ACEN 2024 Racial Inclusion Conference for Headteachers

Join us for the first full-day ACEN Racial Inclusion Conference for Headteachers - the only school-focused anti-racism event designed and delivered by students, teaching staff, and academics specifically for school leaders.

Date: Friday, 7th February 
Location: St Paul’s School for Girls, Brook Green, London W6 7BS
Times: 09:00 – 16:00

Following the success of our annual events launched in 2021, which were held at Dulwich College, St Paul's and City of London Schools, this event aims to address critical gaps in structural change by providing insights into making educational spaces safer and more inclusive for racially minoritised students and teachers.

This issue is particularly pressing now, especially in light of the recent race riots across the UK. As we approach the new term in September, with a renewed focus on these challenges, we want to engage with school leaders who are uniquely positioned to address these realities, and who are best placed to elicit a school-wide sense of cohesion and safety. 

We know that many racially minoritised teachers, students, and EDI leads feel their institutions view anti-racism as a completed task, overshadowed by competing priorities, and we hope that by dedicating one day of your academic year to this conference, you demonstrate that these issues remain important to you.

The day will feature a panel of school heads, EDI leads, and, most importantly, students of different races. 

ACEN will conclude the conference with a workshop designed to deepen understanding of the covert and common racial indignities that students often feel compelled to endure to access the education and community your schools offer. We will also shed light on the gaps and issues with current reporting mechanisms.

As standard, we will schedule significant Q&A time into each session so we can explore, as a collective alongside attendees, solutions to some of these challenges.

Speakers:

Headteacher Panel (to date)

• Jaideep Barot - Bristol Grammar School
• Sarah Fletcher - St Paul's Girls School 
• Cecile Halliday – Northwood College Junior School for Girls (GDST)
• Fionnuala Kennedy - Wimbledon High School (GDST)


EDI Lead Panel

• Claire Bale – GDST
• Mirangela Buggs – The American School in London
• Tyler John – St Paul’s School
• Coco Stevenson – St Paul’s Girls’ School
• Monia Zahid – Haberdashers' Boys' School

While we welcome and encourage the participation of EDI leads and those with safeguarding responsibilities, this event is specifically designed for headteachers. As a result, we can only accept registrations from these individuals if they are accompanied by a headteacher, unless there are unavoidable circumstances preventing the headteacher from attending.

Refreshments & lunch included