Menopause in Education - The Impact on the Teaching Profession
Written by Sharon MacArthur
Owner of Red Handbag. She works internationally with leaders in business, helping them to develop their leadership confidence though more effective communication strategies.
According to recent government figures, three quarters of teachers are women, so why is support for those in the profession who are going through the menopause glaringly lacking?
The average age that a woman reaches menopause is 51, but symptoms can start much earlier. Women over 50 are also the fastest growing workplace demographic and many women working in education are in senior leadership positions by this stage in their careers.
While all women go through menopause, some will have a more difficult time of it because of the nature of their job role. Teaching is no exception.
How will a female teacher suffering from menopause-related anxiety cope in such a physically and mentally-demanding school, college, or university environment?
How will menopause-related fatigue and problems concentrating fare against dealing with problem pupils, excessive workloads, and strict deadlines?
What about heavy and unpredictable periods? Hot flushes? What if you can’t just up and leave the classroom if you need to?
Some women’s menopause symptoms are so severe that they either need time off from work or questions get asked about their capability to do their job.
Sadly, support from managers, even female ones, is often not forthcoming.
The result is many wonderful educators feel they have no choice but to leave their role, which is very sad, considering that getting there is the culmination of a lifetime’s work for many women in the profession.
Can the teaching profession afford to lose such highly-skilled and valuable teaching talent? That’s what could happen if schools, colleges, and universities don’t become more menopause friendly.
What can be done to better support female educators who are going through menopause?
There’s no getting away from it, teaching is a physically, mentally, and emotionally demanding job at the best of times, so when it comes to menopause, we can’t just sweep it under the rug.
When I deliver menopause training to an organisation, I always make a point of saying that menopause should be business as usual. While there are some really positive signs that it’s being talked about more openly, it’s still a bit of a workplace taboo.
Women are still suffering in silence, and considering leaving their jobs, which is bad news for a profession like teaching which struggles to recruit and retain talented staff.
So what can be done?
- The first step is talk about it. Raise awareness about menopause, bust the myths, and make it everybody’s business. The goal should be to create a menopause friendly workplace where women feel comfortable talking about how it’s affecting them and where they are able to ask for advice and support.
- If your workplace doesn’t have a comprehensive menopause policy, put one in place that will meet the needs of women going through menopause as well as providing straightforward guidance for their line managers.
- Speaking of policies, make sure your sickness absence monitoring policies and arrangements don’t lead to the detrimental treatment of women who need time off for menopause-related reasons. Similarly, bear this in mind where absence and a symptom-related decline in performance can affect things like pay progression.
- Improve awareness of menopause across all levels of the workforce, particularly at leadership level.
- Make reasonable adjustments to support women going through menopause.
Some reasonable adjustments your organisation could and should make:
- Allowing toilet breaks during lessons where necessary.
- Providing sanitary products in staff toilets.
- Providing a place to shower and change if necessary.
- Considering flexible working requests such as reducing hours or allowing some work to be done from home to help women manage their symptoms.
- Providing access to cold water and allowing employees to control the temperature of their working environment if possible.
Menopause in the national curriculum
The government has added menopause as a topic to be covered on the sex education curriculum in secondary schools. Surely schools that are menopause aware and menopause friendly will be better placed to give pupils a broader and more enlightened view of the topic?
And it all needs to begin with how they support their own staff.
My mission
Raising awareness about the menopause among people and employers is all about education and making it comfortable and acceptable for people to speak about it. Menopause is not a condition to be treated and cured, it’s a normal stage of life that every woman goes through. Helping people to realise this is my mission.
My training events are aimed at educating HR professionals, managers, and workers about the menopause in a fun, engaging, and informative way.
If you’d like to find out more, contact me at sharon@missmenopause.co.uk
You can also join my Facebook group or my Facebook and Twitter campaign
Claim the Room
Written by Annemarie Williams
Executive Head Teacher of Humberstone Infant Academy and Humberstone Junior Academy, where she has been Headteacher / Executive Head Teacher for 12 years.
I’m going to start this with a disclaimer. Because I feel like right now there is a lot of highly expressed emotions and publicity around the issues I’m writing about. Many people will have an opinion and this is mine.
Last weekend I was proud to be part of the online celebrations for International Women’s Day – last night I lit a candle for the horrific crimes against Sarah Everard and cried. I woke up to some of the most distressing and brutal photographs from the vigil that was held in her name. In between this, I watched a woman admit to an international TV audience that she felt so overwhelmed by her treatment in the media and by an institution, that she had thought about taking her own life. I have spoken to friends, family, colleagues and the overwhelming feelings are the same. Women are expressing their sadness and anger and the sense of powerlessness that they have felt in so many of these situations. The lack of power in preventing crimes like these, the lack of power in challenging the institutions responsible and the lack of power in affecting meaningful change.
I’m a mother, a daughter, a niece, an auntie, a best friend, a leader and proud to have been a regional leader within the #WomenEd community for 5 years. I’ve spoken to women of all ages and stages in life and each and everyone of them has a story about being followed home in the dark, shouted at in the street, groped in nightclubs, patronised and interrupted at work and called names on social media because of their body shape. It is heartbreaking.
I do not attempt to speak for all women but it seems to me that many women who were taught to take a seat at the table…now realise that they will always be sitting on the chair with shorter legs because equality and equity are not the same thing. It’s not enough to have a seat at the table if you don’t feel that your voice is heard. And really to be genuinely listened to and heard is what many women are asking for. In their statements for the media today, the spokesperson for Reclaim the Streets spoke repeatedly about women wanting to be heard and about the need for constructive discussion and dialogue.
Brene Brown speaks of the difference between “power over” and “power with” and this is the bones of what many women experience on a daily basis. “Power with” can only happen if the people at the table acknowledge their position of privilege and actively and deliberately seek to change the status quo. In this case that means men doing more to address the issues at hand here. In my life I am fortunate to have some truly wonderful, brilliant, enlightened and courageous men who have absolutely and sensitively tried to conduct themselves like the brothers and allies women need. But there still feels like there is more to do. I know that these are the men who would intervene in the case of a woman being harassed in the street, or call out an inappropriate joke in the office or challenge the use of sexist language in the locker room. But there’s more subtle forces at work than this. It’s more than calling out bad behaviour – we need men to actively demand better behaviour and not because they are husbands, fathers and brothers, but because it is the right thing to do if we believe in a fair and equal society.
This is challenging and requires an active and deliberate awareness. It is almost asking too much – to feel the day to day experience of being a woman. The theme for International Women’s Day this year is #choosetochallenge. Women all over the world are providing that challenge but it is not enough if men do not do the same. So what could this proactive stance look and sound like?
- Questioning the diversity of a panel that you are asked to speak on
- Asking what the diversity and inclusion policy is where you work
- Offering to give up your space at an event for someone who would benefit from the opportunity
- Initiating open conversations with women about their experiences of everyday sexism and being prepared for the fact that this might feel uncomfortable
- Insisting that recruitment is transparent and that there are no secret backdoors to get that seat at the table
- Providing opportunities for women to have open discussion, forum groups and other ways of giving anonymous feedback
If we want things to change then there needs to be an acknowledgement that this is an active and proactive process and if you are not willing to help find the solution, then you are probably part of the problem.
Culture Vs Performance Scrutiny? Which is most important for a governing board to get right to fulfil its strategic role on race?
Written by Dominic Judge
Director of Governance Programmes at Inspiring Governance
The recent Diverse Educators series on Diverse Governance has got me thinking. The recurring theme is that developing the right culture in your governing board is the most critical step to getting equality and diversity right in your school. If you like… ‘culture eats strategy for breakfast’. But are there other ways of tackling racial inequality?
I’ve been a continuously serving governor for the last 15 years in a variety of school and catchment contexts. I’ve also been a Diversity Training Manager in the police after the tragic murder of Stephen Lawrence and worked at the National College for Teaching and Leadership, not least leading a range of work to diversify senior school leadership.
From what I’ve seen in all these contexts, culture is critical in successfully addressing racial inequality. A culture of leadership, personal commitment, brave discussion and a collective willing of boards and decision makers to educate and self-examine themselves in order to move forward.
However, my experience has shown me that it is also about fundamentally ensuring race equality is elevated front and centre of organisational performance too. This means that race equality is on agendas, data is sought and scrutinised, actions are taken (and funded), and outcomes/ performance are scrutinised and challenged as forensically as any other element of performance. A good culture means this is easier to do but it can be done as the right culture is being developed.
In one of my roles I remember taking on a major programme to develop a pipeline of headteachers. One of this programme’s sub projects (the ‘diversity project’) was unfunded and described to me as an ‘influencing project’. Not surprisingly it was not under the same level of scrutiny as the others and consequently not achieving as much as them.
This is exactly my point; we won’t make the progress we need to without the high scrutiny and funding of action that goes along with other areas of organisational/ school performance. Within months I ensured it was six-figure funded and scrutinised for its’ performance and progress by the overseeing programme governance board as keenly (if not more) as any other project we were undertaking.
So, if tackling race inequality in schools is to be scrutinised as forensically as any other area of school performance, what are some of the questions governing boards need to be asking themselves?…
7 main areas to consider:
- Pupil achievement/ attainment – Does the governing board regularly interrogate the school’s attainment data against ethnic category data. Are there markedly different SATs/ GCSE/ A-Level outcomes for different student groups? Why is this? What are we doing about it? How is the current Covid exam grading approach playing out across our diverse students?
- Racism – My own experience of governance tells me that reported racist incidents to governing boards are very low, but a TES pupil survey last spring reported a third of pupils had seen/ heard racism in their school. So, behind the monitoring of RIs, how are governors assuring themselves that their school is tackling racism and educating students about it? Do all their students feel included, protected, and supported to achieve their academic best?
- Exclusions and behaviour The Timpson Review rightly shone the spotlight on pupil exclusions and if you have ever sat on an exclusion panel you will know the magnitude of the decision you are being asked to make. But as a collective board, governors need to monitor exclusions (and for that matter general behaviour sanctions) by ethnic category data – what is the pattern showing? how do they have safeguards/ checks and balances in place to understand and counter any uneven outcomes?
- School workforce data and approaches – Are governing boards reviewing their own composition? Are they reviewing the make-up of their SLT, their teaching staff, their ancillary staff? This is not advocating a call for positive discrimination but ensuring that the governing board is asking questions about the strategic approach to recruitment and development in the school.
- Broad and balanced curriculum – Governing boards have a strategic role to ensure the school is delivering a broad and balanced curriculum. So, are governors confident the school is offering a balanced curriculum, relatable and accessible to all students from all backgrounds? If an academy, how are they ensuring their curriculum freedoms motivate all pupil groups in the school?
- Policies (e.g. uniform) – How are maintained governing boards and trusts reviewing and signing off policies? Are these policies unwittingly leading to indirect discrimination in their outcomes and unevenly associated disciplinary action because of these – e.g. Black hairstyles
- Destination data – Governors of secondary schools should be strategically scrutinising the destination data from their schools. Where are their students from different race and ethnic backgrounds going after they leave school? What does the data say on those progressing to further or higher education, employment, what does our NEET data tell us?
Good schools and governing boards will already do much of the above and more. They will have developed their culture and have clarity for the school’s vision and ethos on race. But if some schools are working hard to develop their culture then it’s helpful to remember that part of the governing boards’ strategic role on race is to hold the school executive to account for the educational performance of all its pupils. For success and change, culture and performance scrutiny need to go hand in hand.
Engage, Educate, Empower Mantras for Inclusive Leadership
Written by Hannah Cotton
Founding director of Inclusive Leadership firm, EquALLIES and promotes global inclusion on Twitter under #FFBInclusion.
I’ll confess, I’m getting a little sick of the three word mantras. I’ve come to liken them to vacuous cross-party political promises and safety-critical health advice alike. They’ve been over-used, over-simplified and under-estimate the intelligence of many to accommodate more.
But I’m also a realist, relying heavily on my analytical skills to draw conclusions that support facts. So, somewhat reluctantly, I acknowledge that three word mantras are highly effective at delivering a message. They are effective at activating people to change.
All else being equal, what’s required for change?
Our need to learn how to change has never been greater. Be it covid, Brexit, inequalities and social injustice or climate change, we must all grapple with the “new normal’; and that means change. Maybe it’s just at the fore of our thoughts as we find this “new normal” may be so significantly removed from the old.
Change is constant. Risks change, rules change. Priorities, processes and systems change. Change is not tied to global pandemics or social injustices. None of it needs a rising of the people, form T216 or social media. If the driver of a deadly efficient biological virus has taught us anything, it surely must be that.
Many I move amongst embrace change lovingly; change is opportunity, growth and progress. Through discussion, I’ve found most with this perspective draw from negative experiences of a need to change to reach this conclusion. Many have grown through change linked to pain; loss of a family member, loss of a job, loss of safety or health, or recovery from addiction.
Experience of the process builds confidence in change management. With knowledge and understanding, we can lead others with positivity to not just face change, but also to identify opportunities for change, and how to promote it. The drive to build on past improvements spurs the next, and shared enthusiasm facilitates taking others on the same journey.
There are also those that I recognise approaching change with a different mindset; when one equates change with fears of the unknown and loss of a comfort blanket.
However, let me clearly state at this point, there is a huge difference in those who require routine and consistency and those resisting change. Neurodiversity is not a problem to be moulded into homogenous thinking. Neurodiversity is a positive example of ‘different’ that we require change to embrace.
So, with over 100 years of collective experience in cross-industry leadership, psychology, business and cultural expertise, EquALLIES have defined this three word mantra to effectively manage meaningful, inclusive change. We’ve worked hard to condense our knowledge to provide the skills, learning, experiences and opportunities to lead oneself, and others, progressing the individual, their workplaces and communities.
We go beyond the protected characteristics to embrace all stakeholders, including socio-economic, social capital and geographic inequalities. After all, diversity is nothing without inclusion, and inclusion is impossible when it excludes.
Engage: Get Ready To Work
Engagement combines the need to inspire someone to do something. EquALLIES understands that means leading ourselves to change and also leading others.
No-one is absolved from action. Ask yourself some questions;
- Why? Define your purpose. Understanding the reasons for change will be key to keep you focused and motivated when times are tough.
- What? Define your goals, plan a course of action, understanding risks and measurable outcomes. This will keep you on track for delivery.
- How? Outline the resources you will require to achieve your goals. Knowing your strengths and your barriers to achievement will help you source the services, products and collaborators for success.
For example, in the context of school, where the goal is learning, we have two cogs; pupil and teacher. To engage, the pupil may prepare for the year with a new uniform and pencil case, but without corresponding resources from the teacher, their shared goals will be destined to fail. There is a requirement for individuals to prepare for cohesion and collaboration to address the issue at hand.
Educate: Do the Work!
Once you have engaged yourself, employed the resources you need to move forward towards a shared goal you must get ready to grow. Becoming mindful of yourself, knowing what growth feels like, how you address challenging situations and how to approach new ideas will be key. When you understand your own learning style, you can then do the work to improve your knowledge. This is when education yourself leads to educating others.
Empower: Get to Work!
Once the individual and collective are engaged and educated, it’s time to act.
Understanding barriers to action will include the process of liberating yourself from inaction, apathy or denial. Empowerment gives you the tools to challenge yourself, and others from issues that may be deeply ingrained, have formed bad habits and institutionalised ways of thinking. Enabling you to remove these barriers and act on behalf of yourself, and others, can safely be used towards realising your individual and collective goals.
Conclusion
For one to change, one must be able. Having the confidence to be you and to know your authentic brand of leadership is important. Having a network to support you, to inspire, to share successes with and to draw from when further strengths are required is important. Having a safe space and opportunity to practice your skills and reflect on your learning are important.
Mantras may not always hold the detail we need to effect change. However, if they grab your attention and engage the individual enough to learn how to act on them, the journey transcends the need to re-skill in future. By focusing on understanding self AND others, the fear of change, of loss and exclusion are replaced with practicing what we so often preach.
Individually important but collectively successful, Engage > Educate > Empower is the three word mantra embracing leadership, diversity and inclusion.
When You’re Accustomed to Privilege, Equality Feels Like Oppression
Written by Wayne Reid
Professional Officer & Social Worker
Black History Month has passed but we must not stop ringing the alarm on racism in social work.
The level of inaction from many within the profession’s establishment is both deafening and revealing. To quote US novelist and activist James Baldwin: “I can’t believe what you say, because I see what you [don’t] do.”
Being ‘let in’
I write this article from both personal and professional perspectives. I do not speak on behalf of all Black and ethnic minority people or social workers as we are not a homogenous group. Also, I refuse to be the tokenistic ‘Black voice’ of BASW. I’m one of many Black voices in the profession. I realise that I’ve been ‘let in’ (to some extent) to express my views because, to quote Black historian and TV presenter David Olusoga, I “won’t scare the horses”: I am supposedly well-spoken and middle-class or so I’ve been told.
For the record, I’m not aspiring to be a ‘nice guy’ when it comes to combating oppressive regimes and systems. ‘Niceness’ is often weaponised against people of colour. My motivation is not for career ambition or financial gain. It’s for the cause, not applause – and the cause is Black Lives Matter.
My narrative is based on my lived experiences and those of other people who are routinely judged on the basis of their skin colour.
Minimisation Street
The prevalence of anti-black racism and the stealthy manoeuvres to gloss over our contributions and downplay our legacies is discombobulating. Some of us learn to live with the burden of our exposure in white spaces, even though it punctuates the rhythm of our everyday lives, and some do not.
Most Black and ethnic minority people recognise early on that we are forced to try harder and tolerate multi-layered oppression for our endeavours and to be recognised. This is evidenced by the tiny number of Black people honoured with a statue or trophy name; the groundswell of racism aimed at Marcus Rashford for campaigning to provide meals for disadvantaged children and the avalanche of complaints and relentless racism targeted at Ashley Banjo for leading a BLM-themed dance.
Interestingly, some people have likened Black actor John Boyega being cut out of the Chinese launch of a perfume advert to a photo tweeted from a Guardian Social Care Lives 2020 event in which I was cut out as a panelist.
People must make their own minds up about any similarities. The reality is the list of minimisations and omissions (accidental or otherwise) for me and other Black people is endless and normalised.
Critics argue that politics is for politicians and Rashford should ‘stick to football’ and Banjo should ‘stick to dancing’. These modern-day revolutionaries are accused of ‘playing the race card’ by some. Reducing our life experiences to a game of cards serves only to undermine the importance of what we say.
This minimisation strategy disturbingly correlates with attempts to de-politicise social work policy, practice and education. Have social workers been ‘dumbed-down’ to simply become agents of the state? This debate has continued for decades to a point where social workers are now regarded by some as agents of social control. Being politically and socially aware is essential to promote social work values and ethics – otherwise, surely, we are just automated robots.
To quote Black activist Guilaine Kinouani: “Any attempt at portraying [social work] (or any scholarly discipline) as an apolitical, decontexualisable and ‘neutral’ field of knowledge production which can operate outside of the realm of politics and ideology is not only ill-informed, it is naïve.”
Does the automation of tasks that social work has become in some places stifle this type of critical and free thinking? I’d argue it does and that there has been a silent (but deliberate) shift to devoid social workers of their political nous and social activism.
I’m not talking party politics here, but all the local and national activities through which people make, preserve and amend the written and unwritten rules under which we all live. The activities associated with making decisions for groups, power relations between individuals and the distribution of resources or elevated status by central government.
From this perspective, politics is inextricably linked to the phenomena of conflict, cooperation, fairness, social justice and human rights.
It’s a bad state of affairs when those in power use the media to corrupt our societal world view, so that to be ‘woke’ or to ‘do-good’ is considered something to sneer at. Accusations of ‘virtue signalling’ and ‘victimhood’ do not evoke compassion or humanity, but provide an insightful measure of their sensibilities.
For those politicians of colour who deny ‘white privilege’ and denounce critical race theory, ‘Skin folk ain’t always kinfolk’ is an apt mantra from my upbringing.
Nowadays, I take the view that some white wolves exist in Black sheep’s clothing. Let’s be clear, these people are cleverly disguised gatekeepers and handlers. White supremacy is often more palatable when it is communicated by people from Black and ethnic minority backgrounds. Of course, the incentives of money and power are enough to seduce most human beings regardless of their ethnic background.
I’m Black all year round not just for one month
Black History Month (BHM) is not really a celebration of Black history. It’s more a filtered window of remembrance to pacify us. If those in power were serious about Black history, they would integrate it into all aspects of mainstream education.
There is a very real danger of BHM, the BLM movement and anti-racism all being caricatured and side-tracked by the insidious multi-dimensional forces that exist to suffocate them. Namely, different manifestations of white supremacy and institutional ‘whiteness’.
This is why we have ‘bigger fish to fry’ than Rule Britannia or whether Adele should have her hair in Bantu knots! Examples of this suffocation in social work include: racial harassment, gaslighting, and marginalisation. When white people attempt to police the dialogue and language of Black and ethnic minority people (based on what they view as palatable), this is how the ‘psychosis of whiteness‘ is socialised and teaches perceived entitlement and superiority over Black people. An example of this can be seen in the responses to rap music and Black culture.
Also, there are attempts to derail, discredit and devalue Black lives through social media, including through auto-generated ‘bots’ which is deeply sinister. The mission to educate, equip and empower hearts and minds on anti-racism has never felt more urgent in my lifetime.
The mainstream media and politicians think BLM is old news. However, since the resurgence of the BLM movement, BASW has been at the forefront of anti-racist social work activism. BASW England has championed anti-racism in social work on a scale unrivalled by any other organisation in the profession.
As an organisation, we also realise that we are not immune to the perils of white supremacy and institutional ‘whiteness’. However, BASW has shown a willingness to address and tackle these issues internally and in the profession more broadly.
Cringe position statements, feeble blogs and noteworthy silences
Since my last article in Community Care on promoting anti-racism in social work, there have been some decent position statements from some organisations and prominent social workers. However, there have also been some cringe statements, some nauseatingly feeble blogs and some noteworthy silences.
Unfortunately, there remains a scarcity of cast-iron and explicit actions and/or commitments to anti-racism. Lightweight placatory comments like: “we are against racism and oppression in all its forms” is just not good enough anymore. Also, shamelessly flogging a blog from the only non-white staff member is a glaring attempt to tokenise the issues at hand. This is semi-skilful subterfuge to avoid addressing the real-life cause and effects of racism in social work.
What message does this really convey? Far from transformative, this approach is performative allyship or lacklustre window dressing at best. You know it, I know it – we all know it.
To quote Kinouani again: “When organisations perform anti-racism, it does not take long for the mask to fall… When performative committees are formed, they soon give themselves away. Justice is actually hard to fool.” Less fakery and more authenticity please.
Here is a reminder of the three typical organisational responses to racism that you might want to cross-reference with the white identities table by social work academic Gurnam Singh. How does your organisation match up?
- Keep silent, keep things the same and hope all this Black Lives Matter (BLM) ‘stuff’ just blows over. This kind of inaction and paralysis of fear correlates with and reinforces perceptions of ‘white fragility’, ‘white privilege’ and white supremacy for some Black people. Such an organisational response usually commends staff for being resilient and deflects attention away from the essential redesign of systems that routinely make people suffer.
- Publish lukewarm organisational statements that recycle and regurgitate previous rhetoric on workforce unity with predictable (and borderline offensive) platitudes – often proposing only superficial changes. For example, publishing a sympathetic, but non-committal brief statement; possibly delegating responsibilities to an already overworked equalities officer or proposing minor changes to already vague policies and procedures on ‘valuing diversity’ with little or no accountability. Approaches at this level are usually well-intended, but tokenistic and overlook the nuanced obstacles and pitfalls Black people face every day. Unfortunately, this response is common.
- Publish an authentic anti-racism action plan, outlining significant reforms that commit to specific, measurable, achievable and realistic targets (suggestions below). Examples include publishing a strong mission or position statement condemning George Floyd’s murder and racism in all its forms and committing to the British Association of Social Workers’ code of ethics, anti-oppressive, anti-discriminatory and anti-racist practice. This approach interlinks with the Anti-racist Commitment Framework. It sees white allies fully involved in challenging, deconstructing and dismantling racist systems in solidarity with Black people.
It is fantastic that Brighton & Hove Council are recruiting a lead practitioner for anti-racist practice on a permanent contract. My hope is that other social work employers will follow suit. At BASW England, we hope to work with employers to promote these types of innovations.
Equally fabulous news is that De Montfort University have developed a fully-funded PhD Studentship on BLM, which seems like a pioneering opportunity. Also, the progress being made on Frontline’s Racial Diversity & Inclusion Action Plan is encouraging. Social work organisations must build on this impetus and swiftly (and proactively) embed anti-racist strategies into how they operate.
BASW England are pleased to be working in partnership with the chief social workers for adults and various cross-sector stakeholders in developing the Workforce Racial Equality Standards for Social Care (WRES). The aspirations for the standards and interest from local authorities is promising. At this juncture, I’m unaware of any national provisions in the pipeline specifically for children’s services.
Dr Muna Abdi, a leading anti-racism educator, says: “The work of anti-racism is to fight racism wherever you see it… even in yourself. The struggle cannot be found in the pages of a book. You can’t read yourself into activism. Sooner or later, you’ll have to make a choice… Do what is safe or do what is right.”
I will continue with my own activism. If my contributions remain that of a muzzled, side-lined agitator, on the fringes, throwing rocks at the throne – then I’ll just continue to be authentic and stay true to myself.
I do not want to appear ungrateful, but I can live without the acclaim, the ‘likes’, ‘retweets’, plaudits etc. I want revolution! So, brothers, sisters and allies – if you know your herstory, if the ancestral spirits live within you, if you know right from wrong – then now is the time to show and prove yourself. What have you done to enforce anti-racism and promote Black liberation lately?
Let’s not forget the saying, “when you’re accustomed to privilege, equality feels like oppression”. The only real enemy of progress is ignorance and ‘wilful blindness’.
‘One world, one race… the human race!’
[This article was originally published by Professional Social Work magazine on 11/12/2020:https://www.basw.co.uk/resources/psw-magazine/psw-online/%E2%80%98when-you%E2%80%99re-accustomed-privilege-equality-feels-oppression%E2%80%99]
We #ChoosetoChallenge
Written by The MTPT Project
The UK’s only charity for parent teachers, with a particular focus on the parental leave and return to work period.
Mothers’ Day always falls conveniently close to International Women’s Day and this year’s theme, #ChoosetoChallenge provides the perfect opportunity for The MTPT Project to showcase all the ways that our community members have challenged limiting stereotypes associated with parenthood.
Does a woman ‘leave before she leaves’, as so well explored in Sheryl Sandberg’s Lean In? Not, according to Madeleine Fresko-Brown, North London and Jewish Teachers’ Advocate for The MTPT Project. Madeleine interviewed, very obviously eight months pregnant, for her first SLT position before the birth of her first daughter, and has since stepped in and out of her role over a second maternity leave, building and sustaining effective models to secure the best leadership for her colleagues and students.
Does a woman lose all ambition when she becomes a mother? Not, according to Nadine Bernard, Head Teacher of Van Gogh Primary School, committed to coaching and mentoring aspiring principals and speaking up on the topic of exclusions and BAME leadership. Nadine returned from her third maternity leave this year and her social media accounts are an inspiring showcase of balance of personal and professional ambition.
Are all women natural, fertile earth mothers who sneeze and become pregnant? Not, as championed by The MTPT Project’s Fertility Advocate, Nicola Mooney, who speaks openly about her IVF journey, the practical logistics of trying for a family, and the ways in which schools can support teachers through this process. Or Adoption Advocate, Alex Mason who speaks candidly and confidently about adopting and her experiences of adoption leave as a parent-teacher.
Do all mothers require part-time hours in order to balance their personal and professional commitments? Not, according to Naomi Shenton, Ipswich Regional Representative for The MTPT Project who works full time as an Assistant Head Teacher, authoring chapters for the second #WomenEd book, Being 10% Braver and championing family-friendly practices in her school.
Equally, does the need to work flexibly in order to be present for our children indicate a lack of commitment or ability to fulfil leadership roles? Not, according to Liz Robinson and Nicola Noble who, for years, courageously provided an avant-garde model for co-headship, unashamedly pursuing fulfilment as school leaders and mothers, way before the recent positive trend towards flexible working.
Are all mothers the full time care-givers? Not, according to Jenny Webb, Trustee for The MTPT Project, Assistant Head Teacher, CPD provider and author of three edu-texts who regularly explains the teamwork between her and her husband who acts as the main caregiver around his own career in the arts industry.
Is our current model of parental leave inclusive and empowering of all parents? Not, according to Iesha Small only entitled to paternity leave as a Maths teacher when her wife gave birth to all three of their children, or Chris Reddy, who surprised his colleagues when he took five weeks paternity leave to be present in the early days of his sons’ lives.
At The MTPT Project, we #ChoosetoChallenge the assumptions and biases that society still attaches to the role of motherhood and parenting so that our teachers are not limited by oppressive stereotypes and disempowering systems. Instead, we encourage teachers to make choices that work for them and their families, and celebrate their successes – both at home and in the classroom.
To make change, we must learn to listen
Written by Donna Burkert
Primary school teacher living and working in Essex.
There is an inherent danger in judging others before we know them, in excluding before understanding, in condemning before listening, and yet it happens all the time.
It wasn’t until the Laurence Fox scandal hit the headlines that I really became aware of the title ‘white privilege’. A title that Toria Bono recently discussed in her podcast ‘Tiny Voice Talks’ when talking with Shuaib Khan. A title, that like Toria, I have to own.
I am white privileged and I have realised this means that, although I try to use diversity, equity and inclusion in all that I do, I may not always be truly aware of the wider picture.
It is only through listening to experiences and questioning my own actions that I can begin to understand how to become more diverse, more inclusive, to bring more equity to my classroom and the way I conduct my life.
It was whilst attending a #BrewEdEssex event in June 2019 that I heard Pran Patel speak. Pran was talking about descriptions, judgement and social equity in a way that I had never considered before. He addressed bias, privilege and the damages of the ethno-centric curricula. His words made me stop and reassess what I was teaching in my class.
Pran talked about the need for children to see role models of their own culture, background or religion and so I set about ensuring that I had examples from across the world, throughout history and today, to represent the broad spectrum of difference within my own class, the impact was immeasurable. It opened up discussions between children who were now questioning moments in history that had specific impact on their lives today.
It was whilst listening to podcasts of Desert Island Discs that I was given a tiny insight into the lives of Bernadine Evaristo, Professor of Creative Writing at Brunel University and Booker Prize winner for her novel: Girl, Woman, Other; and Baroness Floella Benjamin DBE – A Trinidadian-British broadcaster, writer and politician, that I learned of the struggles that they and their parents faced, the lack of equity, the lack of inclusion felt.
Sue Perkins: An hour or so with David Harewood – the first black actor to play Othello at the National Theatre and David Tennant does a podcast with George Takei – Star Trek icon, similarly opened my eyes to the struggles so often felt by others that I was simply not aware of.
I reflect back to the focus of Toria Bono in her podcast with Shuaib Khan where she accepts the title of ‘white privilege’ with the acknowledgement that she cannot change that this is what she is, but that we can develop our understanding with the constant need to question and push for diversity, equity and inclusion. That by continuing to have conversations with a broad range of people we can all gain a better understanding of others that will influence our decisions and actions.
The conversations I have with my own three sons about the effects of sexism in order for them to have some understanding of the barriers often faced by women are as important as the discussions I have with the children in my class about their own struggles, my colleagues and the wider communities that I am part of through Twitter and other forums. I am aware that I need to have continued discussions with a broad spectrum of people, beyond my immediate circle, to ensure that I am being as diverse and inclusive as I can be.
I need to accept that I may not always term my questions correctly but that the only way to learn about the constraints that restrict me, and others, is to ask the questions; and to break down the barriers that hold us back from being truly diverse within our own practice.
It is only through widening our circle, through talking and really hearing what others’ are saying, in taking action where needed, that we will truly begin to move forward.
Reflections on My First Term as D&I Lead
Written by Jami Edwards-Clarke
Director of D&I at Hurstpierpoint College, Housemistress and PE Teacher
As I sit and reflect on my journey so far as Director of D&I at Hurst, I am overwhelmed with positivity, hope and joy. What has been achieved since March 2020, is something Hurst’s community should be extremely proud of. Every initiative has been fantastic and that’s down to our pupil platform. They have been the engine throughout this journey and the work they have put in to ensuring its success, is phenomenal. It’s evident that there has been a visible amount of real, meaningful and immensely valuable progress and I am so proud of what has been achieved.
Upon returning to the college in September, the platform began arranging our first big event: Black History Month in October. As curricula still all too often erases Black existence and achievements in history, we wanted to encourage students to engage with this annual celebration as a starting point for learning outside the curriculum. We put up posters just about everywhere and kicked each week off with an email full of resources like books and films which could help students learn about Black history.
The next date on our agenda was the UN Disability week in December, with the theme ‘not all disabilities are visible’. Students often receive little education about disability and how to treat people with disabilities. We started to change that, with daily emails containing videos or articles that we hoped would broaden people’s understanding of disability. A shout out to Luke Morris and Mrs Naumann for heading this up, the work you put into making this a success was superb.
As well as celebrating such events, Hurst pupils have been inspired by several speakers. Outside speakers include polymath Sophie Cook, the first transgender woman to work in football’s Premier League; Abdi Omar, a motivational speaker and Youtuber who lives with cerebral palsy; and Siya Twani, who was imprisoned for speaking out against injustice in South Africa – to name but a few. Additionally, members of the D & I group have delivered assemblies to the Shell and Fifth form on the aspects of Diversity & Inclusion that the platform hopes to promote across the college. The D & I group also created a PowerPoint slideshow, like the assemblies, to be presented to Year 7 & 8 by the D & I pupil ambassadors in the Prep School – who’re equally as keen and motivated to enact change in the college as those in the senior school.
We have not been deterred by lockdown either, with Teams Q&A sessions with figures like Harry Hitchens, an ex-Hurst pupil who is now a key figure in the fight to Ban Conversion Therapy in the UK, and Devin Ibanez, a USA rugby player who is openly gay despite the stigma which remains in the sport. In fact, one advantage of online talks has been that parents can tune in too: 57 families watched Jude Guiatamacchi’s talk on their experiences as a non-binary model and campaigner. These thought-provoking talks have been incredibly valuable in giving students, parents and staff an authentic and ‘real life’ perspective on such important topics.
D& I’s weekly Friday lunchtime meetings continued remotely and have also provided the opportunity for more talks – this time by teachers within the school. Highlights include Miss Cave and Miss McNeill’s talk on mental health, and Mr Cuerden’s frank discussion of his experiences at the time of the HIV/AIDS pandemic. Additionally, Mrs Watson-Saunders delivered a powerful speech during the staff inset on her experience of being a person of colour in the UK. This teacher engagement with D&I is incredibly exciting – HoDs have been encouraged to reflect on their department’s curriculum to make it more inclusive; the History department have done a talk reflecting on Black London, hosted by Olly Ayres, the Drama department is planning to put together an LGBTQ+ themed monologue and the Art department have had a Black Lives Matter focus; a sign of change across all levels of the school.
D & I have also been looking for ways to engage not only pupils but also parents. That’s why we have teamed up with Hurst’s Climate Awareness Group to create the Engage for Change newsletter, a monthly newsletter, sent to all Hurst pupils and parents. It contains articles written on a broad range of issues, from pollution to body positivity – all written by Hurst pupils from Shell to UVIth under the direction of Ms Lewis, Mr Jordan and Mrs Edwards-Clarke. The newsletter includes think pieces, advice, and interviews with pupils, staff and parents. Look out for the third volume in your inbox next month!
The READI group (Rainbow Education Alliance of Diverse Identities / Individuals), a subsection of D & I, also began meeting during a Monday lunchtime towards the end of the second Half of Michaelmas term. The aim of this sub-group was to provide a safe space to talk about the experience of being LGBTQ+. In the first meeting of the group, we introduced ourselves, with those who were confident talking about their experience of being LGBTQ+, something which allowed people to overcome barriers – if individuals thought they were previously alone in their experience of being LGBTQ+, they knew that this was no longer the case. Something that came from this group was conversation over ‘identity and gender’. This got us onto the development of a gender-neutral uniform for the college. This takes time to get right, and there have been numerous meetings with SLT and discussion groups between staff and students to ensure pupils feel heard. However, we still have a bit of work to do in this domain, as we do not want to rush this process. We want all voices heard and a plan that suits all. We are hoping for some changes to come into place for September 2021.
Lastly, I think it would be completely outrageous if we didn’t talk about what we are celebrating throughout February, so far, I would say it has been our biggest success. Hurst has thrown itself into celebrating Pride History Month with a push from the pupil platform and our marketing team. Planning started in January, with guest speakers taking the stage (Teams) for whole school tutorials. These events saw up to 500 pupils all tuned in for very exciting Q&As. The month started with a Prep and Senior School wide video made by a range of staff and students responding to what ‘pride’ meant to them, and why it’s important we celebrate this month. It was fantastic to see the prep school speak alongside senior school – feeling like a true moment of community during online learning. The weekly emails sent out by the amazing Ms Lewis highlight a few media options for staff and students to engage with and this has been well received. There have also been some initiatives for students to get involved with, like an Art department creative challenge to produce a timeline of events in LGBTQ+ history. Additionally, we offered LGBTQ+-themed books to any students and staff who wanted to get involved, sharing their views after the half term in a book-club session and even a PHM Bake Off! The involvement is going well and hopefully we can make this an annual initiative. Something that I personally enjoyed was connecting with OJs ( some dating back to 1979!) on their own LGBTQ+ memories back when they were at the College. It’s safe to say, that the work we are doing presently, has brough much joy and it’s evident that huge progress has been made. I really do hope we can form a stronger bond on all things D&I in the future with our Hurst Foundation programme, as it’s all about creating a strong relationship of past and present to really encapsulate the ‘community’ feel.
What has easily been the highlight of the month is the fantastic tutorial talks we have had. Speaking from a pupil, staff and parent point of view, the feedback and engagement has been first class. The range of experience and viewpoints from Jude (a transgender, non-binary activist and model), to Harry (a gay, male activist) to Sarah and Leah (professional athletes, competing for GB and Wales in hockey). The eloquence, respect and genuine interest the student-body has reinforced why it’s important we as a school engage in celebrating LGBTQ+ History month. We are really proud at Hurst to be taking such a lead in celebrating all things diversity and inclusion, and we appreciate the active support the parent-body has shown us this month. Something that has really resonated with me from all of the online CPD sessions and Q&A discussions is how effective having a positive presence of allies and role models. Typically, people get inspired to do something when they see others like them do it and I believe as educators we have a huge responsibility in supporting, guiding and listening to everybody as the individuals they are, both academically and pastorally. We also have a significant responsibility in challenging those who do hold adverse opinions. Standing up for respect and kindness is something I stand by and with our mantra #Be #Yourself at Hurst at the forefront of this initiative, I will continue to do my absolute best to make sure every pupil and member of staff feel that they can stay true to just that.
February is UK LGBT+ History Month and the theme this year is ‘Body, Mind, Spirit’
Written by Hannah Wilson
Founder of Diverse Educators
Different groups of people have been impacted in different ways through Covid-19 and lockdown. There are growing concerns about the mental health wellbeing of our LGBTQI+ young people who may not be a safe space to show up as their authentic selves.
Here are 10 things you can do as a teacher, a school leader or as a school to get involved, from resources to events, from training to awards to help to raise awareness and increase understanding:
1. Schools’ Out have a directory of fantastic free resources for schools here:
https://lgbtplushistorymonth.co.uk/resources/ and you can download the free posters here: https://lgbtplushistorymonth.co.uk/resources/lgbt-history-month/
2. The Proud Trust have a free downloadable resource pack for schools:
https://lgbtplushistorymonth.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/LGBT-History-Month-Pack-2021.pdf
3. Check out all of the organisations listed on the Diverse Educators’ website under the Protected Characteristic of Sexual Orientation:
https://www.diverseeducators.co.uk/sexual-orientation/
4. Diverse Educators partner with the Carnegie School of Education, Leeds Beckett, home to the LGBTQ+ Centre for Inclusion in Education, find out more about their research and their Schools’ Award:
https://www.diverseeducators.co.uk/centre-for-lgbtq-inclusion/
5. Read and share a #DiverseEd blog about the lived experience of a LGBT teacher, Jared Cawley, and understand how to support the wellbeing of our colleagues:
https://www.diverseeducators.co.uk/my-wellbeing-as-a-lgbt-teacher/
6. Dual Frequency have created an interactive digital calendar for all things Diversity, Equity and Inclusion. Download and start using your copy here:
https://www.diverseeducators.co.uk/dual-frequency/
7. Diversity Role Models have released season one of Role Model Stories that includes six episodes, with stories from Vicky Jane, Simeon, Mon, Barry, Richy and Simon, packed with inspiring personal stories covering a range of topics from history, intersectionality, faith and LGBT+ inclusion, gender identity, different families and more. Each video comes with a downloadable teacher resource.
https://www.diverseeducators.co.uk/diversity-role-models/
8. Diversity Role Models have also recently published a report: ‘Pathways to LGBT+ Inclusion: Report’ revealed only 20% of secondary students learnt about LGBT+ identities and HBT bullying at school, while only 27% of secondary students said their school would be safe for a fellow student to come out as LGBT+.
9. #LGBTed have recently published a book: Big Gay Adventures in Education and they host a weekly twitter chat:
https://www.diverseeducators.co.uk/lgbted/
10. Find out how your LGBTQI+ staff feel about your workplace culture with Edurio’s free EDI survey:
https://home.edurio.com/edi-review
Reflections:
- If we believe in a whole education to develop the whole child, how are we enabling our staff to bring their whole self to school too?
- How can we be inclusive allies to support our pupils and students, staff and governors, parents and carers, in feeling physically and psychologically safe in our schools?
As a tangible action for change we recommend that you check out the Queer Knowledge Organiser created by David Lowbridge-Ellis in our Cross-Curricular resources drive and review your provision.
Anti-racism in Social Work: No More Questions – Just Actions Please
Written by Wayne Reid
Professional Officer & Social Worker
A senior social work manager joked to me recently that I “was the only authority on anti-racism in social work”. Although she was jesting, it did make me wonder what accountability and protections actually exist to support social workers of colour within the profession, given what we know about the omnipresence of racism. It didn’t take me very long to conclude – very little.
I write this article from my perspective, not on behalf of all Black and ethnic minority people or social workers – as we are not a homogenous group. I refuse to be the tokenistic ‘Black voice’ of the British Association of Social Workers (BASW). I’ve had a diverse social work career and anti-racism is in all our interests. I’m one of many Black voices in the profession. It’s just my reality that my role at BASW enables me to be heard more broadly than others. Also, I realise that I’ve been ‘let in’ (to some extent) and ‘won’t scare the horses’, to quote the playwright and critic Bonnie Greer, in relation to the historian David Olusoga. I use Black and ethnic minority people here for ease.
Yes, social work is institutionally racist
Sensible people know racism is not just an isolated event or incident. It’s also a reflection of institutions, structures (including micro and macro socio-economic and socio-political factors) – which all interact with each other and shape the lived experiences of Black people. When will we accept that the philosophy of white supremacy runs deep in most organisational cultures? It really is not that hard to see.
Since my previous article on promoting anti-racism in social work, there has been some decent position statements from some organisations and prominent social workers. However, there have also been some cringe statements, some nauseatingly feeble blogs and some noteworthy silences. Unfortunately, there remains a scarcity of cast-iron and explicit actions and/or commitments to anti-racism.
Clearly, anti-racism in social work is not universally accepted as high importance or as urgently needed.
The response from the social work elite has been about as coherent, convincing and speedy as the government’s response to Covid-19, the A-Level fiasco and the Windrush scandal combined.”
However, the social work profession (like many others) is not broken. What we are experiencing and witnessing has been designed. If we truly want an equitable and inclusive profession that really encourages critical thinking, prioritises social justice and truly values diversity of service users and staff, then we need to reimagine new structures, new systems and new discourses. A paradigm shift! Anything else is just papering over gaping tectonic plates.
Yes, social work is institutionally racist – but so are many institutions, organisations and professions (not just the Police) when you consider Sir William MacPherson’s definition from the 1999 report of the Stephen Lawrence Inquiry. There is evidently a “collective failure to provide an appropriate and professional service to social workers of colour based on their colour, culture or ethnic origin”. This is visible in “processes, attitudes and behaviour which amount to discrimination through unwitting prejudice, ignorance, thoughtlessness and racist stereotyping” which disadvantage ethnic minority people.
This correlates with the over-representation of Black and ethnic minority social workers in fitness to practise cases; reports from the Social Workers Union of Black social workers being failed on their assessed and supported year in employment (ASYE) and various other detrimental career outcomes. Basically, the modern-day social work equivalent of lynching.
I observe many key social work leaders asking the same old tired questions, then promising another exploration of the long and gruelling wilderness we meandered through in previous decades. Just like another government enquiry into, well… take your pick! The ongoing Windrush scandal? Stephen Lawrence? Stop and search?! The tactics deployed by our oppressors generally involve seek and destroy; smokescreens and mirrors or deafening silence.
Is there an appetite for real change?
The question is not: ‘Is social work racist?’ More incisive questions are: ‘As racism in society becomes more overt, what is social work actively doing to promote anti-racism?’ Or, ‘When will social work commit to (something like) a mandatory anti-racism commitment framework?’ With respect, in my previous article, I literally outlined a blueprint for large-scale anti-racist organisational change. I feel like I’ve done the class bully’s homework and then still taken a bashing on my way home. My ideas are not perfect (by any stretch of the imagination), but your homework is done for you, nonetheless.
We must now ask, whether there is really the appetite for real change? Is there the actual commitment, intention and motivation? Because if not, why not? Financial investment is not necessarily a major hurdle here – it comes down to the priorities and values of the existing leadership. I’d rather have some meaningful action, even if it is not perfect, as long as it is genuine – rather than this neverending paralysis of fear and/or indifference. Let’s have more clarity about what your change looks like and the timescales for implementation. If not, it’s all just performative window-dressing and pitiful. No more questions – just meaningful actions please.
Disappointingly, neither Social Work England’s education and training standards for 2019 or 2021 nor the professional standards for social workers explicitly refer to anti-discriminatory (ADP), anti-oppressive (AOP) or anti-racist practice. The professional standards refer to “challenging the impact of disadvantage and discrimination, promoting social justice and helping to confront and resolve issues of inequality and inclusion”.
But is that really explicit enough? How can social workers be properly educated and held to account on promoting basic human rights for marginalised groups with the bar so low? Or is this just not a priority for us anymore? Social justice in this context feels like another catch-all to me – like BAME or EDI (equality, diversity and inclusion). Without explicit inclusion of these principles how can we ensure they are applied in policy, practice and education? Simple answer? We cannot. Why is this no longer important?
There is a long history of ADP, AOP and anti-racist principles being intrinsic to social work values and ethics. The legal backdrop and framework is built on the Human Rights Act 1998, Race Relations Act 1976, Disability Discrimination Act 1995, Sex Discrimination Act 1975 and Equality Act 2010. Therefore, it’s almost incomprehensible in my mind that these hard-fought principles are omitted from today’s regulatory standards and supplementary guidance.
Regressive social work standards
The previous social work standards, regulated by the Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC), were stronger, expecting practitioners to “be able to practice in a non-discriminatory manner” and “use practice to challenge and address the impact of discrimination, disadvantage and oppression”. Prior to that, the General Social Care Council’s (GSCC) codes of practice required employers to “put into place and implement policies and procedures to deal with dangerous, discriminatory or exploitative behaviour and practice” and social workers to use “established processes and procedures to challenge and report dangerous, abusive, discriminatory or exploitative behaviour and practice”.
Therefore, the current social work standards are regressive and do nothing to advance the principles set out by their predecessors – despite the desperate and obvious necessity. Many believe these principles are now diluted and de-prioritised beyond the point of complacency. Similar concerns have been raised by the chief social worker for children and families, with regards to the teaching of anti-oppressive practice in social work education.
Social Work England’s professional standards do acknowledge the impact of “difference and discrimination” on service users, but what about how these factors impact on minority groups of social workers? There has been a silent shift to sweep the protected characteristics under the carpet of ‘equality, diversity and inclusion’ (EDI); which we know masks individuality – much in the same way as ‘BAME’ does to Black and ethnic minority groups. It conveniently rolls off the tongue – but subtly dehumanises and ‘others’ us.
The importance of incorporating these values and ethics was highlighted by BASW England in our response to Social Work England’s (SWE) consultations on rules and standards in April and June 2019 (prior to Social Work England’s inception). Unfortunately, our recommendations were not included. Reminders were issued to Social Work England (via Twitter) on 17/06/20 and 23/06/20. As of yet, there has been no response. I refer to these facts to underline the importance of these fundamental principles and how their omission in social work regulation is a travesty of social justice in itself. Without explicit inclusion, how else can social work educators and workers be properly educated and held accountable on ADP, AOP and anti-racism? There are real concerns about the standards being superficial, cold-hearted, corporate benchmarks, as opposed to empirical and evolutionary cornerstones of social work that advance human rights and social justice.
“I still find it astounding that social workers are so heavily regulated and that their employers are not.”
The Local Government Association’s (LGA) employer standards, are not mandatory and insufficient accountability exists A few other equality frameworks and ‘innovations’ exist or are in the pipeline, but again the big questions are: Are they mandatory and enforceable? Do they apply to all social work employers? Do they explicitly embed ADP, AOP and anti-racism in social work policy, practice and education? Not as far as I can see. So, the provisions all seem very piecemeal and one-sided to me and rather oppressive for all – especially Black and ethnic minority social workers.
Do Social Work England and the chief social workers support the idea of the LGA’s employment standards becoming mandatory and universal? We know from BASW campaigns, research and our ongoing discussions with members that the working conditions for social workers remain diabolical in many organisations. However, there is little evidence of this being taken into account and appropriate action taken against employers (when necessary) as part of fitness to practise cases.
No more questions – just actions
Community Care has reported that Black and ethnic minority social workers are “over-represented in fitness to practise cases [and] adjudication hearings are disproportionately white compared to the profession”. This evidence needs to be categorised and scrutinised in the context of social work employers (public, private and third sectors). Also, these conclusions are not new. The GSCC and HCPC have historically reported on this too. So, what efforts have been made to address these longstanding issues of poor working conditions and inequality? Again, how much of a priority is it? Why are we continuously asking the same old questions? No more questions – just actions please.
As reported in another Community Care article, how much of a priority is given to employing ethnically diverse workforces and senior leaders? I think most Black and ethnic minority professionals (and their allies) would be keen to know what is actually being done to reverse these trends.
Since George’s Floyd’s killing and the resurgence of the Black Lives Matter movement, BASW has been at the forefront of anti-racist social work activism. BASW England has championed anti-racism in social work on a scale unrivalled by any other organisation within the profession. Our activities have involved: the publication of numerous articles (1, 2, 3, 4 & 5); incisive and timely position statements (1 & 2); a campaign to change the racist imagery on the KCMG medal; establishing the Black & Ethnic Minority Professionals Symposium; developing the Black & Ethnic Minority Social Workers Anthology (working title); several podcasts (1 & 2) and webinars (1 & 2); a response to the minister for equalities’ report on the disparate impact of Covid-19 on Black and ethnic minority communities and presentations on anti-racism in social work (specifically designed for social work organisations) across England (and internationally).
The KCMG campaign is ongoing. We have received an acknowledgement from Buckingham Palace and our letter has been redirected to the Cabinet office. However, in a bizarre twist, the original tweet (which went viral) has now been deleted from Twitter. We have asked Twitter to explain this, but no response has been forthcoming. We know silence on racism is complicity with the oppressors. I think silence can also be construed as blatant racism in some scenarios. It seems when our oppressors choose not to attack us, the wall of silence is their other favoured tactic. Open dialogue has remained a prominent source of conflict resolution for good reason – it works! It helps to positively undermine any covert or overt power imbalance.
BASW England will continue to educate, equip and empower social workers of colour and allies. As an organisation, we realise that we are not immune to the perils of white supremacy and ‘whiteness’. However, BASW has shown a willingness to address and tackle these issues internally and within the profession more broadly. We will consider all anti-racist proposals from partnership organisations and specialist collaborators that will potentially benefit social work. I like the idea of an Office for Minority Heath, as proposed by Professor Dinesh Bhugra, to promote proper accountability and ensure people from Black and ethnic minority backgrounds have their holistic health (and social care) needs considered.
You can’t read yourself into activism
Anti-racism in social work risks being perceived as radical activism or anarchic ideology. Our social leaders must reverse this flawed belief system. I live in hope that social work policy, practice and education will now begin to properly recognise and reflect that ‘race’ is a socially constructed idea with no scientific validity – invented and refined principally to oppress Black people.
Race remains an unstable concept because it is superficially based on physical appearance. When race was constructed people knew very little about DNA, genetics and human origins. It is an outdated colonial invention that still permeates modern society. Intellectually and morally, as a profession and as a society, we must see beyond what was pre-determined for us centuries ago.
So, if society is built on plantations of racism, still celebrates racist history and traditions and reminds us daily of the inescapability of white supremacy, it’s not enough for social workers (and social work organisations) to be ‘colour-blind’ or ‘non-racist’.”
We must be PROACTIVELY anti-racist – otherwise anything else is just tiresome lip-service. If anti-racism in social work does not exist for social workers, can it ever truly exist for service users? Anti-racism is absolutely integral to social work, so when will it be given the credence it deserves? Without standing up for our defining values and ethics, what is to stop us succumbing to the pervasive and pernicious post-modern sleaze?
“The work of anti-racism is to fight racism wherever you see it… even in yourself. The struggle cannot be found in the pages of a book. You can’t read yourself into activism. Sooner or later, you’ll have to make a choice… Do what is safe or do what is right.” (Dr Muna Abdi).
Ultimately, if my destiny is to try and fail, then I can live with that. I’d rather die trying, thanks. Otherwise, how can I look my kids in the face or even look myself in the mirror? My scruples dictate that I must do what I know to be right (personally and professionally). My only wish is that more people did the same. I do not want to appear ungrateful, but I can live without the acclaim, the ‘likes’, ‘retweets’, plaudits etc. I want revolution! So, brothers, sisters and allies – if you know your herstory, if the ancestral spirits live within you, if you know right from wrong – then now is the time to show and prove yourself – RISE UP! What have you done to enforce anti-racism and promote black liberation lately?
Let’s not forget, “when you’re accustomed to privilege, equality feels like oppression”. The only real enemy of progress is ignorance and ‘wilful blindness’. Social justice must prevail.
‘One world, one race… the human race!’
[This article was originally published by Community Care on 16/12/2020: https://www.communitycare.co.uk/2020/12/16/anti-racism-social-work-questions-just-actions-please/]