Racial Justice: Empowering Change for our Schools

Last week, the Park Royal Hotel in Stretton hosted this year’s Senior Leaders’ Conference, welcoming over 70 senior leaders from our church schools. The event was both inspiring and encouraging, offering valuable insights and equipping schools with the confidence to advance their work on Racial Justice.

One of the highlights of the event was a presentation by students from The Bishop’s Blue Coat Church of England High School. Their articulate and motivating contributions left a lasting impression on all attendees.

Presentations continued with Elizabeth Olulari, National Church of England Racial Justice Lead, and The Right Revd Mark Tanner, Bishop of Chester, who concluded the morning session. Their words further reinforced the importance of embedding racial justice into school culture and practices, offering both strategic and pastoral perspectives on this vital work.

Participants engaged in two impactful workshops designed to empower schools to embrace racial justice through their curriculum and foster meaningful change. Sessions were led by Elizabeth Olulari and Aleishia Lewis, co-leads of BAMEed in London, and teachers, Kayleigh Page and Freya Riley, from St Wilfrid’s CE Primary School, Grappenhall, Warrington.

Canon Chris Penn reflected on the day, “This was such an important conference in reinforcing the DBE’s commitment to raising the profile of racial justice in our schools.  This conference provided a springboard for the wider support of training and resources that will be available from the DBE team that is planned for 2025.  It is hoped that schools will take up the offer recognising the important roles that our church schools have to play in championing justice for all.”

The conference also featured several incredible exhibitors who added to the richness of the day.

Read more about the day and about our guest speakers.