Reflecting on the Racial Equity Conference 2026

Inspiring conversations from speakers, school leaders, educators and partners have once again strengthened our shared ambition for change in our communities. Patrick Cozier, Headteacher at Highgate Wood School, founder of ‘Calm Leadership’ and MC for the day, set the tone by reminding delegates that good intentions must be accompanied by meaningful action. The day was energising and deeply reflective — driving home that racial equity is not an isolated initiative, but an ongoing responsibility.

Racial equity as leadership work

Before taking a closer look at the role that schools can play, Dr Patrick Roach CBE, former NASUWT General Secretary, spoke about the importance of context, highlighting pressures that we face today in our political climate. Patrick reflected on the ethnic and religious divisions on a national scale and how we must flip this experience at a school scale to give our children a different perspective. What does belonging, identity and inclusion, be that in schools or in society, mean for our pupils? Do they feel they belong or do they feel excluded? 

Patrick crucially called on our leaders to be more courageous and to integrate racial equity into our leadership decisions. Now, more than ever, is the time to be "explicitly anti-racist in our approach to educational leadership", ensuring that racial equity remains a focus and that progress is self-evaluated within our leadership teams. 

From Belonging to Mattering

We learnt that belonging is not sufficient in an environment where voices need to be heard and people need to feel seen in order to thrive. Evelyn Forde, former headteacher, ASCL president and author of Herstory, related the theme of belonging to her own personal experiences. Evelyn's disengagement as a young student and feelings of invisibility as a professional, were side effects of a school culture that not only neglected the importance of belonging, but also failed to go that step further. Students and teachers need to feel that they matter.  

This kind of psychological safety is invaluable when it comes to children from ethnic minorities who may not often see themselves reflected in wider public life. Evelyn reminded us that it is the "corridor micro–moments" and everyday interactions that create a big impact, something you cannot measure with a metric of belonging.  

Workshops: Sharing perspectives 

Our HEP, Haringey and Lewisham network facilitated some impactful workshops in the latter half of the conference, encouraging delegates to explore racial equity through a range of lenses. We heard from Patrick Cozier on Ofsted and the New Framework, Ruth Doak and Ciara McGlacken from Pembury House Nursery on the Early Years curriculum, The Haringey Educational Psychology Service on SEND, and Anthony Doudle from London Borough of Lewisham on Tackling Race Inequality in Schools.  

HEP was able to showcase our recent work at the TKTCB workshop (Turkish, Kurdish, Turkish Cypriot and Turkish Bulgarian) with colleagues Zubeyde Aydemir, Lancasterian, and Sevda Halavut-Coupe, Mulberry Academy Woodside, providing delegates with an opportunity to gain another perspective on racial disparity within schools.  

From reflection to practice 

Children need to believe in what they are capable of, and schools play a vital role in shaping that sense of possibility. 

The curriculum matters here. The stories we tell, the examples we choose, the histories we teach and the voices we include all contribute to whether pupils feel represented and understood. Pembury House Nursery demonstrated this in the artists that they chose to inspire the children. For racial equity to become embedded, it cannot sit only in assemblies, awareness days or isolated projects. It needs to be part of how schools think about knowledge across the curriculum. 

The conference challenged us to look at the systems that shape school life. Often, individual intent, assumptions, language and routines go unexamined. Our next steps interactive session encouraged us to rethink the phrase "hard–to–reach parents". Rather than locating the problem with families, we should ask a different question: who finds it easy to come into our schools, and who does not? 

We brought the day to a close by thinking about next steps and signing our pledges to reinforce a concrete commitment.  

The work continues 

We’ve observed an increase in attainment for some of our ethnic minority groups in Haringey over the years. HEP’s Chief Executive, James Page, gave us an opportunity to explore this data. While this is an immense achievement, we want to ensure that we continue to close the racial equity gap. We have both an extraordinary opportunity and a responsibility. The challenge now is to ensure that the energy and honesty of the conference continue beyond the event. 

The work continues — in our classrooms, in our systems, in our curriculum choices, in our relationships with families, and in the leadership decisions we make every day. Ann Graham, Director of Children’s Services in Haringey, captured the challenge clearly: “Even when we’re doing really, really well, there is still more to do.”

Marlena is Project Manager for Teacher Development Programmes.