I have much to thank the NHS for. In my first career as a critical care nurse, I learned to expect the unexpected. Urgent care is, by its very nature, uncertain and multifaceted. It requires emotional resilience, decisiveness under pressure, and leadership through uncertainty; learning that has served me well into my second career.
As a further education leader, I see daily how the sector’s work is deeply rooted in advancing social justice. With this comes complexity and this is why adaptability and responsiveness are skills many further education leaders – including myself – hone over time.
In recent days, Sunderland city centre was targeted, at short notice, with a pre-orchestrated influx of rioters and opportunists intent on public disorder.
For Sunderland College, and EPNE overall, actions were grounded in risk management and business continuity. Mobilising an engagement plan, and mindful of escalating tensions, our actions were informed by principles of timing, perspective, and balance.
Our objective was to lead with head and heart – caring for our people and partners, protecting our assets and united leadership across the city’s ecosystem.
The lived experiences of our people are deeply important to leadership and planning
Leaders across the college group were provided with clear direction, triggering consistent internal communications.
Despite the holidays, contact was made with our colleagues from a wide range of ethnicities. It felt important as chief executive to make individualised contact to check on the safety and well-being of our staff and their families, reiterate there is no place for hate and racism in our college, and offer my support.
This has been welcomed and provided authentic insights to help shape our approach moving forward. The lived experiences of our people are deeply important to leadership and planning.
All staff were updated on our response, tone of voice, and progress. With the potential for ‘heat of the moment’ errors of judgment, we reminded anyone opting to comment, particularly on social media, to remain considerate and mindful within the context of our values.
With an overwhelming surge of vitriol across global social media, external communications were carefully crafted, pre-approved and focused on messages of unity, support, and simple acts of kindness.
Leading our engagement, swift contact was made with local authorities, business leaders, charities, partners, and friends from our multifaith and ethnic minorities community. This included an offer to relocate Sunderland’s Citizen Advice Bureau after it was senselessly targeted.
Whilst our insurance comprehensively covers our assets for civil unrest and riots, with risk of further incitement, we reviewed and bolstered our security technology.
City leaders from differing sectors including the police have convened and together we will play an active role in the city’s response – anchored by a deep understanding of the place and people we serve.
Leading with learning
Pivoting upcoming enrolment events, parent letters, our gold standard induction and student presentations have been enhanced. Specific interventions for SEND, ESOL and ethnic minorities students are being planned, such as tailored activities through creative expression, mixing and engaging, advocacy and debate.
Active bystander training has started, and we are unequivocally communicating our standards and expectations for belonging and inclusion, with zero tolerance for harassment, hate, racism, and discrimination, including in digital spaces.
Understanding online hate versus free speech matters more than ever
Equality, diversity, inclusion and belonging, and self, society and skills frameworks inform an already robust curriculum, yet we will go deeper.
For students to understand what has happened and why, safely explore curiosity and difference, know how to critically consume information, and understand online hate versus free speech, matters more than ever. Our creative arts, sports and English curricula are being positioned to lead from the front too.
Afsina Begum, alumna of our college, is clear: “Fear remains, yet I am glad to see the city I love respond as one community where Muslims and all ethnicities are coming together in support. Going forward social cohesion and inclusion in all forms, if not already, must sit firmly at the heart of school and college strategy.”
Colleges are critical to our nation’s future. To respond, we have developed a ‘cohesion and integration plan’, underpinned by a comprehensive ‘3-step social cohesion framework’ to be implemented in the days and months ahead.
I, along with my leadership team, are fully committed to ensuring our approach is not just short-medium term but one that is long-term and action-focused.
Leading through a crisis is different to business as usual. Nevertheless, college leaders are well-positioned to respond to the challenges ahead. I am liaising with the Further Education Commissioner’s team to explore the best way to achieve this with a collaborative and united approach.
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