DIVERSITY, INCLUSION & RESPECT

Written by Sophie C, Year 13

In November, Krystal N (current Year 11) and I gave a presentation to the governors, headteachers and a handful of students within the Warwick Foundation about diversity and inclusion at Kingsley. We talked about the importance of diversity, not only within school but also in the wider world. As someone who is passionate about this topic, having the opportunity to present to senior members of the Foundation about what Kingsley is doing to be more inclusive is something I am incredibly grateful for. As a school, it is so important to raise awareness of the issues that we unfortunately still face in society. Our presentation touched on the Black Lives Matter movement, the LGBTQIA+ community, neurodiversity and hidden disabilities, the Equality Act and the gender pay gap. It is important to realise that diversity doesn’t just include communities that are talked about a lot, but rather everybody. With freedom and diversity come a need to respect difference and to educate people of all ages. We discussed what Kingsley is already doing and our plans for the future, including our diversity group which launched after Christmas. It was interesting to see other students from King’s High and Warwick present and hear about the different approaches being taken to tackle the topic of diversity. Our presentation was really well received and it was a lovely introduction into the Foundation for Krystal and I. The launch of Kingsley’s diversity and inclusion group has been very successful, gaining more members almost every week. The group runs during Thursday enrichment sessions and gives students the opportunity to get involved with a wide range of school diversity topics. During the first meeting we discussed the areas we wanted to cover over the coming sessions and what we can do to raise awareness among both students and staff. We have members from all areas of interests, meaning that students within the group have also been learning from each other and hearing different perspectives during our sessions. We are planning to create a diversity board in Senior School to accompany the one made by Year 12 students in Sixth Form. We have also been working behind the scenes with competition launches and preparation for the diversity assemblies that have been presented since the group was launched. Following the hugely popular diversity badge designing competition, the entries have been shortlisted and the final badge is currently in production. Overall, the group has provided a beneficial experience for all members and we are starting to make positive changes in school. I have also been appointed as Kingsley’s diversity representative within the Warwick Foundation and have delivered a number of assemblies with Dr Smith, our diversity lead, to mark national and international awareness events. The most recent assembly was for LGBT History Month. I discussed methods students and staff can use to educate themselves about historical events and figures in the LGBT community, along with activities they could carry out during National Diversity Week over the summer. I help run the weekly diversity group meetings and, in the future, I hope to attend Foundation-wide meetings on behalf of Kingsley. I have also led two PSHE sessions for Sixth Formers with the aim of educating students about the subject of diversity as a whole. I know the school will provide me with plenty of other opportunities to promote diversity throughout my time left in Sixth Form, and hope to make a positive difference within the Kingsley community.

Sophie studied art at GCSE and chose to tackle some of the issues surrounding diversity and gender stereotypes in her work. She produced some thought-provoking paintings for her final project, including the self-portrait on the opposite page.

In April, ten of our students trained as Wellbeing Ambassadors alongside students from King’s High, Warwick School and other local schools. The training was provided by The Diana Award charity, set up in memory of Princess Diana. The Ambassadors will play an important role in promoting equality, anti-bullying and wellbeing within their schools and our Kingsley Ambassadors are already making a difference. They delivered an informative assembly to Senior School students on bullying, outlining the different types of bullying, sharing statistics and giving details of the support available both in and out of school. With lots of positive initiatives planned, we’re looking forward to seeing the difference they make during the 2022-23 academic year.