Date: 22nd February 

Title: Teaching Race & Empire in the English Classroom

Facilitator: Dr Malcolm Cocks

Description: How to develop and implement strategies for talking about race and preparing the class for material that is sensitive, charged, or that covers content that is historically under-represented in literature.

Intended audience: English and other humanities teachers.

Bio: Dr Malcolm Cocks is a cultural historian and specialist in European and African literature with a particular focus on Shakespeare and Early Modern Literature, where he is widely published. He has taught literature for several years at the University of London,  the University of the West Indies, and several secondary schools including Merchant Taylor, Highgate, Dulwich College, and St Paul’s.

Date: 7th March 2024

Title: Inclusive Marketing & Admissions

Facilitator: Aisha Sanusi

Description: This session will help schools reflect on their communications and visual representation across a range of marketing and admissions touchpoints. Taking the lens of minoritised audiences into consideration, the session will help business staff understand areas where representation (both over, under, and one-sided) may be deemed problematic to current and potential members of their communities.

Intended audience: Admissions & marketing staff.

Bio: Aisha Sanusi is the co-director of ACEN and has a background in marketing and communications, with a particular focus on communication and content strategies for organisations operating in diverse/cross-cultural spaces. In the past, she has worked with political and charitable organisations operating in the areas of race inequality/equity. Aisha sits on the education advisory board for the Black Equity Organisation and is lead D&I Governor at St Paul’s school.

Date: 14th March 2024

Title: Anti-racism is…? (EYFS & Primary)

Facilitator: Dr Enya Doyle

Description: Schools are increasingly moving away from a non-racist approach towards an anti-racist one, but many school staff are not sure what the difference is and how it should impact their approach to the classroom. Introducing key concepts and practical next steps.

Intended audience: All school staff including SLT; EYFS and primary.

Bio: Dr Enya Doyle’s unwavering commitment to driving social change has been recognised across the British Isles for almost fifteen years. Raised in Ireland and now based in London, Enya has delivered training, lectures, and workshops on inclusion and anti-harassment across the world. Enya’s doctorate explored and interrogated four key barriers to gender equity in music making and intersectionality sits at the heart of her work. Dr Doyle was previously Director of Inclusion and a Designated Safeguarding Lead in a large north London independent school.

Date: 21st March 2024

Title: Inclusive Histories for Teachers and Students

Facilitator: Dr Malcolm Cocks

Description: Engaging with inclusive histories by interrogating the historiography of British and Global history and the pedagogical practices that have shaped how we teach it.

Intended audience: History teachers, history of art teachers, other humanities teachers.

Bio: Dr Malcolm Cocks is a cultural historian and specialist in European and African literature with a particular focus on Shakespeare and Early Modern Literature, where he is widely published. He has taught literature for several years at the University of London,  the University of the West Indies, and several secondary schools including Merchant Taylor, Highgate, Dulwich College, and St Paul’s.

Date: 25th April 2024

Title: Geographies of Empire

Facilitator: Yemurai Soper-Gwatidzo

Description: This session will explore how to create an engaging, receptive and empathic scheme of work to teach to young people that embodies decolonising the curriculum, how to incorporate different narratives and perspectives using a range of resources and pedagogical approaches, and how to combine cross-curricular links within a school environment.

Intended audience: Teachers of Geography, history, religion/philosophy, politics, and economics and primary teachers with humanities specialisms.

Bio: Yemurai Soper-Gwatidzo is a former Geography teacher who has worked in mainstream schools in the Midlands and London, and later at the independent school, Dulwich College. Yemurai has a keen interest in decolonising the curriculum and is passionate about creating diverse and inclusive resources, as demonstrated by the scheme of work she created, titled Geographies of Empire.

Date: 9th May 2024

Title: Safeguarding Black and Minority Ethnic Children

Facilitator: Cleo Lawrence

Description: Understanding the barriers children from Black and minority groups face and working in partnership with families to be more inclusive.

Intended audience: All school staff especially those with pastoral, wellbeing, and safeguarding roles.

Bio: Cleo Lawrence is a qualified social worker, certified practice educator, and a trainee systemic family therapist. She is also currently the Director of Safeguarding at an Independent school, where she has bridged her experience in Children’s Social Care to develop a framework to support safeguarding conversations and thinking spaces in reflective supervision for pastoral staff

Date: 6th June 2024

Title: Safety and Belonging for Black Children within Music Education

Facilitator: Natasha Hendry

Description: Exploring the effects of a Eurocentric music curriculum on Black students, and examining the barriers and facilitators to anti-racism in the music classroom.

Intended audience: Music & Drama teachers

Bio: Natasha Hendry is currently a PhD psychology student and her research interests lie in Music Psychology, specifically education, performance and wellbeing.  Her most recent research is on Whiteness in music education in the UK: ‘Fitting in and sticking out: An Exploratory Study of the Whiteness of the School Music Curriculum and its effects on Global Majority Musicians’. Before stepping into the world of academia, Natasha worked as a vocalist in the pop music industry. Natasha frequently appears on panels to talk about diversity and music education. 

Date: 13th June 2024

Title: Inclusive Admissions

Facilitator: Aisha Sanusi

Description: This session will help schools reflect and investigate potential barriers to entry for underrepresented students in admissions processes. It will also help schools explore areas for improvement in their communications and visual representation across a range of marketing and admissions touchpoints by taking the lens of minoritised audiences into consideration.

Intended audience: Admissions staff

Bio: Aisha Sanusi is the co-director of ACEN and has a background in marketing and communications, with a particular focus on communication and content strategies for organisations operating in diverse/cross-cultural spaces. In the past, she has worked with political and charitable organisations operating in the areas of race inequality/equity. Aisha sits on the education advisory board for the Black Equity Organisation and is lead D&I Governor at St Paul’s school.

Date: 20th June 2024

Title: Cultural Competence in Schools

Facilitator: Kemi Omijeh

Description: Exploring how to gain knowledge and understanding of the differing identities, values and beliefs that exists within your organisation without assigning value judgement. Developing knowledge and skills to work from an informed position, to create opportunities for connection, belonging and psychological safety.

Intended audience: All school staff.

Bio: Kemi Omijeh is a former primary teacher and experienced children’s psychotherapist who specialises in supporting children & young people who have experienced racial trauma. She also works as a consultant and trainer within the education and mental health sector developing anti-racist practices and creating psychological safety for marginalised children.

Date: 12th September 2024

Title: Intersectionality in Schools

Facilitator: Dr Enya Doyle

Description: Bringing Crenshaw’s 1989 theory into light and into practice, this session will explore what intersectionality means, and how it plays out in schools, affects our decisions and the outcomes of the young people and the families we work with. The session will offer practical strategies as well as contextual knowledge for you to take forward.

Intended audience: School staff including SLT; EYFS, Primary and Secondary

Bio: Dr Enya Doyle’s unwavering commitment to driving social change has been recognised across the British Isles for almost fifteen years. Raised in Ireland and now based in London, Enya has delivered training, lectures, and workshops on inclusion and anti-harassment across the world. Enya’s doctorate explored and interrogated four key barriers to gender equity in music making and intersectionality sits at the heart of her work. Dr Doyle was previously Director of Inclusion and a Designated Safeguarding Lead in a large north London independent school.

Date: 26th September 2024

Title: Establishing a Sustainable & Thriving African and Caribbean Society

Facilitator: Jordan Crawford & Dr Malcolm Cocks

Description: Assisting EDI leaders and club reps to establish and curate a thriving and sustainable pupil affinity group such as an African & Caribbean Society. Providing support for teachers and EDI Leads develop the structure and design of their club or society, its rationale and ideas for structured, inclusive, stimulating spaces.

Intended audience: EDI Leads; Teacher Reps; Pupil Leaders

Bio: Jordan Sonko-Crawford is a Vice Principal at Ark Elvin Academy, with over ten years of experience working in mainstream secondary schools. He studied computer science at Oxford Brookes and began his career as a teacher of computing. For several years, Jordan dedicated himself to ensuring the schools he worked with were truly committed to becoming anti-racist, not only through building a decolonized curriculum but also leading on CPD aimed at developing the racial literacy of the school community.

Please see above for the bio of Dr Malcolm Cocks.

Date: 3rd October 2024

Title: Inclusive Histories of Art

Facilitator: Dr Malcolm Cocks

Description: Inviting reflection on why more inclusive Histories of Art are not only possible but lead to stronger understanding and better outcomes for teachers and students alike. Equipping teachers with the knowledge, confidence, and resources to revitalise their teaching of Art History and to teach new artworks or familiar artworks or periods in exciting new ways.

Intended audience: History of Art teachers, Art teachers; History teachers and other Humanities teachers.

Bio: Dr Malcolm Cocks is a cultural historian and specialist in European and African Literatures with a particular focus on Shakespeare and Early Modern Literature, where he is widely published.. He has taught literature for several years at the University of London,  the University of the West Indies, and  several secondary schools including Merchant Taylor, Highgate, Dulwich College, and St Paul’s.

Date: 7th Nov 2024

Title: Inclusive Recruitment and Progression

Facilitator: Nicola Hurley

Description:  This session will highlight best inclusive practice for school recruitment and progression by helping schools reflect on the processes and barriers that minoritised teachers express as restrictive to achieving their entry and ascension to senior leadership.

Intended audience: Heads, SMT members, HR staff responsible for recruitment, line managers, responsible for progression.

Bio: Nicola Hurley Assoc CIPD is the Founder and Director of Holistic HR and Impact Services (HHIS). Nicola has headed up HR teams for over 8 years with a focus on anti-racism and EDI. Nicola is the safeguarding lead for a social justice charity, executive coach, and the Head of HR at the Black Equity Organisation.