“Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about the things that matter” - Martin Luther King

As my colleague sobbed with frustration in my office one afternoon after going through what had just happened in class, it was a visceral reminder of why diversity, equality and inclusion (DEI) policies matter so much. 

My colleague, an international teacher, had been on the receiving end of a racist comment from a pupil - something those of us in international schools may like to think does not happen.

But it was a reminder of just how much work we still have to do in our schools to eradicate such moments - and to make sure our community understands why it matters that we do.

Indeed, when we found the students responsible and put in place the necessary sanctions and follow-up actions, one parent tried to downplay the incident.

In contrast, the students were contrite, apologised, owned their responsibility and repaired the damage done with their teacher, who was prepared to move forward with them on this basis. 

What the whole incident underlined was that schools can never be silent on such issues and that the importance of clear policies, staff training and meaningful action should incidents occur is vital to combat racism, nationalism and prejudice.

Doing nothing or hoping it won’t ever be something you will have to address is not an option for any school leader. So, here is how to create a system that promotes DEI - and is ready to react when someone transgresses this.

Your culture is not international just because it’s in the school name

The first thing is to recognise that this is an issue you need to take seriously.

It is often quite surprising how many school leaders believe issues around racism will never affect them because they are an international school: with so many different nationalities in the school community, how could racism ever occur? 

But that does not mean your school is diverse, equitable or inclusive. It is a major oversight to avoid having a practical strategy in place because of this.

Words matter here, so outlining your stance on DEI is key. 

Put a robust DEI policy in place

Following on from this, your DEI policy must have equal weight to your safeguarding, SEND, and teaching and learning policies, because it links to the behaviours we expect of staff, students and our parent community. 

If you are not sure where to start in putting one together, there are some really effective, comprehensive and robust DEI policies out there to look at and adapt for your school - from the British Council policy to those offered up by local authorities in the UK. 

Once you have a policy agreed upon, it’s also a good idea to actively share it with your school and make it easily accessible so the key points are clearly visible in the document and not buried away.

You can also get outside experts to scrutinise your policies - whether new or pre-existing - and push you on what you have outlined.

This was something the Council of British International Schools (COBIS) team did for us as part of standards accreditation and it was a highly worthwhile - and challenging - experience. 

Lastly, the document needs to be regularly reviewed, ideally by giving that direct responsibility to a governor and a senior leader to ensure it does not become out of date or gather dust.  

Make DEI part of CPD

You need regular CPD for staff awareness and to ensure that all of your team believe and operate in this culture.

I couldn’t imagine annual staff training in August or regular CPD throughout the year without time spent on our DEI, any more than I would leave safeguarding, the fire drill, or teaching and learning off the agenda. It is central to the education of children and our duty of care towards them. 

There are some incredible voices and forums out there for schools to follow and engage with, so tap into them and bring that outside expertise and experience to your school. 

For example, we have used Jon Gibson and Backdrop Education for staff training around inclusion and equity, and America House in Chisinau for diversity training. Our governors have worked with Jackie Beard, a national leader of governance (NLG), and used DEI programmes from the National Governance Association (NGA). 

COBIS has also been working with DEI consultants Angela Browne and Hannah Wilson to deliver training in schools and this is another resource we will be using to help build staff knowledge in this area. 

Be proud of your DEI 

In a world where labels such as “woke” are thrown at schools for daring to celebrate and commemorate events in the global calendar such as Black History Month or Holocaust Remembrance, it could be tempting to shy away from promoting your commitment to DEI.

But this would be doing a disservice to your school - and your students who often want to have these conversations and to learn about the world in doing so.  

For example, after the ugly racism that black English footballers endured after playing against Hungary, there were lots of discussions among our IGCSE and A-level students, and I was proud to see all of them call it out for the hate and ugliness it was.

These are not the values that these students want themselves or their part of the world to be associated with.

Make your community more inclusive and diverse

You need to act on your commitments to DEI in all that you do - and recruitment and staff diversity is an area where this really matters. 

After all, claiming to be diverse and then only hiring white, Anglo-American staff would not sit well. The same is true about the speakers you have in school, the role models for children that you choose and what you study in the curriculum.  

Special days or months for events in the global curriculum calendar can be a great way to highlight issues of diversity and inclusion - and should not be avoided because of criticism or comments on social media or from a minority of parents.  

The UN’s #FightRacism campaign has many suggestions for wider curricular events - from whole-school assemblies to cross-curricular days - that can help schools to deliver on their DEI goals. 

We must not be silent

All this matters because, as the experience of my sobbing member of staff showed, schools are not the halcyon environments they sometimes imagine themselves to be. 

We strive hard to provide a welcoming atmosphere for all but it is something that requires constant work and effort to achieve.

A solid DEI strategy - backed up by action when needed, staff training, and a whole-school focus on these ideals - is key if we are to truly educate the next generation to uphold the ideals we say are at the heart of our schools’ mission.

If we don’t, then as school leaders we will end up remaining silent on what matters most. 

Rob Ford is director of Heritage International School in Chisinau, Moldova