As part of our work on equity developing Newhaven as an anti racist school we have taken part in an event and run a competition for our student’s over the last couple of weeks.
Define Equity Competition
We asked students to define equity, looking at the difference between it and equality. The top three were as follows:
1st place: Annalise Dale
Equity means recognising we all require different forms and amounts of support to assure we all get treated with fairness. Everyone has unique skillsets and need different types of help to make adjustments to imbalances in the support system.
2nd Place: Femi Awokola
The meaning of equity is to give everyone what they need to accomplish their dreams. For example, if they are doing a test, and there is a dyslexic person, they will be given extra time.
3rd Place: Sophia Goswell
Equity is when everyone gets the resources they need whereas equality is when everyone gets the same thing, not what they actually need. Equity and equality are different. Equity caters to what people need whereas equality gives everyone the same.
Sharing Good Practice Event
On Wednesday 3rd July, Newhaven were invited to an Educate Against Racism showcase event to talk to Greenwich schools about our work on reciprocal mentoring. Educate Against Racism is a group of schools who have worked together over the last couple of years in the borough with support from Greenwich focussing on staff development and the curriculum.
The aim of reciprocal mentoring at Newhaven School is to afford senior leaders (who are often white), and global majority non-senior (Black) staff the opportunity to become more knowledgeable and understanding about the others’ lived experience inside and outside the workplace. Specifically this is done through voluntary ‘reverse’ mentoring, the opposite of top down line management.
Here, senior and non-senior staff meet regularly to mentor each other on topics they choose to discuss from their own lives and career. Central to the reciprocal mentoring relationship is a willingness to be open and supportive, respectful, build rapport, listen, and validate others’ lived experiences and perspectives. The mentoring relationship is reviewed at regular intervals and lasts as long as it is useful to both mentees.
Feedback from the event was very positive and we are now making links with other schools to develop their own programmes.