DBE School Leaders' Conference 2024 - Racial Justice: Empowering Change for our Schools

We would love for you to join us for the School Leaders' Conference - Racial Justice: Empowering Change for our Schools.

We have a moral and economic imperative to eliminate systemic racism and racial injustices Schools engaging in racial justice contribute to a more inclusive, informed, and equitable society.

It is crucial for young people to learn about equity and social justice so they can thrive in our increasingly global, multilingual and multicultural world. 

Attending this crucial conference will help school leaders to understand more about the need to understand how important it is to ensure pupils experience representation of global majority heritage individuals, even if they live in a largely WGB community.

We live and work in an increasingly inter-connected world. As school leaders, we should feel compelled to open our children’s eyes so they become curious, well-informed and capable of understanding how to embrace an understanding of their place in this complex world.

Our keynote speakers will be The Rt Revd Dr Rose Hudson-Wilkin, the Bishop of Dover and Elizabeth Olulari, National Lead for Racial Justice at the Church of England Education Office. We will also be joined by The Rt Revd Mark Tanner, the Bishop of Chester.  Read more about our guests. 

WORKSHOP SESSIONS

There’s an opportunity to join two of our afternoon workshops, designed to empower schools to deliver a curriculum centred on racial justice and implement meaningful change.  A registration form with workshop options will be sent to registered delegates in due course. Delegates will choose their workshop preferences and this will be confirmed ahead of the event.   

1. Liz Agbettoh: Blackburn Diocese School Effectiveness Officer and Lead for Equity, Diversity and Justice.

The Board of Education at Blackburn Diocese has been on its Equity, Diversity, and Justice journey for the last three years. During that time, we have had to face some uncomfortable truths and learn to have some difficult conversations. To quote Professor Paul Miller, we have had to stop “…painting the leaves…” in order to “shake up the soil and replant the tree”. This workshop will provide you with an overview of our journey, but more importantly it will share the lessons learnt on that journey and highlight the key elements that allowed us to be strategic, intentional, and robust in implementing our Equity, Diversity and Justice Strategy. You will also have access to some audit tools to help you on your way. Our journey continues.

2. Elizabeth Olulari & Aleishia Lewis: National Church of England Education team leads for Racial Justice and co-lead BAMEed leaders in London. 

An engaging workshop on Decolonising the Curriculum. In this session, we will explore the meaning and theories behind decolonisation, focusing on how to reshape the curriculum for racial justice. We will discuss practical strategies for creating space for diverse stories and role models within teaching content, ensuring that our curriculum reflects a broader, more inclusive range of perspectives. This is a vital opportunity to rethink education and make it more equitable for all.

3. Kayleigh Page & Freya Riley: Teachers at St Wilfrid’s CE Primary School, Grappenhall, Warrington.

Both have led the school in their journey to developing and embedding anti-racist practice. Through roles leading the school Anti-Racism Working Party, in addition to subject leads and classroom teachers, the session will discuss our experiences of developing a whole school approach to racial equality, including how we developed our action plans, prioritised curriculum areas, delivered and organised CPD, introduced new resources and worked with staff to ensure that our whole school culture was one of inclusion and diversity.

Accommodation Offer

We are delighted to offer you a special overnight rate at the Park Royal Hotel on the night before, the 20^th November, £125 bed and breakfast. You can book by calling their central reservation team, on 0330 107 1599 quoting ‘Senior Leaders' Conference’. This will require full non-refundable payment at the time of booking. This rate offer will expire on Wednesday 30^th October 2024 and any rooms booked afterwards would be offered at their best available rates at the time of booking.