����Ӱ��

Buckinghamshire New University hosted its first Inclusive Leadership conference this week, in collaboration with High Wycombe school partner Sir Henry Floyd Grammar School.

Educators from across the education spectrum, from primary to university, came together to discuss equality, diversity and inclusion in the education system and how providers can work together to approach inclusion cohesively and consistently. 

The event was opened by organisers Zahara Chowdhury, EDI Business Partner at BNU, and Sanum Khan, Assistant Head for Personal Development and Diversity/Equity/Inclusion Lead at Sir Henry Floyd Grammar School. The organisers gave an overview of the conference and explained their work around the topic before handing over to Professor Damien Page, Deputy Vice-Chancellor at BNU. 

Professor Page discussed his own career as a teacher, and speaking of the power of authentic inclusion, said: “What we do as educators is not just for individuals, it’s generational transformation.”

Professor Page continued: “This [conference] is exactly what this university is about. This is the type of work that makes the difference.” 

The first keynote speaker was Rachel Macfarlane, Lead Advisor for Underserved Learners at HFL Education, whose presentation, ‘Striving for Race Equity in Our Schools’, used case studies from schools, including instances of exclusion and racism as ‘best practice’ discussion points. Rachel shared recommendations from her own research and career and engaged in a discussion with the audience around accountability and responsibility for implementation. 

Rachel said: “A school cannot be truly anti-racist if the adults in it are not racially literate and without the staff and young people being supported to consider and talk about issues of race. It starts with leaders of the school – anyone and everyone who leads a team of adults.”  

The second keynote of the morning, ‘Social Justice and Anti-racism in Education: Centring the student in mainstream and HE’, came from Aisha Richards, Founder and Director of Shades of Noir. Aisha started her keynote with a personal introduction, admitting she’s known in the sector as a “troublemaker”, and then shared a series of media headlines that demonstrated problems with equity within the education sector. 

Aisha then encouraged the audience to discuss the concept of ‘belonging’, which is heavily used by universities to gauge student satisfaction and in recruitment materials. Audience members shared the idea that belonging could be understood as ownership, and can in some cases “just mean assimilation”. The conversation segued towards the practice of outreach at universities, with audience members again sharing their views in support and in criticism.

Following the discussion, Aisha shared her own ideas and introduced a concept she founded called ‘Be-yonding’ as a path forward.

In Aisha’s words: “Be-yonding – moving beyond structures that often perpetuate exclusion and limitation. I call this process Be-yonding. It’s a term I coined to capture a need to transcend institutions and normative practises, to find new possibilities in ourselves, and to support the evolution of a society that embodies multiple justices and freedoms. It’s about accepting ourselves and each other as we are, so we can truly be in these spaces.

“Be-yonding asks us to reject the idea that students must fit into pre-existing structures. Instead, we need to create spaces that adapt to the needs, experiences, and potential of every student, especially those from marginalised communities. It’s about recognising that the systems we operate in – education, policy, culture – are not fixed. We can and must challenge and change them.” 

Following the keynotes, the afternoon consisted of a series of workshops and breakout groups, including sessions run by Adam Vasco, Director of Diversity and Inclusion at The University of Wolverhampton, Michelle Perkins, UK Programme Lead at Facing History, Robina 'Ruby' Begum, Consultant at The Reverse Mentoring Practice, Suma Din, Author, Educator and Researcher with a focus on motherhood and social justice in education, Hannah Wilson, Director and Co-founder at Diverse Educators, and Khaiam Shabbir, Headteacher at Cressex Community School. 

The conference concluded with a panel session with students from BNU and Cressex Community School, discussing what belonging means to them.

Organiser Zahara said: “In order to ‘widen participation’ we need to collaborate and work across sectors in education. I have never attended an event that has brought Mainstream, Further and Higher Education together in one room to address widening participation, equity and inclusion in education. It was an absolute privilege to bring this event and future network to life at BNU and a pleasure to collaborate with a key sponsor and advocate for the event, Sir Henry Floyd Grammar School. The event has enabled educators across all three sectors to critically address how we can work together to ensure we are creating equitable, inclusive and successful education experiences for every student, particularly underrepresented and underserved communities.”

Read more about the inclusion work happening at BNU.