In March, across two days, more than 140 School Leaders and Parish Partners gathered at Flourish House in Wells to connect together around the theme of ‘Creating Welcoming Communities’. Day 1 began with worship led by Bishop Michael and Day 2 began with worship led by Bishop Ruth.
Throughout the two days, delegates heard from three speakers, Anjali Rev’d Anjali Kanagaratnam, the Racial Justice Project Officer in the Diocese of Bristol. Author of ‘Beyond Tokenism: A Christian Vision for Embracing Racial Diversity in Our Schools’. Anjali reflected on equality, diversity, inclusion and justice, emphasising the importance of welcome, for all, including those who may feel on the margins of a community.
Emily Norman, Head of Curriculum and Inclusion and Elizabeth Olulari, National Lead for Racial Justice, both from the National Society for Education helped schools consider the role of church and school in Racial Justice and how they might get started and develop their work in this area. Using a well-known framework of Mirrors, Windows and Sliding Doors, Emily and Elizabeth helped delegates to consider which mirrors they were holding up to allow children and young people to see themselves reflected; how can children and young people see their cultures, identities, and experiences in our churches and schools? Followed by the windows they are allowing children and young people to look through to see the lives and experiences of people different from themselves. And finally, what sliding doors are our churches and schools opening that allow children and young people to interact and experience different worlds.
School Leaders and Parish Partners left feel inspired and challenged. One leader said ‘today has helped me think about how I make time to listen to my colleagues about their lived experiences, as well as take time to listen to children about their experiences of school life’. Another leader said, ‘today has reminded me to do things with, not to, those who need support’ and another leader said ‘today has made me think about the importance of providing space to learn from those whose voice is least heard’.
These days are a great opportunity to bring key leaders in our communities together to consider how they might serve and continue to work well together.
Our leaders were sent away with a copy of Anjali’s book and a bar of Tony’s Chocolonely and also recommended the Difference course as a possible next step.