Category: Minutes

Minutes for Meeting on Thursday 3rd March

March 1, 2016 / / 0 Comments

Apologies: Michael, Jack, Ms Schuil, Mr Leonard, Ms Critchley

ACTION POINTS

  1. Rotating Chair – Rostered, everyone has a chance.
  2. Distribution of Lambeth LGBTQ Lesson Plans for group review – It looks standard, a mot depends on the delivery. Conwright, Dewi, Chris interested in assisting, Henry might be abel to observe. Would be great to try to do this with every class.
  3. School Uniform – A long discussion happened about the girls in the school – Ms Lucking will speak to some of the 6th form girls and invite them to this group.
  4. Formation of group for Womens’ issues – Ms Lucking, Conwright, Obai, Dewi, Dominic
  5. Equalities Policy – Everyone on board for next week
  6. Sticker Campaign – Dewi, Henry, Dominic, Chris.
  • Senior Leadership Solidarity – Obai
  • Assemblies – Ms Wilberforce. Miss Critchley. Ms Lucking, Dominic and Michael
  • Lambeth Services – Kate

Minutes – 25 February 2016

February 25, 2016 / / 0 Comments

Apologies: Conwright

  • Subversive communication.
  • Governors.

Action Points from Last Week:

  • Senior Leadership Solidarity – Obai
  • Assemblies – Ms Wilberforce. Miss Critchley. Ms Lucking, Dominic and Michael
  • School Uniform – Talk about again
  • Lambeth Services – Kate

Equalities Goals

Governor Chris Hall has asked to visit us to help devise a revised second objective for the school. We agreed to have him visit us on the 10th of March.

Subversive messaging

  • Chris and Mel presented their ideas for the creation of a ‘subversive campaign’ of visual messaging within the school to help pursue a constructive effort that could come from the detailed discussions we’ve been having.

 

Minutes 11/02/2016

February 11, 2016 / / 0 Comments

Apologies

Mr Waugh – At UCL giving a lecture

Barnaby- at Art coursework session

Ms Warsame- sick

Ms Lucking – another appointment`

(some apologies missing from minutes so I apologise)

Chair and Minutes – Ms Critchley

Agenda 

  • Report from Obai on JLT
  • Positive image for women
  • LGBTQ workshops on offer to us

JLT

Obai- snapchat problem videoing people to pass on to other people. Meeting with SLT about lunch cards being on show at all times to ID people and allow JLT members to write SIMS  comments.

Jamal- phone removal was well deserved. Boys were stupid and they lost a privilege.

Women and positive images

Jamal- needed clarification of last weeks agenda. Agreed the problem is how women are being treated differently. Positive imagery not enough. Sanctions required.

Miss Murphy- questions girls dress code and whether or not one exists. States she feels there needs to be one as boys see it as unfair which might promote resentment.

Henry- we never speak about the objectification of women. Informal assembly suggested about repercussions of engaging in sexually objectifying conversations. Male led preferably as boys will respond better to this. Objectification should be addressed. And harassment is to be defined.

Obai- positive image- imagine she is your mum. integrating the women into the community more.

Christian- proposing a change in uniform policy for girls. Thinks it’s right to enforce the one that exists in planners.

Jamal- worried we are enforcing the idea that they should dress better to receive respect. Male teachers can encourage it. Named male teachers who he states have encouraged it.

Henry- the male role models should stand up for women. agreed with Ms C’s link to He for She campaign.

Jack- larger than anything we have taken on before. Struggle to see moral side of things. Cultural shift required. Points out that women are not treated so well but are in society, a majority not a minority

Henry- not everyone is female. Everyone has a race or sexuality. It’s making things harder.

Dominic- Sexism is seen to be funny. “I banged your girl”

Ms Critchley- would like to invite boys to take part in an assembly on not seeing women as possessions rather contributors to society! generally thinks it might help if women were in front of kids at assemblies more.

Jamal- harassment of other girls. Heard some boys who talked about our Y10 BFI project say “What does she expect? She’s come into a boys school.” When girls claimed to have been harassed.

Jack- Points out that sexism affects all of us. Try to get a better connection will the school community by pointing out how they are at a disadvantage if the inequality persists.

Freddie- maybe we could do an assembly on objectification of men

Christian- if we flipped it- imagine it. If the boys were being treated badly.

Jack- too hard to make there be less of a difference between men and women with so many men in the school. Attack gender stereotypes.

Ms Schuil- thinks of American dress codes. Poor excuse to make girls dress better.

Jack- zero interaction with women is a problem

Freddy- “what have we gained with gender stereotypes?”

Henry- don’t be a girl. Bothers us.

LGBTQ Workshops on offer from Lambeth

Michael- doesn’t see many boys taking it on. (the offer of the support group for LGBTQ young people)

Henry- wants to see what they are proposing in more detail and would want them to work in collaboration with the group. Concerned that students often see external workshops as free day and hence don’t engage.

Jack- Would like to see where they are coming from and be allowed to read the email about the project’s goals. Concerned their message might marginalise people more.

Pips went!

 

Next week’s agenda

Deciding our role in how to promote positive image for women (had to cut conversation short)

 

 

Minutes: 4 February 2016

February 4, 2016 / / 0 Comments

Apologies: Emily (late), Obai, Michael, Mr North, Jack.

Chair: Ms Critchley

Topic: The Objectification of Women.

Henry: the misogyny in the school affects the way young men relate to women outside the school.

Barnaby: Definitely notices the difference in the way the female students are treated: everyone focuses attention on them, noises and jeering

Mr Leonard: Some students think their attitudes are warranted due to the fact they believe the women are inviting it through how they’re addressed

Henry: It comes across in the language as well – “My ting” – the idea of women being the possession of women.

Alistair: Fundamentally being a single sex school is a problem, the lack of contact with girls and women affects the boys experience – this isn’t an excuse though. One approach would be to turn it into a mixed school.

Ms Critchley: Argues that it’s not so important what happens in other schools. Curious about how women are treated differently in the school.

Barnaby: The teachers don’t seem to be as subject to the sexist behaviour as the support teachers and 6th form women.

Henry: Poor behaviour seems to happen more in classes taught by women.

Dewi: There’s a general lack of respect for female teachers in school – a marked difference between this and how men are treated. Mentioned that in Science, the atmosphere is different between the way male and female students are regarded.

Mr Leonard: Referred to a supply teacher as “I’d do her”.

Ms Lucking: talked about the Year 7 students and how they seem to regress when they arrive in the school. Some students wondered if this was a consequence of coming from a single sex environment.

Alistair: One of the first notable things about the school that there were no female students and that this inferred that there was a barrier between boys and girls.

Ms Lucking: Went to a girls’ school, and recalled the sense of difference she felt between girls and boys. She felt she was taught that women could be very empowered.

Ms Critchley: When she went powerboat driving and was teased that she crashed the

Mr Howeld: One of the biggest problems is that these issues are not properly addressed – the problem is leaving this alone.

Alistair: When the main exposure to women is through the media, this can have a problematic effect on people’s perceptions.

Ms Bennett: Teachers can override these preconceptions through taking a strong clear stance

Mr Howeld: The students are not framed as ‘gentlemen’ in the school – this is something that’s not encouraged.

Ms Lucking: Remember not to be overwhelmed by the negativity.

Minutes 21st January

January 22, 2016 / / 0 Comments

Chris reckons that we could deal with one thing from our plan of action each week – general agreement.

Today’s topic: Head Teachers’ Interviews

Michael – Apology (at School Council)

Alistair: Has been working with Neil Atherton: will be involved in headteacher interviews with Barnaby and Obai

Henry: What changes would they make in the future?

Dominic: What plans do they have for the future. What would you do create influence in the school.

Alistair: Alistair enjoys the laid back nature of the school. Alistair is interested in their style of leadership.

Mr Price: Advised against using terms about the school like ‘laid back’ given that it could easily be misinterpreted by potential headteachers.

Ms Schuil: Propose the idea of a more gender neutral uniform policy.

 

 

Minutes 14 January 2016

January 14, 2016 / / 0 Comments

Incidents

  • Chris read a list of the racist/homophobic/
  • Henry said real progress will be seen when the more subtle incidents are recorded
  • Chris sees this as a small step, but only recording incidents is not going to effect change.
  • Alistair acknowledged that there is a need for conversations with the school leadership about how things like this will be responded to by the school.

Plan of Action

  • A shared activity as a group – Jack
  • Lesson Observations – Henry and Enrichment
  • Positive Messages about diversity
  • Destroy the cuss “Gay”
  • LBGT History Month
  • Transgender language.
  • World food day – Jack
  • More staff to be involved – Chris

Leadership Group

  • Chris is now on Leadership Group and will be pursuing in the first instance the schools’ goals.

Minutes 7 January 2016

January 7, 2016 / / 3 Comments

Apologies: Mr Waugh

Chair: Henry Howeld

Topic: Political Bullying

The meeting began with words from Mr Leonard about an “event in which someone expressed their [political] views” was “heckled”.

It was questioned as to whether or not such instances are allowed to happen. The argument is that it is a choice and so a debate must be allowed to happen.

Henry questioned where the line was between discussion and bullying, and the setting.

Alistair made a point that people can use politics and free speech as something “to hide behind”.

Both Jack and Alistair stated that they are “willing to be discriminated against because of [their] views.”

Henry asked how students would be educated about politics in an unbiased way.

Ms Schuil made a final point about how some students may only say things in order to gain attention. The potential of wasting time of rabble-rousers.

 

This weeks minutes was translated from a piece of scrap paper written by Henry. All quotes are in reference to what Henry has written, not what people have said. – Emily Warr

Minutes 3 December 2015

December 3, 2015 / / 0 Comments

New agenda items:

  • A rise in subtle racist and Islamophobic behaviour has occurred since the Paris terrorist attacks. There seems to be a heightened awareness of the difference between people who are muslim and those who aren’t. This is contributed to by the media representation of muslims and conflating this with terrorists.
    • Media Representation – an assembly, add to enrichment. (Henry happy to pursue this) He presented an excellent suggestion about presenting three articles, all of which cover the same topic.
    • Jamal was concerned that assemblies aren’t the best means of addressing people’s understanding – particularly if they occur too long after the fact.
    • Miss Critchley said students would like tutor time to be used to raise people’s awareness of current issues (Henry has attempted this – Miss Critchley will assist with disseminating resources.
    • Young people are also afraid, but don’t want to admit it. There’s a need
  • Emily’s List:

 

Matters Arising:

  • The Womens’ group is going to be reconstituted.
  • Lunch
  • Marcel, Michael, Dominic – Miss Critchley, +co-opted teach

Minutes 26/11

November 26, 2015 / / 0 Comments

Last Week

  • Possibility of the Women’s group merging with the Equalities group. SW will look into this.

This Week

  • can we begin to read the incidents from SIMS again?
  • Exploration of the term ‘That’s racist!’ This has begun to be misused by students and creates a problem. Could this lead us to think about positive messages within the school. We must be careful with the term ‘racist’ and begin to value/celebrate difference through education. There are apparently conflicting messages as to how pastoral leaders might have given guidance on how to deal with incidences of racism. Could we begin to develop constructive guidance to help deal with racism and give positive messages about people. Can students form the work work to develop a ‘Day of Difference’ that celebrates us all?
  • Alistair met with N Atherton about developing a coherent system where the Equalities Group are in communication with the School Leadership Group. They have proposed a monthly meeting where Alistair passes on our priorities. Are we able to approve Alistair as responsible for our communications? Could we have two people do this? Nominations: Jamal’s, Alistair and Henry.
  • Ms Prince, the school counsellor has asked if she can attend the group, are we ok with this? Yes.

Minutes 19/11

November 19, 2015 / / 0 Comments

Apologies: Ms Hayles, Dewi, Tobias

from last week

  • historical unresolved racist incident – the meeting took place, but only Ms Wright and Alistair were present. They began working on a set of policies/proposals that the group would present to Senior Management. The favoured approach from this meeting was that there would be a meeting between students; their parents; a member of SLT. The teacher should not be responsible for making the initial phone call home and arranging the meeting. The sanction should be in line with how fights are dealt with, therefore carrying the same weight on SIMS. We have touched on a sensitive subject and it’s possibly the first time we have been met with resistance for the things we have asked for. Do also remember that your attendance at the group does not mean you must take part, but please show your support of you commit to a group.
  • The Equalities Teacher Inset took place on Wednesday after school and was generally well received. There was definitely debate amongst the staff to the role plays produced. We also have been written a letter by Ms Lucking, which will be published on our website. We would welcome anonymous responses to the role plays performed at the inset. This will be hard and there will be backlash, but our response has often been to approach these situations positively.

Added to the agenda:

  • reporting on the events of this week
  • Using the term ‘racist’ inappropriately.
  • when will we begin to visit Enrichment Observations