At the Independent Schools Association (ISA) we work with many education professionals, providing support and training for the heads in our membership and for the teachers in their schools.
I was surprised to read recent coverage criticising one of the professionals we work with, Liz Pemberton, dragging her into “culture war” criticism under a lurid headline (Councils hire “Maoist” consultants to “decolonise minds” of nursery school children). Another article in The Guardian this week highlighted how a Conservative politician had called her anti-racism work “brainless”. This was depressing because questions of equity, diversity, and inclusion are essential for all schools to engage in as they’re simply part of good education.
British society is incredibly diverse, and getting more so. All young people need to be educated to prepare them for living in our pluralist society. They need to become skilled intercultural navigators, and learn to be comfortable handling challenging questions about their own identity and that of others. This is simply part of the reality of living in the UK.
“Questions of equity, diversity and inclusion are essential for all schools to engage in.”
At the ISA our members want their schools to be inclusive. As an association we represent a full range of independent schools and currently work with heads from over 580 schools. We pride ourselves in providing high calibre advice and support and part of this includes the provision of optional, high-quality training courses and conferences.
Liz Pemberton is a very experienced, professional and knowledgeable former nursery manager, and now a consultant specialising in training nursery managers, who we have enjoyed working with, providing training for our members. She is an enthusiastic expert in her field. Her training emphasises the potential and social influence of the team rather than the individual and has been well received by our members.
She has focused on inclusivity, multiculturism, and tolerance, promoting values that fit well with our own at the ISA as our members seek to embed inclusivity into the ethos and culture of their schools. We are seeing significant positive impact in this area across our member schools.
“She has focused on inclusivity, multiculturism, and tolerance, promoting values that fit well with our own.”
Liz Pemberton has shown herself to be incredibly open and confident when supporting delegates to manage the difficult conversations that can arise when discussions around race within school communities are embarked upon, specifically in the early years.
She has encouraged our members to ensure that everyone is part of the conversation and discusses the importance of the knowledge and solicitude that early years practitioners pass onto the children in their care and the influence this and our wider society can have on young children.
Race has understandably been the main focal point within her training to date, given its importance as an issue for schools to address in the light of the murder of George Floyd and the lessons we hope to have learned from the Black Lives Matter movement. But the significance of these training sessions and the ensuing discussions goes much further and should help support pupils to a better understanding of intersections with a range of marginalised or disadvantaged groups in our society.
“Her training emphasises the potential and social influence of the team and has been well-received.”
The ISA has been very happy to engage Liz Pemberton as one of the wide range of expert trainers supporting our professional development programme. She has raised the awareness of our members on issues relating to race and early years and emphasised in particular, how everybody belongs, taking the time to get to know those that she works with, focussing on where they are now and making sure the conversations had are relevant, meaningful and engaging.
Good schools look to the future as they seek to prepare their pupils not just for the world of today, but for what they’ll deal with over many decades. A school that doesn’t equip pupils with the skills and knowledge to engage with our increasingly diverse society would be doing them a disservice. Professionals like Liz Pemberton are an important part of helping schools provide the education that pupils need.