Part 1: Valuable lessons from leaders of diverse education

#DiverseEd summer conference

At Lyfta, the notion of humanising diversity has always been central to our mission. We want to give teachers a portal to transport their students to a world beyond their immediate environment so that they can engage with the lived experience of their fellow citizens to build a more compassionate world.

We found it fascinating to hear a number of valuable perspectives and practical ideas about how we might lessen the diversity gap in education and we are delighted to share some of these in this two-part blog series.

You can watch the full playback of the conference here, but we've also included shorter playbacks from each leader that we have quoted.

Landscape: what is diversity in the modern world, what does it mean and what should it look like?

#DiverseEd summer conference

Lesson 1: be deliberately different

Allana Gay - Headmistress & co-founder of #BAMEed

"Pick someone that doesn't fit the mould and pick someone whose history and background tells you that they've fought for everything that they got, because they're the people that are resilient. They're the people who have the experience and they're the ones who are able to help the rest of your board drive and see change. So be deliberate in picking someone who is different."

Playback here.

Lesson 2: don't assume

Elizabeth Wright- Paralympic medalist, disability campaigner, keynote speaker, writer and consultant

"Looking specifically at disability, there are so many assumptions made about what you can and can't do, and actually, disabled people are the people that know their bodies and their minds the best. So don't make assumptions about people's abilities. Just talk to them and discuss with them regarding what reasonable adjustments can be made to support them in being able to achieve that."

Playback here.

Lesson 3: check your bias

Alison Kriel - Educational and leadership consultant, CEO and founder of AMAYA TRUST, CEO and founder of Above and Beyond

"We all have them. We tend to appoint people who look like us, but by staying in your comfort zone, it limits you. It actually makes you a really bad leader, because you're also limiting your entire community. We know there is lots of research that shows the more diverse your team, the more successful you'll be. So if you want to lead a highly successful school, and you want those children to be the best humans, the best global citizens, then have a diverse team so that together, you can lead the school to even greater success."

Playback here.

Lesson 4: implement true representation

Daniel Tomlinson-Gray - Co-founder and director at LGBTed

"Don't say that you represent your community and that you're an inclusive school if your headship team can't even do that. Please, be more thoughtful in your appointments and don't be put off when someone comes to talk about the work they've done in the LGBT field or in the BAME field and think it might challenge your status quo or your sense of privilege. Embrace those people and make us feel welcome in your schools."

Playback here.

Curriculum: what can we do that's more meaningful in our schools to raise awareness and to educate the young people who will be the leaders of tomorrow?

#DiverseEd summer conference

Lesson 5: usualise diverse experiences

Bennie Kara - Deputy headteacher and author of 'A Guide for Teachers: Diversity in Schools'

"The term (usualise) is very much about making sure that it's not just a bolt-on to your curriculum, but that it's a fundamental part of what we teach and part of the daily diet of student experience and knowledge. This is so that you don't learn about other cultures through the lens of exceptionalism, you learn it through daily interactions with [race, disability and sexuality]. There's space for our curriculum to look at that, as well as usualise those experiences so that people aren't afraid of what's different."

Playback here.

Lesson 6: amplify choice, voice and agency

Mark Pritchard - Headteacher and fellow

"I think leaders in our schools need to prioritize diversity of experiences to develop young people. They need to develop their self-esteem, their emotional intelligence and their self-confidence, but rooted in real experiences that grow not just knowledge, but also agency, values, leadership and understanding. I think this is how we will equip the next generation to disrupt the power imbalances that exist in our society and claim the world and the opportunities that should be theirs."

Playback here.

Lesson 7: humanise diversity through lived experiences

Serdar Ferit - Co-CEO and creative director at Lyfta

"The more people we meet, the more diversity we see through lived experiences, the more usualised diversity will become. That is essentially what we are doing with Lyfta. Lyfta invites children into the lives of people from around the world. It's digital, you can explore it in 360-degrees, you can click on various things to understand that context better, and very importantly, you can click on at least one human being in that space. When you click on the human being, they come to life and it becomes a short documentary film."

Playback here.

Lesson 8: implement an ethical curriculum

Kate Smith- Co-headteacher

"You've got to nurture your team, you've got to develop a team that are really passionate about teaching these issues. They are the talent on the ground floor, they're the ones that are weaving the magic with the children, and no amount of beautiful planning will help if you haven't got staff that are passionate about ethical issues."

Playback here.

This is the first part in our two-part blog post series on valuable lessons from leaders of diverse education. Stay tuned for our second blog post which will be published soon.

A big thank you to Hannah Wilson for arranging such an incredible event, and thank you for asking Lyfta to be a part of it!

By Arazoo Kadir, Marketing Manager at Lyfta

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