Education Secretary Lynne Neagle MS visited Cardiff Met recently to join the latest in a series of professional learning events organised as part of DARPL’s Enhanced Leadership Series.

The Minister joined 50 senior leaders from across the education and early years sector in Wales including headteachers and deputy headteachers, additional learning co-ordinators, Local Authority Education equity leaders and leaders in early years settings, from 16 local authorities including Flintshire, Ceredigion, Neath, Powys, and Newport.

She chatted with attendees and hosted a Q&A, as well as joining in learning activities around a systems thinking model when approaching racist incidents in learning organisations.

Discussions focused on political analysis and anti-racist curricular design from guest speakers Naheed Bardai, Principal of UWC Atlantic, and DARPL partner Kwame Boateng, Independent Researcher, Educator and Consultant, working with The Black Curriculum.

A key message from the event was in order to ensure sustained socio-cultural change in Wales, DARPL’s diversity and anti-racist professional learning requires continued investment.

What is DARPL?

DARPL serves education, childcare, playwork and early years leaders, practitioners and policy makers, enabling them to develop, cascade and ensure national anti-racist culture and practice drives societal change.

The Welsh Government funded programme brings together a diverse team of providers, with lived and professional experience of racism and anti-racism, to deliver professional learning.

More about the Enhanced Leadership Series

The Enhanced Leadership Series is designed for leaders in childcare, play work, early years and schools as well as leaders in education improvement, policy development and research.

The course is delivered over two academic terms though a mixture of face-to-face and online learning. It is a comprehensive learning opportunity aiming to support leaders to make real equitable change in their settings.

Previous Enhanced Leadership Series cohorts’ comments include:

“It has been the most impactful professional learning I have ever engaged in, and I have worked in education for almost 30 years.”

Jacqueline Marrable, Leader of English, Aberdare Community School, Rhondda Cynon Taff.

Thank you to the IT team for their on the day support and special thanks to Kin Yu, DARPL’s Enhanced Leadership Series lead, and all the DARPL team, for their continued practice-changing work.

Visit DARPL’s library to explore Enhanced Leadership Series blogs and case studies  alongside other articles and guidance resources.

If you would like to further your own anti-racist professional learning, explore DARPL’s Virtual Campus bitesize courses and visit DARPL’s Events Calendar.