Should schools provide prayer spaces?
Written by Zahara Chowdhury
Zahara is founder and editor of the blog and podcast, School Should Be, a platform that explores a range of topics helping students, teachers and parents on how to ‘adult well’, together. She is a DEI lead across 2 secondary schools and advises schools on how to create positive and progressive cultures for staff and students. Zahara is a previous Head of English, Associate Senior Leader and Education and Wellbeing Consultant.
The recent High Court decision, ruling in favour of headteacher Birbalsingh’s decision to ban prayer spaces has created quite the media storm. The decision has raised concerns about the precedent it sets for schools creating safe spaces for students and staff, Muslim students and staff in particular. It has also raised conversations about what schools are for and how schools and workplaces can fulfill their obligation to adhere to the Equality Act and The Public Sector Equality Duty – and how they can get around it too.
The responses to the verdict reveal that we live in a society and online world in which Islamophobia and anti-Muslim hate is increasing; whilst we have ‘come a long way’ in overcoming Islamophobia since 9/11, a high court ruling like this makes me wonder if we’ve made any difference at all to the safety of Muslims for future generations? The verdict also reveals the disconnect that exists within the school system itself: we have some leaders who are not interested in creating unity and understanding within a diverse country – yet at the same time they ‘tokenistically’ take pride in multiculturalism too. And, we have other leaders in education giving us hope, embedding inclusive and equitable practices in everyday school life. I find it baffling that a simple question about prayer spaces ends up at the gates of a High Court. To me, this not only reveals a lack of unity and understanding in a school but also an absence of a critical skill that should be at the centre of schooling: listening.
Many educators and commentators have been sharing their concerns and outrage about the decision. It will also concern parents and students who regularly use prayer spaces in schools, maybe even at work (many teachers use prayer spaces too). It’s a disappointing decision and whilst several anti-woke keyboard warriors rejoice at the ruling, we cannot let it set a precedent for schools – and I don’t think it will. Schools absolutely should provide prayer spaces and they will continue to provide such safe spaces for students – it’s quite simply common sense. For this blog, examples and explanations are practical and experiential, based on what life is like ‘in school’. Whilst research and data are important, progress, collaboration and community cohesion are also nurtured by listening to the candid, lived experiences of staff and students in schools.
Time and space to pray
In line with the Equality Act, allowing students and staff to pray is reasonable and proportionate to a school and working day. It is comparable to allowing students to have break times, music lessons and god-forbid, toilet breaks. Different forms of prayer and spiritual practice are a part of nearly every faith. In Islam, praying 5 times a day is an integral part of the faith. It takes 5-10 minutes to pray. For the duration of that time, a prayer mat takes up just as much space as a two-seater desk. Depending on the time of year, prayer usually fits into a lunchtime. Just as schools host extracurricular clubs, music lessons sports fixtures and more, prayer can usually fit into this time too. It is not a big ask and it is not disruptive.
Some schools may have a designated prayer room, which is great. Other schools may allocate a classroom, usually near a space where a teacher is ‘on duty’ anyway; the last time I checked, prayer doesn’t require back flips, cartwheels or balancing on one’s head…the health and safety risks are fairly manageable. Some schools might even say, ‘if you need to pray and you have what you need with you (prayer mat, head covering, beads, holy book etc…), feel free to use a designated safe space. It does not need to be complicated.
Prayer spaces are not the problem
To blame prayer and collective worship for peer pressure and bullying is deflecting from the real problem. If children start praying as a result of seeing others pray, or if they simply observe with questions and curiosity, why is this such a problem? If they find it to be a positive experience, surely that can only be a positive learning experience. If the opposite happens, it’s not necessarily a problem either. Rather, it’s a teachable moment and reveals hostile attitudes any school should be aware of. Knowledge about the prejudices within our communities is the first step to safeguarding young people in education. ‘Cancelling’ or banning prayer spaces is not.
‘Banning’ or ‘cancelling’ (on and offline) doesn’t work. It is a power-based behaviour management tool fuelling a notion that education is based on ‘controlling the masses’. We all learn through conversation, discussion, listening, knowledge, understanding, boundaries and respect, not necessarily in that order. By no means are any of the latter ‘easy’ to achieve, but from working with teenagers I’ve found they’re open to a heated debate, discussion, learning, understanding and compromise.
School is a place of work and I’m not sure why we expect teenagers to just abide by ‘yes and no’ rules with little to no explanation. Plus, if they find a reasonable solution (like praying in a classroom for 10 minutes at lunchtime), what’s the big deal? Secondary school students are a few years away from further education and the workplace, which we all know thrives on innovation, creativity and autonomy. In this case, a blanket prayer ban in a school (their current place of work) completely contradicts the 21st century workplace they will inhabit. It doesn’t make sense.
‘It’s inconvenient: we don’t have time to police prayer spaces’
Like any theory of change, whether that be introducing a mobile phone policy or changes to a uniform policy, navigating any arising teething issues (by students, parents and the community), takes time and flexibility. None of this is impossible if it is built firmly into the school culture, relevant processes and policies. These policies and processes may be safeguarding, anti-bullying, behaviour management and curriculum. All of the above are part of a teacher’s and a school’s day-to-day functions; navigating prayer spaces is no different to introducing a new club or curriculum change. Plus, we somehow managed bubbles and one-way systems post-lockdown…I think schools are pretty well equipped to create a prayer space for all of a matter of minutes in a day!
Prayer is not ‘an add on’
Faith is observed differently, from person to person. It is a way of life, and an ongoing lived experience; for some it is an integral part of their identity and for others it is their identity. Prayer is a major part of several religious practices. Like some people are vegan and vegetarian, prayer is not just a choice and something to switch on and off – it is an intrinsic part of an individual’s life. Some individuals, as far as they possibly can, plan their days, weeks, holidays and more around prayer. Not only is it a religious obligation, it is also a source of wellbeing and peace. In a time where health and wellbeing are paramount in education, denying prayer spaces seems counterintuitive. Enabling some form of space (like we do options on a menu) for individuals to pray is a minimal request and something schools can do with minimal disruption. However, if cracks in the system are revealed and outrage spills online and at the High Court, there are bigger questions and concerns to address.
Schools don’t need to be ‘impossible’ or difficult spaces – and they shouldn’t be made out to be like this either. One high court ruling does not define the state of schooling in the UK. I have too much respect and experience (or maybe good fortune) of working in schools that enable, or at the very least, welcome conversations around inclusion, safety, flexibility and authenticity. None of the latter disrupts mainstream education and a student’s chances of attaining a grade 9. However, many other things do and those are inequitable opportunities, ‘belonging uncertainty’ (Cohen, 2022) and denying the identities of the young people we teach.
Why are we still denying part time and flexible working to those in leadership roles?
Written by Maz Foucher
Maz is Regional Representative for the MTPT Project in Devon and a former Assistant Headteacher and KS2 lead, based in Devon. Having juggled full time teaching, school leadership and parenting, she has a great understanding of the challenges faced by those with a young family. After moving on from school-based roles, Maz studied for an MA in Education Leadership specifically researching teacher retention, and now works in education publishing.
While researching teacher wellbeing and retention, I have often come across the suggestion that working part time or flexibly aids both the wellbeing and retention of staff. However, I have also found that this is still not an option available to many of those working at a leadership level, so let’s look at the facts.
24% of employees in the UK work part time and these are primarily women (ONS, 2022). This is echoed within the teaching profession, also at 24% (School Workforce Census, 2022). However, while the education profession is predominantly female, fewer women work part time in education (29% – School Workforce Census, 2022) compared to the overall UK labour market (36% – ONS, 2022). Additionally, when compared to different age ranges and genders, it is most likely that those working part time are women between the ages of 30 – 39 (ONS, 2022) This coincides with the age where many women start a family, and this is also the demographic most likely to leave teaching entirely (DfE, 2022).
If we look more closely at the 24% of teachers working part time, when this is broken down by role we can see that:
- 26% of class teachers work part time
- 11% of deputy heads work part time
- 6% of headteachers work part time.
(School Workforce Census, 2022).
It is clear from these statistics that, of the women in education who are working part time, the vast majority of these are not doing so at a senior leadership level. This could mean that they have decided for themselves that leadership is incompatible with part time working and parenthood. However, these statistics could also indicate that these women are not being encouraged, supported or allowed to work in senior leader roles part time. Indeed, despite ongoing headlines about the benefits of flexible and part time work, there are many schools and trusts who persist with a policy of no flex/part time at leadership level.
It could be said that it is preferable for leaders to work full time. The need for leaders to be present to deal with staffing, behaviour and safeguarding issues is a very real and relevant argument. From my own experience, I know that when headteachers and senior leaders are not present, it can lead to additional pressures on those within middle leadership roles. In a profession where 78% of school staff are experiencing stress (Teacher Wellbeing Index, 2023), it could be argued that exposing staff to additional pressures that they are not paid/contracted to handle is counterproductive.
Additionally, employers are within their rights to deny flexi and part-time working requests if they can prove that these will hinder business outcomes. In the case of education, I have heard arguments that part time leadership can impact on the smooth running of the school, its pupil outcomes, Ofsted ratings and pupil numbers, especially if parents consider leadership to be inconsistent and therefore chaotic.
However, there are also many positives to having leaders work flexibly or part time. And given that women, particularly those in the 30-39 bracket, are most likely to request this sort of contract, the all-too-common policy of no flex/part time options at a leadership level could also be seen to be seriously disadvantaging aspirational women in education, forcing them to choose between their family and their career. Is not uncommon to see female education leaders step back from these roles, leave teaching entirely or indeed find themselves demoted, when family commitments require them to reduce their hours at work.
The first question this raises is how valued these women feel within the workplace when their experience and expertise is suddenly overlooked once they become a mother and are no longer available for full time hours. I’ve heard this described as ‘Your skills are only valued if you’re there full time.’ I know many who suddenly feel like their level of competence or their commitment to their school is in question, made to feel like a burden on their workplace, that they are workshy or lazy if they can’t work in the same way that they could before motherhood. This additional pressure could be a catalyst for why these women often end up leaving education entirely. While there are many inspirational female teacher-parents who are forging the way forwards in leadership roles, it is clear from the data that very few mothers are finding that the workload, the pressure, their school’s policies and their own family set-up are allowing them to do this full time.
With all this in mind, if we also consider the persistently huge gender pay in education – the third worst across all sectors at 20.4% (BBC, 2023) – alongside the knowledge that women who are mothers are the demographic who are most likely to ask for part time work, we can begin to see how the policies which do not allow part time and flexi working at a leadership level are in fact indirectly discriminatory towards women. When we know that it is illegal to discriminate against the protected characteristics of sex and maternity/pregnancy (Equality Act, 2010), it begs the question as to how long it will be before cases of this nature end up in court?
Personally, I have often said that the teaching profession is full of intelligent and creative people who should be open and willing to rethink how we organise the workforce. Retention is always a better and cheaper option in the long run than recruiting and retraining new staff. In a teacher retention crisis, where we desperately need our experienced teachers to remain in the workforce to support and mentor the new teachers we require, we must celebrate and share examples of where flexible or part time working at a leadership level is proving to be a successful strategy for retention. There are many schools and trusts out there who are able to retain aspirational women at all levels of the profession when they become mothers by supporting them to work PT or flexibly. Imagine a world in which a mother returns to the profession with the conviction that they are still a very valued and an integral part of the workforce, even if they can only commit to part time work? Isn’t this better than losing them from the profession entirely?
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.
A Class Apart
Written by Dr Teresa Crew
Dr Teresa Crew SFHEA is a Senior Lecturer in Social Policy with research interests relating to various social inequalities. More specifically Dr Crew's research explores the barriers faced by working class people in education. She is the author of the book "Higher Education and Working Class Academics: Precarity and Diversity in Academia" (Palgrave Macmillan, 2020) which examined the experiences of working class academics. Her second book, “The Intersections of a Working Class Academic Identity. A Class Apart”, will be published by Emerald in July 2024.
The echo of footsteps resonating through university hallways often carries with it a narrative of unearned advantage. This is in stark contrast to the uphill climb some have faced just to set foot on these grounds. For many working class academics (WCAs) like myself, each step reflects complex feelings of taking pride in rising above class constraints combined with a persistent sense of unease that we do not fully belong within these elite spaces. Far from being unique, this reveals that despite loud diversity rhetoric, quiet biases continue obstructing the WCA experience.
My extensive research incorporating over 250 interviews and surveys WCAs across the UK over the past 5 years reveals systemic barriers continue to make academia an inhospitable environment for many scholars from disadvantaged backgrounds. Nearly 75% faced ingrained classism subtly woven through campus culture via small slights eroding confidence in belonging. These obstacles are likely deterring talented potential working class scholars from pursuing academic careers.
Classist microaggressions served as the ever present undercurrent with manifestations ranging from derogatory comments questioning their credentials and mocking regional accents. Women endured layered inequities – both gender and class biases. Unpaid service tasks consumed valuable time otherwise dedicated to scholarly writing necessary for advancement, reflecting embedded biases limiting their mobility. Ethnic minority WCAs encountered underrepresentation and racialised stereotypes that questioned their intellectual capacity, coupled with the assumption that their presence was simply a result of diversity initiatives rather than merit.
My research also exposed profound institutional fractures at the intersection of class and disability. Participants recounted struggles to obtain reasonable adjustments. This disregard for individual needs was particularly harmful for those reliant on precarious incomes, as the absence of family wealth amplifies their vulnerability.
Our lived experiences offer a crucial counterpoint highlighting how WCAs display remarkable resilience, strong “aspirational capital” and determination. WCAs typically serve as mentors, role models, and support systems for many marginalised students. We offer innovative teaching methods and curricular interventions aimed at uplifting excluded voices and dismantling entrenched hierarchies. These interventions, informed by lived experiences at the margins, adds unique depth and insight to WCA scholarship, making us invaluable assets that enrich the tapestry of academic discourse.
Despite our remarkable resilience and talent, WCAs often find their potential curtailed rather than nurtured. Hiring discrimination, promotion bias, and precarious employment create significant hurdles, constructing invisible yet potent barriers to curtail our career advancement. Overburdened workloads and the absence of tailored support networks further exacerbate these challenges, creating a “chilly climate” within academia that often discourages many WCAs from reaching their full potential.
We must actively dismantle these barriers by challenging entrenched structures and disrupting the harmful effects of classist practices that erode individual aspirations and stifle working class potential. This demands bold, systemic change.
Key areas of action include:
- #MakeIt10. To create real equal opportunities, we must end unfair treatment based on an individual’s social class background and add social class as a protected characteristic in the Equality Act 2010
- WCAs need stable employment with living wages, enforceable rights, and consistent hours.
- Targeted career development programmes and mentoring specifically for WCAs.
These strategic interventions, informed by the powerful narratives of WCAs navigating the system, hold the key to unlocking the transformative potential of an inclusive academia. Only then can we ensure that knowledge and empowerment reach all corners of society, shaping a future where the collective brilliance of diverse minds, regardless of background, can truly flourish.
Open doors, Unequivocal mirrors, Pellucid windows
Written by Utha Vallade
Monday to Friday, Utha is an Associate Assistant Principal, leading on Raising Standards, Assessment and Reporting in an inner London secondary school. On Saturdays, she works as the co-headteacher of an all-through Saturday supplementary school. Passionate about supporting other educators on their leadership journey, in her not so spare time, Utha contributes to Step Up Network and leads on Partnerships, Diversity, Equality. Inclusion and Belonging.
As a dedicated senior leader working in a comprehensive, inner London secondary school, my journey in leadership has been defined by a commitment to continuous personal growth and professional development. Recently, I had the unique opportunity to shadow a headteacher working in a different school setting. My objective was to immerse myself in the daily responsibilities and challenges of leading a school and this experience offered me invaluable insights into the complexities and rewards of headship.
From the outset, I was fully welcomed into the smaller, rural school. The warmth and hospitality extended to me were a testament to the nurturing culture fostered by the headteacher. Throughout the week, I eagerly absorbed every leadership lesson and insight, recognising that the school’s environment and culture mirrored its authentic leadership.
What struck me most was the genuine care and respect evident in every interaction between teachers and students. Empowerment permeated the atmosphere, with students demonstrating remarkable personal growth and development under the guidance of supportive educators. Similarly, teachers and middle leaders flourished rapidly in their respective areas of responsibility and beyond. Witnessing these examples of student empowerment and staff development reaffirmed my belief in the transformative power of effective school leadership.
A key takeaway from this experience was the importance of being unapologetically caring and ambitious for all members of the school community. Every interaction, whether with students or staff, should be guided by a genuine desire to support and uplift others in the pursuit of academic outcomes and personal growth. The school I shadowed exemplified this ethos effortlessly, with caring and respecting others ingrained in its culture.
What impressed me the most was that this culture of care and respect was internalised by the school community. It was evident in the way students looked out for one another and how staff went above and beyond to support their students’ growth and well-being.
Moreover, the involvement of parents in the school’s daily life was inspiring. I saw examples of parents coming together to rebuild a fence to allow the play area around the pond to meet health and safety criteria. Another parent spearheaded a world-wide courageous advocacy programme which led students to bring conflict resolution and economic solutions to the local and wider school community. Whether rebuilding a fence or spearheading global advocacy programs, parents undoubtedly played a vital role in enhancing the school community. As an aspiring headteacher, I relish the opportunity to create an environment where everyone can flourish and thrive and for the students under my care to have a positive impact on our local and wider community. Therefore, witnessing these examples reinforced my commitment to foster positive impact in my school.
While the school environment was incredibly welcoming and nurturing, it was not without its challenges: uniform infringements, behaviour referrals and parental disagreements were part of daily school life which I have also observed in other educational settings. However, to me, the most striking difference was the timing of detentions and extracurricular activities. Due to its location in a rural town and its size (around 500 students), a significant number of students travelled to the school via coach. This meant that the school day revolved around the coaches’ departure times. As a result, detentions and clubs, including rehearsals for the school production or student-led assemblies had to run at lunch time rather than after school like in most London schools. All these challenges simply reminded me that the role of a headteacher carries immense responsibility and requires equally immense resilience and tremendous adaptability to the specific context of the school.
In conclusion, my week shadowing a headteacher was an insightful experience that reaffirmed my commitment to headship. It underscored the profound impact a caring and ambitious leader can have on a school community. As I continue my leadership journey, I will apply the lessons learned and strive to continue to make a meaningful difference in the lives of students and teachers alike.
Meaningful wellbeing coaching for ITT
Written by Amy Sayer
Amy Sayer is an associate, consultant, mental health trainer and content writer. She is a Leading Diversity advisor for the Chartered College of Teaching. She is the author of the book ‘Supporting staff mental health in your school’.
When I was first training to teach in 2007, I wanted to impress everyone by working ridiculously long hours, volunteering to write new schemes of learning and exhausted my body to the point that by the first week of December I had a horrible chest infection and was in bed for four weeks recovering. I struggled with boundaries and putting time aside for my self-care and time to rest. If I hadn’t had a supportive mentor who role-modelled a healthy work-life balance, I might have pushed myself to the point of being too ill to qualify at all! When I have mentored trainee teachers myself, I made a conscious effort to make time to talk about their hobbies and life outside of school. I didn’t create impossible deadlines which would compromise their wellbeing. Looking at the latest teacher retention figures, 33% of Early Careers Teachers leave within five years of teaching and there is a clear moral duty for ITT providers to explicitly talk to their trainee about supporting their mental health and wellbeing so that they can stay teaching for as long as possible.
I was approached by the ITT Strategic Lead Georgina Crooks from HISP Teaching School Hub to create a wellbeing programme to support her ITT students. Based on the feedback from her trainees about their worries, I wrote a session to be delivered to the whole cohort which presented them with a wellbeing toolkit for them to use to support their wellbeing during their first placement. As a follow-up to this session, I was able to offer virtual one-to-one coaching sessions to trainees who signed up to create a bespoke wellbeing plan to support their wellbeing. When the trainees started their shorter second placement at a different school, I delivered a second input session to the whole cohort which focused on the importance of rest, managing workload and time to reflect on any amendments to their wellbeing which might need implementing. The session finishes by talking them through mental health and wellbeing tips for looking for their first schools. After this session, the trainees had a chance to book a follow-up one-to-one session with me, or an initial session to create a wellbeing plan.
It has been a real privilege to work with the trainees and to hear their journeys into starting teacher training. The amount of adversity that some of the trainees have experienced, and the wealth of experiences that they will bring to their teaching has been truly inspiring to hear. So many have previously struggled with their mental health in a range of ways, and are brave enough to be honest about this so that the best support can be put into place for them in their schools. They have been able to create wellbeing plans which work around their commitments and carve out moments of joy and rest to ensure that they can be in the profession for as long as possible in a way that works for them and meets their individual wellbeing needs.
The workload of the trainee year can be so vigorous and demanding, that sometimes they really value having a space to share their story. The sudden amount of change which occurs when going to a second placement can be really tricky to manage in a world coming out of a pandemic. Their ability to meet new students, form new relationships with new colleagues, travel to a new location (sometimes via hovercraft!) and learn new schemes of work is truly impressive and having the support of an optional one-to-one coaching session to talk things through in a confidential and safe space has proven to be an important part of planning joyful and regular wellbeing into their schedules.
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ADHD Heads: How can we utilise neurodiversity in shaping the future of schools?
Written by Nadia Hewstone
Nadia is a certified executive school leadership coach. She left headship to start Destino Coaching and now supports school leaders with their own development as well as development of their teams.
Below is what I shared at the ‘Breaking the Mould 2’ in Cambridge for #IWD2024. I would love to hear from you with your thoughts and reflections on the themes I explore:
I am Nadia, founder of Destino Coaching – an organisation that supports Headteachers to remain strategic while tackling the enormous amount of operational challenges in schools.
I want headteachers to increase their influence over policy.
Usually, I’m invited to speak about ways to stay on track with your big goals in headship. Over many years I have developed several planning strategies to help me stay focussed and on track. The main principles are now tools I teach the headteachers I work with.
Looking back over my career I see that I became hyper focussed on finding ways to overcome the challenges I faced associated with being neurodivergent. This is what I want to explore with you today.
Over the next 10 minutes, I want to make a case for the need for neurodivergent leaders in schools as one of the key ways we will address the multiple systemwide issues schools are now facing.
- My story
Like many parents of neurodivergent children, I started to look at some of my own behaviours through the lens of my developing understanding of autism and ADHD about 10 years ago, when I was a headteacher. Both of my children have autism and ADHD and my own assessment of ADHD raised a question about potential ASD too – I have yet to find the time and space to investigate this but I have ADHD and while I am just one person with ADHD, I have now worked with many neurodivergent headteachers and have thought long and hard about what we bring to schools as a group.
As a woman with ADHD I face several struggles and I also experience a freedom I believe is unique to neurodivergent women. Here are some things about me that can appear strange to others:
- I stand up for meetings or regularly leave my seat if I am required to be seated.
- I often put tasks off until the last minute
- I find it difficult to follow people when they give long explanations or instructions. I can appear to be bored – and often I am!
- I have to try very hard not to finish other people’s sentences and speak over them in an attempt to speed them up
- I have to work extremely hard at relaxing and being calm – even though I know it is essential to my well-being
- I need others around me to attend to details as I find detail painfully difficult and race forward
- I break rules – especially when they don’t make sense to me
- I do not proofread my documents
The first time I went on a road trip with my deputy Steff, we stopped at a service station and her standout memory of this day was me getting out of the car before she’d finished parking. She still laughs at this memory now. While I see the funny side I also stand by the decision to do this – she is a stickler for doing things correctly, accurately, by the book – I am not. I saw an opportunity to get our Starbucks order in while she finished her perfect bay parking exercise – therefore cutting down lost time.
Steff and I were a match made in heaven! She was accepting of my pace and challenging about my shortcomings – she gave me space to lead my way and facilitated my growth through her attention to detail. I will love her for this forever.
Now that I recognise many of my behaviours as part of my ADHD, I am learning to work with them, quieten my inner critic and communicate more effectively so that others do not take offense.
As a headteacher, I implemented change very quickly and my high energy meant I took my team with me – they told me I was full of purpose and great fun to work with. I also disregarded things I saw as unnecessary restrictions. This was sometimes significantly risky but meant we cut through challenges and achieved things more quickly.
I’ll leave it up to you to imagine the downsides of all this for my school business manager!
I have had 12 female coaching clients over the past 5 years who have a diagnosis of ADHD and all of them report frustration with the restrictions placed on them by the education system.
Neurotypical heads undoubtedly experience this too – the difference is that people with ADHD view this as intensely impossible to work around.
Coaching women with ADHD is generally focussed on how to achieve their massive, exciting, propositus goals despite external barriers such as Ofsted, the National Curriculum and prescriptive working practices. Mostly they are successful once we work out how to embrace the difference.
People with ADHD are 60% more likely to be dismissed from a job, and three times more likely to quit a job impulsively (Barkley, 2008). This is a great loss to society and I hope we can reverse this in schools so that we can secure a way forward that serves young people.
2. Broken system – needs radical change
If you work in a school, I don’t need to tell you the system is broken:
- A widening gap between rich and poor educational outcomes
- Fewer resources
- Greater mental health needs in our young people
- Fewer services to support children and families
I believe that we need a different type of school leadership, a different kind of teacher.
Teachers and leaders are still trapped by the exam treadmill, still unable to have in-depth curriculum discussions or spend proper time collaborating.
Imagine if we flipped the story and leaders and teachers were designing the curriculum, to better match modern societal needs with an intelligent approach to assessment alongside it.
I suggest that neurodivergent thinking is a great way to flip any story.
3. Creative thinking
Take impulsivity, one of the main symptoms of ADHD. The studies suggest it might lead people to have more original ideas. That’s because people with ADHD often lack inner inhibition. This means they have trouble holding back when they want to say or do something.
Many of my neurodivergent clients have found a new voice and new priorities, including giving attention to staff wellbeing and rethinking the micro-management that characterises so many schools. But achieving this small-scale will not have the impact we need it to have and they often do this at the cost of risking their career.
Women with ADHD, in my experience, tend not to fear the truth and make brilliant cases for what new approaches might look like when systems are broken. More importantly, they often have the drive to see it through. This can appear radical, stubborn even, but for us it’s just about doing what makes sense.
In my book, the Unhappy Headteacher, I explore ways we can still have influence and find joy in the role – because I believe we can. I also believe the system needs drastic change with an uncompromising model of implementation. To me, it is clear that neurodivergent women have a valuable part to play in this.
And gender does matter here. According to Association for Adult ADHD (AAD) men with ADHD are likely to develop aggressive and defensive behaviours in response to being misunderstood, Whereas women with ADHD are more likely to mask and experience self-doubt. This self-doubt can be a gift in headship as with support, it is the place where growth and empowerment can be found.
What all adults with ADHD do have in common, in my experience is inner steel. We find EVERYTHING hard and to find fulfillment and do the stuff that lights us up – like pursuing excellence for a school – we have to accept that we will face tremendous amounts of challenge. Mostly because others often misunderstand our intentions. We share a bounce-backability that is unique to neurodivergent leaders and has prepared us well for the current state of affairs. When everything is hard anyway, dealing with the funding crisis seems surmountable somehow – leaders with ADHD believe there is a way to do the impossible, we just need to find it and we know we can
4. Representation
And let’s not forget the importance of representation in all of this. I have a client who has a diagnosis for autism and fears being open about this with her seniors because of her perceived risk of not being considered for promotion. This saddens me when I think about how far we still have to go in exposing our students to the talent and capability of people with ADHD. Our young people deserve to see examples of adults like them leading schools successfully yet as a culture we still shy away from celebrating the gifts of ADHD – these ‘gifts’ scare us rather than inspire us – what message does that give our young people with ADHD and what potential are we stunting?
Neurodivergent students need opportunities to learn ways to manage the challenges associated with serial rushing and extreme procrastination – what better way to do this than having high-performing leaders with ADHD modelling this around them.
My son has an EHCP and was recently interviewed by an Ofsted inspector in his college who asked him why he thought he’d been so successful at 6th Form, after performing below average at all other stop-off points. Lucas cited the single most important factor as being taught by a maths teacher who is autistic and comfortable with it. Could it be true that to become a mathematician, Lucas needed to see someone like him in the role first? And if so, what does this say about representation among our teachers and leaders in schools?
So how can we utilise neurodiversity in shaping the future of schools?
- Create a climate where neurodivergent school leaders feel free to be unapologetically themselves
- Celebrate neurodiversity in schools and society
- Recognise behaviours associated with ADHD and get excited about them as a sign that creative thinking is taking place
- Follow women with ADHD – they have survival mechanism we need right now in schools
'Coaches Like Us': You Have to See It To Be It
Written by Hannah Wilson
Founder of Diverse Educators
‘You have to see it to be it,’ the quote from Billy Jean King, is a phrase we hear used a lot to challenge the lack of visible role models in society but also in our profession.
It is widely agreed that diverse representation is needed in every layer of the school system.
Our trust boards and governing bodies, our CEOs and Headteachers, our Senior Leader Teams are all people spaces that need diversifying. Alongside reviewing representation in our curriculum and in our libraries, for our learners, we also need to review it for our staff. (This is why we host a #DiverseEd World Book Day event each year to amplify authors from our network).
There is a lot of continuing work to be done to disrupt, to dismantle, to diversify these different spaces and to review who gets to occupy them.
But there are other educational spaces for us to also review:
- Who recruits, develops and mentors our trainee teachers?
- Who recruits, develops and mentors our early career teachers?
- Who recruits, develops and mentors our aspiring leaders?
- Who recruits, develops and coaches our existing leaders?
When you review these spaces you will often find a homogenous team, a team who mainly hold majority identities.
So how are the trainers, the mentors and the coaches being trained to become conscious of their own identity, to become confident in addressing their own privilege and to become confident in disrupting bias in the many forms through which it can manifest?
How trauma-informed are the trainers, the mentors and the coaches in supporting individuals who have experienced identity-based harm?
The Church of England Foundation for Educational Leadership launched a brilliant pipeline programme to nurture leaders from a global majority background called Leaders Like Us a couple of years ago, in partnership with Aspiring Heads and the Institute for Educational & Social Equity. This programme is a gamechanger for our education system and our future workforce.
So let’s all consider what Trainers… Mentors… Coaches … ‘Like Us’ would look like.
If we put a spotlight on ‘Coaches Like Us’ as a school, college, trust, SCITT, Teaching School Hub and localities we need to ask ourselves:
- Who gets to be coached?
- Who gets to be The Coach?
- Who gets invested in?
- Who gets nurtured to flourish?
- Who gets supported to progress?
And most importantly, do people get to choose their coach? Or what has become a common phenomenon – does a coach get chosen for them?
Coaching is about creating a safe space. About having a confidential conversation. About exploring how one is feeling. About being vulnerable and open. If your coach is your line manager or someone you work closely with – someone who might appraise your performance or sit on a promotion panel – we are in muddy waters.
What difference would it make for an aspiring leader to self-select a coach who resonates with them? A coach who shares their identity? A coach who has walked their walk?
Some final thoughts:
- How might being coached or becoming a coach help diverse educators stay in the system?
- How might being coached or becoming a coach help diverse leaders climb up the leadership ladder?
- How might being coached or becoming a coach help us tackle the glass ceiling and the concrete ceiling in the education system?
To help our clients, who have asked for our support in diversifying their coaching pools, we have created a #DiverseEd Coaching Directory:
- You can find 25+ coaching profiles here.
- You can meet our coaches through our video gallery here.
- Get in touch if you are a coach who would like to be added or if you are looking for a coach and would like to be connected here.
So You’re the Coachee
Written by Dwight Weir
Dwight is a Deputy Headteacher and Life Coach. He is also an inspector for British Schools Overseas. Dwight has a passion for coaching and leadership development.
Oftentimes we hear about the coach and the skills required to be an effective coach. Not much is said about the coachee – the other very important one in the relationship. The coachee, is a person who receives training from a coach. My learnings from various coaching experiences as a coachee have allowed me to craft certain skills and attitudes which I share as the skills or attitude needed by coachees.
- You answer your own questions. In answering your own questions, you are often engaged in a radical thinking process, examining your challenge and context and then finding the best way through the challenge. The thinking environment is a philosophy of communication developed by Kline (2009), which enables people to think for themselves and think better together. It is a simple, rigorous and radical set of processes. Coaches don’t answer your questions but provide you with the means to think through and find answers yourself.
- You take more risks – It is through risk taking that you know if your ideas will work. On the journey to success – radical decisions are made. You make these decisions as you know you’ll be able to reflect and discuss your thought process with the experienced other – the coach.
- You become more reflective – a great amount of the discussions with the coach is reflective. Researchers such as Muir and Beswick (2007) suggest that there are different levels of reflection that can take place, which move from descriptive to critical forms. It is the critical reflections that help us transform our practices.
- You must embrace quiet moments – embrace quiet moments as you think through your own hurdles. During the mentoring process these quiet moments are filled with answers by the mentor. Within the coaching relationship you don’t need answers you need a sounding board – the experienced other – the coach, to discuss your ideas. Here you find out for yourself. Notice ‘find out’ not told about.
- You become open to criticism – great coaches are frank and open. In coaching relationships you are told the brutal truth about your observed movements, dialogues, expressions and attitude. During your intake session a good coach will ask you how you’d like to be challenged or not. Does it make sense you start this journey, not wanting to hear the truth? Feedback is a gift. You can return the gift. But on these occasions, you keep the gift, as in true coaching relationships trust is the base from which change is realised.
A lot can be gained throughout coaching journeys and relationships. What is more and more apparent is, coaches don’t give answers but feed with questions which enable meaningful thought and self-discovered answers to your challenges. This is a skill only the experienced other could exhibit flawlessly and empower the coachee to unravel options and find answers. I describe this process as a journey, this relationship develops gradually after establishing trust and an openness to feedback from your coach.
Coaching relationships should be for a proposed period of time. It should be anticipated that the experienced other will equip coachees with the skills to enable their success then release them to grow.
Can you be coached if you don’t display these attitudes? Of course – it just might take you a little longer.
Redefining representation in engineering careers
Written by Virtue Igbokwuwe
Virtue Igbokwuwe is a civil engineering graduate from the University of Southampton, currently working at Eurovia. She recently took part in Tomorrow’s Engineers Week - an annual celebration run by EngineeringUK. Her YouTube channel, The Virtuous Life, has over 5,000 subscribers.
Looking back, I can recall the exact moment I heard the words ‘civil engineer’. I was having a conversation with my A-level physics teacher about an essay she had set. She told me about the profession and the wider engineering sector. She opened my eyes to a fascinating new world full of brilliant opportunities. I wouldn’t be where I am today without her advice and guidance. I’ve made it my mission to encourage more girls to follow in my footsteps and hope that you can help. So, I’d like to tell my own personal story of how I became a civil engineer.
Before starting at the University of Southampton, I remember desperately searching ‘civil engineering student’ on Google and YouTube. I was desperately trying to find someone like me studying the course or in the industry. I remember seeing a lot of aspiring Lawyers and Doctors on YouTube but not a lot Engineers, especially Civil Engineers.
Ask anyone what an engineer is, and they will inevitably paint a picture of a middle-aged man with a clipboard wearing a hard hat. Since entering the field, I have learned that the narrative around engineering being male dominated is so outdated. It really couldn’t be further from the truth. In fact, my cohort split at university was 60:40, men to women. It’s an aspect of this industry that I wish many more girls thinking of pursuing a career in engineering were aware of.
I decided to take matters into my own hands. I started a YouTube channel, The Virtuous Life. When I began filming videos, I had two things in mind. The first was representation: showing a young, black woman in the field; hoping to inspire people. The second was to change narratives: showing the world that civil engineering isn’t a male-dominated field anymore. I began documenting life as a civil engineering student, including my lectures, labs, site visits and summer placements as a contractor. Today, my channel has more than 5,500 subscribers.
It’s my ‘Day in the life…’ videos which resonate the most with viewers. They are a chance to see the day-to-day activity of a site engineer or a placement student. Not everyone knows an engineer or has one in the family and YouTube vlogs bridge that gap. I have become the ‘neighbourhood engineer’ that people need. It is so important for people to feel like they are represented. Seeing someone like you in a field you wouldn’t expect goes a long way, and people downplay the impact. From my experience, seeing people in a field or position I never imagined was possible inspired and motivated me to pursue a career as a civil engineer.
I receive comments from subscribers about how my YouTube videos have influenced their A-level choices and their desire to pursue engineering. They are a testament to the change in narrative that is so desperately required. We need to make the sector attractive to not only women, but more representative of our wider society.
I believe if we start showcasing inspiring people in the engineering and technology field earlier on in our school years, it will give young people a chance to make a well-informed decision on what career path they want to go into. It’s hard to have an idea of what you want to do if you’ve never seen or heard of the profession before. We have a duty to inspire and guide the younger generation and show them the amazing works that Civil Engineers do, the mega projects and the local ones! There are many organisations that aim to increase the representation of women and ethnic minority in the Engineering industry such as EngineeringUK, the EDI Team at the Royal Academy of Engineers, Girls Under Construction, AFBE-UK and Go Construct. Partnering with such organisations, or getting involved with initiatives such as Tomorrow’s Engineers Week, can allow the message to be reached by more and more young people. It also means that schools can partner with those organisations and hold events, talks or workshops for the students to increase their exposure to the world of civil engineering and the variety of pathways into it.
Graduating with a first-class degree in civil engineering has marked a new, exciting chapter in my life. I will continue to post videos to document life in the industry and hope to continue inspiring the next generation of engineers.
Virtue took part in a live broadcast to mark Tomorrow’s Engineers Week 2023. To watch the recording on-demand and access free curriculum-based resources to inspire young people about future careers in engineering and technology, please visit www.teweek.org.uk