Reflecting back on 2017, are there lessons to learn?

As we hurtle rapidly towards the end of 2017, perhaps now is a good time to reflect back on the year and on our progress in achieving a fair and just society where all are treated with dignity and respect.  The awful attacks in Manchester and London, and the tragic Grenfell Tower fire have left an indelible mark. Sexual harassment returned to the headlines following a number of allegations against stars of showbiz and politicians. Trump repeatedly invokes controversy; his latest activity has been to retweet anti-Muslim propaganda by UK’s far-right ‘Britain First’ party. Are there any lessons from all of this for education providers?

Manchester and London attacks

The awful attacks in Manchester and London left an indelible mark. Yet some responded to these attacks by calling for restrictions to the very rights and values that the terrorists were seeking to undermine. Others responded with hate crime. But if we respond in this way, we give a victory to the terrorists.

Britain currently has unequal legal protections; for example race and religiously aggravated hate crime incidents can be prosecuted more harshly than those motivated by disability, transgender status or sexual orientation. But education providers do not need to take the same approach – we can ensure zero tolerance to all incidents of discrimination, harassment and bullying. Do we ensure that all incidents of discrimination, harassment and bullying are robustly reported and acted on regardless of the protected characteristic involved? Do governors and trustees receive reports of these incidents? 

Grenfell Tower

The tragic Grenfell Tower fire also left an indelible mark. David Isaac, chair of the Equality and Human Rights Commission, said in a blog published earlier this year:

‘We still live in a country divided between the haves and have nots, old and young, black and white, and different faiths. We know from our review of equality and human rights in Britain that your background sets the path to your future…Parts of the Equality Act 2010 have still not been implemented.The socio-economic duty, which could have ensured local government tackles the issues faced by those being left behind – such as many of the residents of Grenfell Tower - is still not in force. It would mean that large public bodies, like City Halls, Local Authorities and NHS Trusts, would have to consider whether their policies reduce inequality in our society.’

But just because the socio-economic duty has not been implemented, it does not mean that education providers cannot respond as if it has. Do we have mechanisms to challenge socioeconomic inequalities? For example, carrying out equality impact assessments that take into account socio-economic factors helps ensure policies and procedures tackle this aspect of inequality. Another example - analysing recruitment, achievement and progression data by socio-economic factors so we identify any key socio-economic equality gaps we need to address. With such diverse student cohorts, we need to move beyond simply analysing student data by race, disability and gender. We need to take a much more sophisticated approach to our analysis, cross-cutting the data and expanding the categories included, so we identify and tackle, for example, any equality gaps that exist for our white young students from socially deprived areas or students with Asian heritage who are looked-after young people.

Sexual harassment

This year, sexual harassment at work returned to the headlines after a newspaper reported a number of sexual harassment allegations against US film producer Harvey Weinstein. It triggered a significant number of further allegations of sexual assault and harassment against stars of showbiz and politicians. One of the challenges for education providers is to ensure that learners in the workplace are kept safe from such harassment. Making sure that the employers we work with have robust E&D practice in place, including small SMEs, is one way. Another is to raise employer awareness of new Acas guidance on sexual harassment – you can read more about this in the next equality update.

Trump

And then there is Trump. One of his latest activities has been to retweet, to his 44 million followers, anti-Muslim propaganda by UK’s far-right ‘Britain First’ party. Yet by doing this, he has actually supported the narrative used by extremist groups that the West is out to destroy people of the Muslim faith. And this, ironically, plays into the hands of extremists, increasing the risk of radicalisation. Politicians on all sides have been quick to condemn his actions. ‘Britain First seeks to divide communities through their use of hateful narratives which peddle lies and stoke tension’ the Prime Minister’s official spokesperson said. London mayor Sadiq Khan said ‘Britain First is a vile, hate-fuelled organisation whose views should be condemned, not amplified’.

Learners are exposed to this debate via the media and inevitably bring their opinions or concerns into the education setting. Staff have a role to challenge anti-Muslim rhetoric that can so easily lead to hate crime. They have a role, through their actions in actively promoting British values in teaching and learning, to give a counter-narrative and to help empower learners to stand up against injustice and inequality.

Ofsted expect education providers to take advantage of what is going on in the world, to help prepare learners thoroughly for life in Britain's complex multicultural society.The challenge for education providers is to support their staff to gain the skills and confidence to discuss sensitive, topical and at times controversial issues – to challenge media distortions, unhelpful remarks by high profile people such as Trump and to encourage debate. Curriculum leads play a critical role in supporting staff to ensure British values is actively promoted in teaching and learning and these sorts of discussions take place.

Updated with the very latest findings from Ofsted, two of my most popular training workshops help address these challenges – you can download publicity on ‘facilitating controversial discussions’ here, and ‘British values and curriculum leadership’ here

And before leaving Trump, it is worth reflecting on the call by many in this country to rescind the invitation for a state visit. I disagree. If I were Prime Minister, I would support the invitation – but I would make sure that Trump spends time with Muslim communities, for example in London, Birmingham and Manchester, so he sees the positive contribution these communities make to British society. The ‘lived experience’ is a powerful tool to counteract unconscious bias and the lack of understanding and awareness that so often fuels prejudice. It’s one of the reasons why Ofsted expect outstanding tutors to provide, to their learners, a ‘comprehensive understanding of people and communities beyond their immediate experience’. Why? Because there is a bigger picture here. We have an opportunity to prepare learners to become responsible citizens in society – or in the language of Ofsted ‘thoughtful, caring and active citizens’.

You can download publicity for my training workshop on ‘promoting British values in teaching and learning’ here and publicity for my training workshop on ‘tackling unconscious bias’ here.

A final reflection

Everyone in schools, colleges and universities has a role in preparing learners for life. It’s not just tutors who educate learners – everyone plays a part. And if we can ensure the ethos and culture of our organisation is one which empowers young people and treats everyone with dignity and respect, then we have an opportunity to influence the society in which we live.

‘Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world’

Nelson Mandela