Month: June 2016

Meeting 30 June

June 30, 2016 / / 0 Comments

Apologies:

  • Michael
  • Jack Elderton

Agenda:

LAST WEEK’S ACTIONS:

Ms Lucking is to speak with Mr Atherton about a teacher survey

Has had a lot of trouble meeting Mr Atherton. Mr Atherton has agreed to speak in more than a corridor conversation

Making Waves

Ms Lucking outlined the scope of this magazine. She asked that we contribute an Equalities page with articles from students. She is open to anything – but there is a 7 day deadline. You can email Ms Lucking on mlucking@nautical.lambeth.sch.uk if you have anything to contribute

  1. Obai offered an article.

Counter-Culture

A small group are working on promoting discussion about our Equalities issues using a more innovative, less interpersonal means. Ms Lucking has been running workshops to see if we can produce imagery that might promote a response focussing on the language we use in relation to women. Ms Schuil, Mr Harris and Ms Lucking created images based on models from street art. An example is attached.

Mr Harris asked if the group could offer suggestions about what the focus for this might be?

Ms Lucking would like to run the workshop again at

Equalities statements from other schools

Obai has provided an example of Equalities goals. We should read this for next week where we’ll have a more detailed conversation about these.

Obai’s offer support to Mr Mumuluh

Dewi offered to help Obai support Mr Mumuluh in the Orlando assembly.

Post Brexit response

Formal submission from Mr Price:

Brexit Response
To quote today’s BBC news:

“the referendum has changed nothing legally but everything politically.”

(http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-uk-leaves-the-eu-36671629)

To this I would add socially. Already society is feeling the consequences of the controversial vote.

(https://www.yahoo.com/news/brexit-post-ref-racism-000000858.html)

We note the rise in racist abuse as reported by many reputable sources.

We believe that any response needs to be considered and rational.

Likewise we applaud the decision by the prime minister to condemn the attacks on migrant communities.

Furthermore that our own response should be as widely publicised and participatory as is feasible.

To this end I move that:

We prepare a statement of the type that names can be added. “We the undersigned”, followed by a statement on the social conditions post Brexit and a strong defence of the values of equality and tolerance for difference which has absolutely not been diminished.

We therefore will prepare such a statement and seek all avenues available, digital and analogue, to publicise this and allow our school community to add their names to it.

Obai seconded this motion, based on his own personal experience of this racist abuse.

Carried Unanimously

ACTION: Mr Price, Mr North, Mr Ermack

Obai: Not all Leave voters are racist.
Dewi: Many of us have seen this increase in xenophobic behaviour
Mr North: Agrees that it should be intelligent response
Mr Harris: Would this be an issue to explore in relation to the counter-culture project
Mr Price: It is our moral and legal obligation to respond to these breaches of our equality obligation

TIME FOR COUNTER-CULTURE WORKSHOP:

To be announced.

Action:

  • SIMS wording for logging incidents – Ms Critchley, Mr Waugh, Obai. Need to meet.

Equality Statements

June 29, 2016 / / 0 Comments

I have been researching some Equality Statements the past days. I found out some good ones out there in google. Most of them are really simple but effective. Let’s check them out.

MAYFLOWER HIGH SCHOOL has a simple Equality statement it is stated down below.

MAYFLOWER HIGH SCHOOL

Equality Statement

We welcome our duties under the Equality Act 2010 to eliminate discrimination, advance equality of opportunity and foster good relations in relation to age (as appropriate), disability, ethnicity, gender, religion and sexual identity.

Guiding principles:

 

  • We value all learners equally
  • We recognise and respect difference
  • We foster positive attitudes and relationships, and a shared sense of cohesion and belonging
  • We observe good equalities practice in staff recruitment, retention and development
  • We aim to reduce and remove inequalities and barriers that already exist
  • We consult and involve widely
  • All of MHS policies are written with regard to and are compliant with the Equality Act 2010

The link for this equality statement http://www.mayflowerhigh.essex.sch.uk/page/?pid=377

Brandles School’s Equality Statement is simple and cool. Check it,

Equality Statement

Brandles embraces all the aims of The Equality Act 2010, which are:

  • To eliminate all discrimination
  • To enable everyone to have equal opportunities
  • To enable everyone to have equal life chances
  • To foster good relationships

Our objectives to achieve these aims are as follows:

We will :

  • Introduce a policy
  • Develop a resource base
  • Develop a personalised learning programme for all pupils
  • Ensure it is part of our induction process for staff and pupils

The Only thing that all of the equality statements have in common is The Equality Act 2010. The Equality Act 2010 is a document in depth -about equality right- designed by the government. In my opinion we shall have our equality statement based on The Equality Act 2010, because it covers everything.

Thanks
By Obai Ermak
London Nautical School Equalities Team

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Minutes Thursday 23rd June

June 29, 2016 / / 0 Comments

Apologies

Jamal is going to be late

Lethaniel

Miss Lucking

Miss Wilberforce

And sincere apologies from Miss Critchley who was present. Her muddled notes from the meeting have been neatened up here. If anything is missing or misrepresented please say so and she will amend the minutes. 

Last Week’s minutes

Last week’s minutes were read. The following actions were reviewed:

  • Ms Lucking is speaking with Mr Atherton about a teacher survey to identify the issues some teacher might have with students being disrespectful. Ms Lucking can report on this when she is next here.
  • Obai and Freddy and Christian and Henry will bring a list of equalities statements from other schools as well as our existing one – Everyone forgot. This is an action for next week too.
  • SIMS wording for logging incidents – Ms Critchley, Mr Waugh, Obai. This has not been arranged. This is an action for next week too BUT it was brought up to Governors by Mr Waugh. We will continue to be persistent about this. Should be doing it anyway….
  • Obai offered to support Mr Mumuluh who wants to address Orlando with his Year 7 cohort. Obi has not yet spoken to Mr Mumuluh. He will do that this week

Agenda:

Review of meeting with Mr Bull

He was impressed that the equalities group exists. He’s ready to help us. We spoke about the incidents we tackle and he reassured us that he was sorting it out but that he was bringing his own more consistent behaviour policy which will not favour certain types of pupils. Positive generally.

Pride: Permission form drive

All are responsible for bringing own slips in and for reminding others.

This brought up the question of Uniform again. Arguments for the students being able to express themselves were put forward. Teachers insisted that uniform or sixth form uniform (as a compromise) must be worn by all students.

Financial Inequality

Ms Critchley read Lethaniel’s post to the group in his absences. Mr Waugh feels this should be on our list of things we are concerned about. Even when people try to be inclusive of race or gender for example, they are not respectful of financial contraints.

Obai is worried that the rich will not be affected by Brexit but poor people will be. Some people cannot afford things- like computers but they are expected to use them. It isn’t fair. Headphones and games consoles (or not having the right one) can lead to social stigma. Geography trip £182 but 25% of marks would have been lost if you didn’t go.  Jamal points out that some people indulge in the wrong things so can’t afford other things they need. Blazers are also too expensive. Your wealth can also affect your social group and peoples perception of you (Christian). Extra curricular activities can be expensive. Learning to play musical instruments is expensive so it excludes student who cannot afford them. Making assumptions about wealth is also damaging.

EU Referendum

Discussed above.

Actions

  • Ms Lucking is to speak with Mr Atherton about a teacher survey and will feed back
  • Obai and Freddy and Christian and Henry will bring a list of equalities statements from other schools
  • SIMS wording for logging incidents – Ms Critchley, Mr Waugh, Obai. Need to meet.
  • Obai is to offer support to Mr Mumuluh

 

 

 

 

 

Socio-Economic Inequality – (Open for discussion)

June 22, 2016 / / 0 Comments

Hi Everyone

I just wanted to explain a bit more into detail what I meant last week when bringing up Socio-Economic Inequality. It stems from the recent tragedy of the Orlando Mass LGBT Shooting which after sparked huge
support from many people and events in commemorating the people that tragically lost their lives and the families that were affected.

The event in particular I would like to bring up is the Tony Awards which is the big Broadway theatre awards hosted each year.  The ceremony this year was in dedication to the people who died in the shooting and had the message of being able to live up to whatever dream you have no matter who you are.

This brings up the idea of something like theatre being open to everyone but not necessarily in some cases.

The example I would like to talk about comes from the biggest Broadway show of the year which is a musical called Hamilton. This musical has a diverse cast of people from many different ethnicities showing equality between people of different races in the theatre industry.

Unfortunately, many people are unable to see Hamilton because of it’s astronomical ticket prices which can be in the region of $1,000 to $7,000 (£675.61 to £4,730.05) due to tickets being resold by 3rd party sellers who increase the price due to popularity.  This, however, means for the vast majority of people it would be too expensive to see the show.

This brings the idea of Socio-Economic Inequality as theatre is open to everyone no matter who they are but can also exclude people of any gender, race or sexual orientation as most people can’t pay this much on luxuries such as theatre tickets, even at regular prices theatre can be too expensive with West End prices ranging from £15 to £150, not including the price of dinner and merchandise.

Furthermore, this idea can also be linked with other forms of entertainment like sports which can be too expensive to go see like theatre, which means people are excluded from some types of events like football matches.

I was bringing this up as more of a discussion and the ideas people had on the subject as I feel it can be important to look at things which bring people together but sometimes indirectly push people away as well.

Lethaniel

Meeting 16 June 2016

June 16, 2016 / / 0 Comments

Apologies:

Dewi, Ms Wilberforce, Barnaby, Alistair

Agenda:

  • Orlando – Obai
  • Socio-Economic Inequality – Lethaniel
  • Pride Uniform – Jack

Orlando

Ms Schuil explained some of the issues that have been triggered by the mass-shooting in an Orlando nightclub. Ms Schuil suggested we wear a (black) ribbon.

Jack wanted to reaffirm the importance that we acknowledge that it was an LBGT hate crime, not just a generic terrorist attack.

Mr Mumuluh is very keen to run an assembly – Obai has offered to support

In response to Obai’s question about the potential risk at pride, Henry encouraged people to still ‘step outside their front door’ even in the light of these risks as we need to challenge the fears created by people performing terrorist actions.

Pride Uniform

Jack identified that many Year 11 students would be reluctant to come if they had to wear their school uniform.

Chris put forward his ‘identity’ idea. Henry expressed that our banner would show who we are.

It’s important to Ms Critchley that we are in uniform in order to show that we are part of a school.

Ms Schuil reminded the group that usually groups walking in pride are unified by what they wear.

Last Week’s Actions:

  • Ms Critchley will support forms to invite people to Pride and check who agreed to do the no filter video and provide some encouragement. Ms Critchley, Marcel, Obai, Matthew, Ms Shuil Matthew. TUESDAY BREAK. Mr Waugh will have consent form – two assemblies have been done Y8, Y7 and Year 10 are in progress.
  • Ms Lucking is speaking to Mr Atherton about a survey of teachers to identify if there’s a difference in the classroom experience between male and female teachers.
  • Group speaking to Mr Bull. Freddy, Christian, Obai, Jack, Dominic, Leon, Ms Critchley, Ms Murphy, Ms Schuil, Matthew Q. Friday 17th June – Parents’ Meeting Room.
  • Jack will have a lot of availability after next Friday.
  • SIMS wording for logging incidents – Ms Critchley, Mr Waugh, Obai

Actions:

  • Ms Lucking is speaking to Mr Atherton about a survey of teachers to identify if there’s a difference in the classroom experience between male and female teachers.
  • Obai and Freddy and Christian and Henry will bring a list of equalities statements from other schools as well as our existing one – Tuesday Break, Music room
  • SIMS wording for logging incidents – Ms Critchley, Mr Waugh, Obai
  • Obai offered to support Mr Mumuluh who wants to address Orlando with his Year 7 cohort

Minutes 9 June

June 9, 2016 / / 0 Comments

Agenda:

  1. Equalities Objectives
  2. Parade 25 June – speak to your families now. Mr Bull was invited and will consider joining us. We’ll be attending in uniform.
  3. Group speaking to Mr Bull. Freddy, Christian, Obai, Jack, Dominic, Leon, Ms Critchley, Ms Murphy, Ms Schuil, Mr Michael, Matthew Q. Friday 17th June – Parents’ Meeting Room.
  4. SIMS wording for logging incidents.

ACTIONS:

  • Ms Critchley will support forms to invite people to Pride and check who agreed to do the no filter video and provide some encouragement. Ms Critchley, Marcel, Obai, Matthew, Ms Shuil Matthew. TUESDAY BREAK. Mr Waugh will have consent form.
  • Ms Lucking is speaking to Mr Atherton about a survey of teachers to identify if there’s a difference in the classroom experience between male and female teachers.
  • Obai and Freddy and Christian and Henry will bring a list of equalities statements from other schools as well as our existing one.
  • Group speaking to Mr Bull. Freddy, Christian, Obai, Jack, Dominic, Leon, Ms Critchley, Ms Murphy, Ms Schuil, Mr Michael, Matthew Q. Friday 17th June – Parents’ Meeting Room.
  • Jack will have a lot of availability after next Friday.
  • SIMS wording for logging incidents – Ms Critchley, Mr Waugh, Obai