Developing an anti-racism HR strategy in schools

Cheryl Campbell, CEO and founder of the Association of BAME Business Leaders in Education (ABBLed) and business director at Thomas Tallis School, briefly explains how she has developed an anti-racism HR in her school

Many schools are examining their workforce through a diversity lens and thinking about how to effect change. Rather than making knee-jerk, token, appointments we look at how to develop a strategy that meets the needs of your setting. This area of work has become a real passion of mine and, over the last two years, it has become such a talking point that I have gained a real insight into how different organisations have approached this.

I am lucky enough to be in a position to be able to take the lead and see what impact comes from this work. School business leaders are perfectly placed to champion this as we are the ones leading on HR in most cases – we are used to having to advise the rest of SLT on this topic and keep them on track when they need it.

So where did I start with this in my organisation? SBLs, as hardworking as we are, cannot do it all. My first stop was to create a small working group to come on this journey with me. I’ve found the team of six to be invaluable as we represent a range of ages, genders, nationalities and races (amongst other things). This helps us to avoid group think as our wide-ranging experiences mean there is a rich diversity of opinions and perspectives.

We take collective responsibility as a group for our work and so, together, we decided on the terms reference, agendas and reporting structures. All minutes are agreed before being shared more widely.

We all demonstrate a commitment to the shared vision of the group and, through this, we are well on our way to embedding new practice that is indicative of an Anti Racist HR strategy. So far, we’ve been on a learning journey and have used what we’ve learned to forge our path. We’ve got some things wrong and achieved some successes.

I’m looking forward to sharing more of the detail at the EdExec LIVE SOUTHconference and hearing about what delegates are doing in their own schools.

To find out more come and join Cheryl at her seminar at EdExec LIVE SOUTH on 9^th June 2022.

To register your interest for free or discounted tickets email [email protected] quoting the subject line ‘I want to learn more at EdExec LIVE!’