as all the tasks seemed purposeful.”
Rosie, Assistant Headteacher
Join Us in October 2024!
To be eligible for funding you must meet the following criteria:
- Work 16 hours or more per week;
- Have lived in the UK / EU for 3 years or more prior to enrolment;
- Spend over 50% of your working week in England;
- Have a contract of employment.
Are you interested but not in employment? Do you live outside England? We are pleased to open this programme to diverse leaders beyond England on a self-funded basis. If you would like to have a conversation with one of the team at CVP Group to find out more, reach out to sarah@cvpgroup.co.uk
What Next?
Whether you have made your mind up or would just like to find out more about the course content, please complete the Register of Interest Form that #DiverseEd will send you and our coaching engagement team will contact you to set up a meeting.
I will be delivering a large part of the programme. With over 20 years’ experience in schools, I am looking forward to reconnecting with leaders to create powerful coaching cultures in schools.
To find out more about my own journey as a leader in education, visit my website here.
Leaving a Legacy: Saying Goodbye to My Shero – Karen Giles
Written by Hannah Wilson
Founder of Diverse Educators
There was a flurry of activity on my social media timeline yesterday following the devastating news that we have lost the beautiful soul that is Karen Giles. The outpouring of love is not a surprise as Karen is a well-known, well-respected and well-loved educational leader. We had been expecting the news for a while as she had been really unwell for a long time, but it is still a shock to realise that she has gone forever.
I had received an early morning text from a mutual friend and spent most of the day crying as different people reached out with personal messages to share their pain of losing our dear friend. I did not know if it was public knowledge so I did not share anything on my socials – just in case people who knew her had not heard the sad news, and to respect the family’s privacy at this difficult time, but by the evening I realised others had shared the news and the ripples of shock had widened. I thought about her and her impact on me all day and went to bed penning a piece to capture the essence of what a special human being she is (struggling to write her in the past tense).
Karen was and will continue to be the epitome of everything I believe in when it comes to leadership: she lives and models her values; she practices what she preaches; she is authentic; she has integrity; she is humble; she serves her community; she advocates for others; she has impact. Above all she has a huge heart, she is very kind and she nurtures everyone around her. She has a very special gift of making you feel like the only person in the room – totally seen, totally heard, totally understood and totally supported. Anyone in her orbit is lucky to sponge up a little bit of her presence. I think we all need to be a bit more Karen Giles.
I met Karen multiple times in a short period of time nearly a decade ago: we were both school leaders in London; we were both committed to empowering women leaders – she attended and supported #WomenEd events; we both contributed sessions to the Leading Women’s Alliance events; and as I started my NPQH she was one of the facilitators on our residentials with Ambition School Leadership. Every time I crossed paths with Karen I fell a little more in love with her. I don’t put many people on a pedestal but Karen was up there – she was one of my ‘wise women’ who became not only a guide but a friend. She relentlessly cheered on, championed and sponsored people around her. I am very lucky and very grateful to have been able to stand in her light and feel the warmth of her soul.
Every time I needed Karen she was there for me, and I know she was there for everyone else in her multiple circles too. She supported me out of a tricky Deputy Headship into Headship, she supported me out of my Headship and into my independent work. She held a mirror up to me to consider my future and helped me realign my Ikigai. I can remember visiting her at her school one morning following a breakfast meeting and she said to me: “Hannah Wilson, where ever you have been, whatever you have been doing, this is your calling”. I supported her through a relationship breakdown and into an Executive role; I supported her in considering her options post-retirement. I was excited at her becoming a coach, finding a home in Barbados and training to be a celebrant. We joked that if I ever got married she would host the ceremony for us. I told her she had multiple books in her and I think she had started a few of them.
We called each other for professional favours and the answer was always a Yes, no matter what it was/ when it was. She contributed to our #DiverseGovernance series during lockdown and she was one of our keynotes at our #DiverseEd event post lockdown. Lots of the posts on X reference how inspiring she was and comment on how she modelled inclusive, servant leadership. I spoke at a few leadership events at her school and spent some time with her associate headteachers. Karen was an introvert and a quiet leader but she had an enormous, yet gentle, presence, she hustled me into many an event that I was not on the guest list for with a smile and a polite request!
‘Yes’ was a word we had bonded over at LWA. I had a run a session at LWA on The Power of Saying Yes inspired by the book by Shonda Rhimes, about grabbing opportunities with both hands. She had made a deal with me, there and then, that if she said yes more could I say a few more nos. As we negotiated there was a twinkle in her eyes – we were total opposites in so many ways but had so much in common when it came to the important stuff. I really valued the mutual respect, mutual trust and mutual love we held for each other.
When we were writing the first #WomenEd book, 10% Braver, each chapter author chose a role model to amplify and showcase. Karen was my natural choice. At the end of chapter 1 this is what I wrote about her:
“Role Model: Karen Giles
Values-led leaders demonstrate that you can be a leader with a soul. Karen Giles is an Executive Primary Headteacher in London and a facilitator for Ambition School Leadership. I remember meeting her at one of my first NPQH sessions where she invited 64 aspiring headteachers to go for a leisurely jog around the conference room. She was immaculately dressed in a purple shift dress, matching tailored jacket and heels and gracefully leapt like a gazelle. I fell a little bit in love with her on the spot.
I was delighted Karen came to my session on The Power of Networking at the second Leading Women’s Alliance event. She is an old school networker and I am a new one, and we had a passionate discussion about Shonda Rhimes’ book ‘Year of Yes’. We both agreed that whilst ‘Yes’ is an enabler, women also need to be empowered to say ‘No!’
Karen has local, regional, national and global impact as a leader. She has taught and led in London schools for twenty-eight years and is currently a Local Authority School Effectiveness Lead Professional, working with leaders in sixteen schools. Karen has been a Leadership Coach since 2012, leading and facilitating a variety of mixed phase coaching groups and workshops as well as working with both Primary and Secondary participants. She served as an Ofsted Inspector from 2010-15, has been appointed as a Coach for the pan-London GLA Getting Ahead programme and is Primary Director for the London Leadership Strategy. She was the winner of the London Region National Teacher Award for Enterprise and Innovation in 2009 and serves as an advisory board member for the Varkey Foundation. Karen currently serves as Headteacher, a position she has held for thirteen years”.
I didn’t tell Karen I was writing about her, but I sent her a copy of the book with a post-it in it and a card when it was published. I know she was really touched and ever the humble person she was shocked I had chosen to spotlight her. Throughout her illness I have regularly sent her WhatsApp messages and voice notes to update her on the things we would normally discuss. I also sent her Mum a copy of the book so that her family could read it and play it back to her so she could hear the impact she has had on so many.
Leaving London our in-person catch ups happened less frequently, but whenever we could squeeze in a lunch or a brunch we did. I often drove down to her flat and she would spoil me rotten, and if we met somewhere central she would often arrive giggling that I had made her come out to the sticks to see the cows and the mud. Those who know Karen will remember her for resembling a Hollywood actress as she climbed out of her nippy sports car in a glamorous faux-fur coat.
One of the last times I saw her in person I took her out for a belated lunch to celebrate her 60th birthday. She was so full of life and excited for what the future held for her. It seems so unfair at the timing of her illness, as she stood on the cusp of her 3rd quarter.
Preparing for her next chapter in life and her career she asked me to run a session for her and some of her friends on how to leverage LinkedIn to grow their network/ profile. Not that she needed help with either as Karen was a brilliant connector. This is my LinkedIn testimonial for her:
“I can still remember the first time I met Karen Giles, she glided into the NPQH room and captivated 64 aspiring Headteachers. I have had a professional crush on her ever since! If you have read the #WomenEd book 10% Braver, I wrote chapter 1 and Karen is my role model at the end of it. Making a big impression on me as a senior leader and aspiring Headteacher, Karen became my unofficial mentor and my critical friend (she didn’t have much choice in the matter!) I had coaching as a Deputy Headteacher, a Headteacher and as an Executive Headteacher but it was often Karen I would turn to in a crisis to tap into her calm wisdom. She has supported me through pivotal decisions in both my professional and personal leadership journey. I have learnt lots from her, but we have also become friends through it all. I have heard Karen speak on numerous occasions – for Ambition School Leadership, for the Leading Women’s Alliance and for Diverse Educators – what always shines through is her integrity, her resilience and her quiet determination to do the right thing by her people (her pupils/ her staff/ her community/ her network). She is a brilliant role model, a supportive mentor, a transformational coach and an inspiring leader. If you have not connected with her, then what are you waiting for? Witness her fabulousness for yourselves”.
As you read the posts of Facebook, X and LinkedIn about Karen you will really capture the essence of her character, and will be able to appreciate the impact she had on so many people. Serving her community as the Headteacher of Barham Primary School for 20+ years she leaves behind her a huge legacy. More than that she was a global thought leader advocating for the rights of children around the world to have a good education.
To remember her, I was going to send something to plant in the school garden and some books to continue her commitment to diverse representation to the school but I have instead decided to create a Just Giving Page for her. The school can then work with her family on how to memorialise her. I love the idea of creating a school peace garden, or a mural, in her name if we can raise enough funds.
Find out more and donate to our fundraiser HERE.
Dearest Karen – you epitomised sisterhood and female solidarity. I am blessed to have met you and to have had you in my life as a mentor and a friend. Go join your loved ones and be an angel looking over us all. Thank you for everything you have done for us all. You will always be my Shero. All my love, Hannah xx
