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Achieve – the GTC’s new network set up to promote race equality in schools – has got off to a promising start. We check out the advantages of joining with those who have already signed up.
Officially launched on 11 September, the GTC’s Achieve network has attracted nearly 900 participants, with more joining every week.
Free to join and open to teachers, teaching assistants and LEA advisers, those signing up receive a package of benefits. These include:
• a termly electronic newsletter detailing the work of the GTC and our partners on race equality in schools – the first was sent out in November
• advance notice of GTC events on related issues
• the opportunity for black and minority ethnic (BME) teachers and teaching assistants to join a project group dedicated to their professional development.
As part of the network, three project groups have been set up to tackle different areas of interest. The first will look at the statutory duty all schools have to create a race equality policy (REP). For many schools that serve mono-ethnic communities, this will involve looking at how their curriculum and ethos can prepare pupils to live in a multi-ethnic Britain. The group brings together schools, LEAs and national organisations to discuss the challenges involved in building and using a REP – and the first face-to-face event will be held in London on 8 February 2005. “The longterm aim of the group is to create useful resources to help all schools promote race equality and diversity,” says GTC assistant policy adviser, Shiraz Chakera.
The second project group is for BME teachers and other education professionals, including teaching assistants, LEA advisers, consultants and teacher trainees. Shiraz explains: “Its goal is to support the career development of BME professionals and give them the opportunity to contribute to national policy.” The first BME teachers’ event will take place in mid-February and will explore how the network can support these aims.
Valuable experiences
The third project group is the Refugee Teachers Task Force, led by the Employability Forum – the body that supports the employment of refugees. The GTC has joined several other organizations – including the Teacher Training Agency (TTA), DfES, local government, universities and refugee networks – in a special task force, set up to reduce the barriers that prevent refugees with a background in education from entering the teaching workforce. “Through the Achieve network, anyone who has worked with or employed a refugee, supported a refugee in joining an educational institution, or is a refugee themselves, can share their valuable experiences with the task force,” says Shiraz.
• For more information on these project groups, teachers can access the first newsletter online at
www.gtce.org.uk/achieve1 and sign up to be part of the network at www.gtce.org.uk/achieve.
A higher profile for refugees
Bill Bolloten was a teacher for more than 20 years and is now a freelance consultant, specialising in the education of refugee and asylum-seeking children. He has taught in Bradford and London, working with a number of LEAs, education projects and non-governmental organisations. Says Bill: “I joined Achieve so I can link with others who teach and work with refugee children. Sharing information with colleagues and supporting each other is vital for developing the best practice in schools.”
As the network progresses, he would like to see attention given to the needs of asylum-seeking children, supporting the development of good practice in LEAs and schools across the UK and encouraging more refugee teachers to work in the UK. “Schools and LEAs should be looking for a way we can draw on these available resources, assisting refugee teachers to become part of the workforce,” says Bill, who adds: “I welcome the GTC’s commitment to give a high profile to this area of work.”
Providing support
Eve Harding is a part-time teacher and equal opportunities co-ordinator at Charlotte Turner primary school in Greenwich. Here, just over half of the 299 pupils and a third of the school’s 15 teachers are from BME backgrounds.
Of her decision to join Achieve, Eve says: “I hope it will provide me with practical support, ideas and advice from fellow equal opportunities co-ordinators. Even though I try to attend my local network meetings, as a part-time teacher who doesn’t drive, it’s not always possible.” Working in an inner city school can sometimes feel overwhelming, admits Eve, who appreciates the support offered by the network.
She sees Achieve’s primary use as: “A tool for finding out the ways in which other schools are able to actively include and support their communities. It’s a way of listening to ideas and exchanging good practice.” For example, a 'virtual' conference allows Eve contact with colleagues who face similar challenges.
“I recently updated our equal opportunities policy and would have welcomed support and guidance from fellow co-ordinators,” says Eve. “Instead I reviewed polices on the internet from other schools and reflected on the practice already going on in my school. This task was on my mind when I joined Achieve.”
Putting policy into practice
Head teacher Hazel Maxwell, of Downs Way county primary school, joined the Achieve network with a specific task in mind. “Our school drew up its race equality policy last year and we wanted to see what other information is out there,” she says. “I’m particularly interested in the network’s race equality group because hopefully it will provide me with more information about how our policy can be put to best use.”
At Hazel’s school in Surrey, none of its six teachers are from BME backgrounds and almost 95 per cent of its 145 pupils are from white European backgrounds. “It could be difficult to make sure that we are covering the multi-cultural side of the curriculum,” she admits.
“When I was appointed, just after our first Ofsted inspection, we started to carry out extra work in these areas. This was praised in our Ofsted inspection in 2002.”
What’s important?
Maintaining awareness and developing as a teacher were high on the list of priorities for Viplav Nandanwar when he chose to sign up to Achieve. Viplav teaches at Shenley Court specialist arts college and sixth form in Birmingham, which has 1,500 pupils. Around 10 per cent of teachers and pupils are from BME backgrounds.
He says: “I hope to maintain a regular awareness of what’s important on the issue of racial inequality. I’ll consider what I read on the Achieve network to see if any aspects apply to my school.”
Viplav has also joined the mailing list of the BME group and would like to become involved in the February event, if time allows. “I sincerely hope engaging in relevant dialogue will help me to develop as a teacher, enabling me to relate more effectively with minority ethnic pupils within my school. This may well involve specific initiatives,” he says.
