‘No one can make you feel inferior without your consent.’ 

Did I consent to feeling inferior? I was a Head Teacher in Bath and North East Somerset for ten years. During my tenure I was the only non-white Head Teacher in the authority. This is an authority that serves the affluent area of Bath. Our school was on the outskirts, in a small town called Radstock. A former mining community with some deep-seated views and pockets of deprivation. A forgotten place by those in authority.

As a small, brown Asian lady, I have no doubt my presence un-nerved many and my arrival was somewhat of an irritation to others. How could a Muslim possibly lead a Church of England School? It has to be said that when I was appointed in 2005, I was part of a Job share Headship, with my Co-Head being Christian. This appeared to make it more palatable to those appointing ‘as long as I did not water down the Christian ethos.’ It was when my Co-Head left, not long after, that they were stuck with me! (I smile as I write this as therein lies another tale…)

When people within the BAME community say ‘I had to work ten times as hard as others…’ Yes, I felt like this every day. But it would also be true to say I worked hard because I loved it! I loved the children. I loved the school and I grew to love the community. Do I love a challenge? It wouldn’t be life without a challenge! I will always be someone who looks for the positives in life, the light within the darkness.

‘You cannot stop the waves, but you can learn to surf.’ JK-Zinn

Like any Head in the land, my job was no different. In the early days I was summoned by data obsessed officials to offices in Bath and North East Somerset wanting to know how was I going to improve the figures. My answer was simple. I would not be moved on it. The children needed a completely different curriculum and I needed time to embed it. To me, happy children would automatically mean lots of learning. Not rocket science you may think? Try as I might, this was not always an easy concept for others to accept.

‘You have always had the power my dear, you just had to learn it for yourself.’ Glinda Good Witch of the North

Our beautiful school on the hill started with 59 children and we grew to be a popular and thriving school with many unique and outstanding features. I started writing a blog pepehartandhead.co.uk which details many of the happy events that took place. Flying our ‘Trinity Airways’ virtual plane all around the world, to actually visiting our Romanian friends in Brasov were just small parts of how our school became known as the school with an ‘irresistible’ curriculum! We were a school that loved to sing, often blasting out and singing along to ‘We’re simply the best!’ or Alicia Keys’ classic, but with the words ‘New York’ replaced with ‘Radstock’. I still cannot listen to these songs without belting out our Trinity words and smiling from ear to ear!

This was not arrogance, this was yet another strategy to empower our children that they could do anything, they just had to believe in themselves. When children are educated in a community that has been ignored or forgotten, there are barriers to learning. As educators it is up to us to give children the confidence to know that they are as good as anyone else and that there are no limits to what they can achieve.

News of the school’s caring and inclusive ethos soon spread, so much so that in a relatively short period of time, the school was filled to capacity – with a waiting list. I am aware of the politics involved when a school receives children who some have written off and deem to be un-teachable. Some children were not welcome in main stream settings. We celebrated and accepted children with open arms, regardless of their ability or background. I believe this is what made Trinity special.

We went on to receive four outstanding OFSTEDS in as many years, including Church of England inspections from the Diocese of Bath and Wells. We were placed in the top 10% of schools in the country.  Be under no illusions. Sometimes when you make things look easy, nothing could be further from the truth.

One of the most special parts of the education that we provided at Trinity was a ‘dare to be different!’ curriculum. In amongst the 360 biking, green gardening, archery, climbing walls and fun farm with our own school chickens, we wove in a curriculum that scared some. An anti-racist curriculum.

We were blessed to have Baroness Doreen Lawrence come to Trinity. She educated our children in a beautiful and unique way. We saw first hand how the evils of racism can destroy lives. These visits were truly special and moving. Our children were captivated and wanted change to happen. They wanted to be part of stamping out racism. The children carried out detailed work on Stephen Lawrence and all that he would surely have gone on to achieve. The children looked up to Stephen. Celebrating his birthday on September 13th was special. Having a room dedicated to Stephen Lawrence for all children and staff was special. This is because Stephen was special to us.

Words on this page can never do justice to the learning that was accomplished.

We taught children that where there is injustice, we seek the truth.

Learning about the evil and horror of the killing of a black teenager in Britain was uncomfortable for some. However, the sensitive and loving way in which we delivered this through poetry, dance, art and drama meant that the whole community shared in a pivotal moment in the history of the children within that school. The unveiling of the Stephen Lawrence statue, with the words ‘And Still I Rise’ was a significant, crucial and moving part of all children and adult education in Radstock.

The recent fury from those complaining about the hauntingly beautiful performance by dance group Diversity’s portrayal of the brutal and racist murder of George Floyd, is a reminder to us all. Some find it inconceivable that something so evil can be presented in such a creative way in order that we confront the truth - it forces us to face the horrors of racism that some want to bury. We should be burying racism not our children.

‘Learn from yesterday, live for today, hope for tomorrow.’ Albert Einstein

‘Education Uncovered’ investigates stories that some wish would simply go away. In four detailed articles Warwick Mansell has covered the removal of the Stephen Lawrence statue, room, playground markings and mosaics from Trinity School, part of the MNSP Trust, Radstock.

Warwick Mansell’s articles raise a number of issues, including responses from CEO Alun Williams, to questions he posed. I remain unconvinced by much of what Mr Williams has said. I still have concerns and believe that key questions remain unanswered.

In a number of quotes from the school it is claimed that the statue was damaged beyond repair (by contractors) during re tarmacking of the playground. The damage, he claims, was not noticed immediately and it was difficult to identify who had caused the damage. As a consequence, the Trust took the decision not to pursue compensation.

My view - If the damage to the statue was so severe that it was beyond repair then I have difficulty in believing that it was not noticed, by anyone, straight away. If it really was impossible to identify who had caused the damage then a reasonable course of action from the school would have been to make a claim from its own insurance policy. Aren’t insurance policies in place to cover such incidents? The Trust took the decision not to pursue compensation. Was this decided during a formal meeting? If so, it should be recorded in minutes. This was, after all, the loss of a valuable item. I would be really keen to ascertain how it was decided that the statue was not worth pursuing. Did anyone care?

Despite being asked, Mr Williams has yet to disclose the name of the contractors who carried out the tarmacking or any other work during the time the statue was allegedly damaged. I have been contacted by a number of parents who had children at the school in 2016. They do not recall any meetings where explanations were given as to the removal of the statue. One parent wrote “it was a blatant attempt to rewrite the past. As parents we were told nothing…” Mr Williams claims he ‘does not recall if the Trust expressly informed the parents’ of the removal of the statue. A simple check of newsletters would confirm this. Children or parents were never informed or consulted about the removal of the Stephen Lawrence statue.

I was deeply saddened to read Mr Williams’s comment ‘the Trust did not consider that to expend further sums on a statue, no matter how well meaning and powerful in its message, was tenable.’ The statue stood for so much more.

In order to access the building children, staff, parents and visitors would have walked past the statue. It demonstrated that the school celebrated people of all colours and whilst it remained on display, acted as a powerful reminder of the schools’ commitment to equality and unity against racism. It should have been tenable. The statue should have been repaired or a new one commissioned. There should have been greater care.

The statue was not erected because Doreen Lawrence had made a special visit. It represented years of learning and discovering about Stephen Lawrence, his life and how we should all join together in ensuring racism never wins.

Why has there never been an apology for removing the statue? Mr Williams also says “that parts of the mosaic still remain, including the dove symbol…This section was used to create a peace table…” The original mosaic was made up of two children, one brown and one white, standing shoulder to shoulder in unity. Does this section of the mosaic still exist and, if so, where in the school is it displayed?

Mr Williams says that the quiet room still exists and is used for a number of activities. The stilling room was named after Stephen Lawrence and was opened by Baroness Lawrence during one of her visits to the school. Mr Williams is well aware of this. Baroness Lawrence unveiled a beautiful brass plaque, which had been positioned on the door, dedicating the room to the memory of Stephen. Is this plaque still in place or did it, like the statue, get damaged beyond repair? Did contractors damage the Stephen Lawrence stilling room too? What happened to the pictures, poetry, art work and history that lovingly sat as a reminder of all the good that Stephen Lawrence brought to our world?

This was not just any room. It was a permanent feature of the school unveiled by Stephen’s Mother. She sat here with groups of children, sensitively answering questions as they eagerly wanted to devour her every word. The children were proud to be able to show her that they stood for hope and change in society and that what happened to Stephen should never happen again. 

As the world looked on many expressed anger at the removal of Slave Trader, Edward Colston’s statue in Bristol this summer. Bristol is my home city, a city I am proud of. In contrast, the removal of a statue, unveiled in memory of a young black teenager, Stephen Lawrence appears to be an act that most people are willing to over look . Stephen was murdered in a racist attack. We wanted children to learn that we are all valuable, regardless of skin colour. We even talked about what could have happened if Stephen’s murderers had had a better education. The statue represented hope for our children’s futures.

Many people have taken to Twitter to comment and express anger and disbelief upon hearing about the removal of all traces of the teachings of Stephen Lawrence’s life. Why would anyone in education want to wipe out the legacy of a curriculum dedicated to the life of Stephen Lawrence?

In fact, how dare anyone think that the removal of a statue celebrating the precious life of Stephen Lawrence would go un-noticed? This family deserves so much more.

‘Whether you hide or shine, they’ll always feel threatened because they don’t believe they are enough. You are built not to shrink down to less but to blossom into more.’ Oprah Winfrey

So how did I stay in Radstock for ten years, leading a school with love, care and passion? I believed in my ability to make a difference to the children, even when others didn’t. I encouraged an ethos of ‘Catching children being good!’ Our children wanted to come because it was cool to be in school and it was fun! Children were empowered to make a difference and helped run their school. The children were trusted. They were Jolly Green Gardeners, Head Teachers for the day, sporting heroes, whatever they wanted to be! Tobogganing, skating, tree climbing, the sky was the limit! As I said, I love a challenge!

Following a Freedom of Information request, I received the minutes from MNSP Trust Board meetings. I was staggered to read “KS2 have a ‘no fun’ policy to increase progress.” This was introduced after I had resigned. No fun in your learning from ages seven to eleven? According to the minutes I have seen, no one at the meeting questioned this new policy, just as no one questioned the removal of our beautiful Stephen Lawrence statue.

I will always question and believe we are all accountable and should give genuine answers.

Where is the Stephen Lawrence statue?  Is anyone taking responsibility for this?

So, did I consent to feeling inferior? The answer is no.

‘Many people, especially ignorant people, want to punish you for seeking the truth, for being correct, for being you. Never apologise for being correct, or for being years ahead of your time. If you're right and you know it, speak your mind. Even if you are a minority of one, the truth is still the truth.' Mahatma Gandhi.