Diversity & Inclusion

Dulwich College is committed to working against discrimination and exclusion and building an inclusive culture where everyone can feel they belong. We are nurturing a supportive community that encourages a sense of social responsibility and are building a school of equity and equality where every pupil and staff member feels they have a place where their skills, talents and contributions are recognised and valued.

Whilst we have a focus on three key strands Race and Ethnicity, Gender Equity and LGBTQ+ Allyship, we include all aspects of diversity and these sit under the umbrella of the nine protected characteristics.

We are undertaking actions within five core actions to ensure we stay on a secure path to equality:

Recruitment and retention
The physical environment
Developing awareness
Reporting and supporting
Educate and celebrate

Led by our Director of Inclusion we have an Alliance and Forum ensuring we continue to listen and act.

Equity, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) Impact Report

D&I Alliance and Forum

The D&I Alliance is an action group and think tank made up of staff and pupils across the college who feedback directly to our Senior Leadership Team. The D&I Forum is made up of pupil representatives from every form group and who meet once a term to discuss and feedback on D&I questions and actions.

Three D&I Strands

The D&I Strands are a core focus and have emerged from global, societal and internal areas identified as drivers of necessary change. They are intersectional and carve a path towards inclusion of all protected characteristics.

Race and Ethnicity

DC I AM

Beyond our specific commitment to anti-racism and colour consciousness, we are building a school of equality and equity where every member of the school community feels they have a place where their skills, talents and contributions are recognised.

“Diversity can help others overcome unconscious biases - seeing role models from ethnic minority backgrounds can help students, teachers, staff, and governors from all backgrounds reverse any unconscious biases”
Flair Report 2021

DC IAM Here 2022

'Together' banner hanging in James Caird Hall — DC IAM Here 2022

Discover how this initiative raises awareness of the different identities we have at the College.

Video Link

DC IAM raises awareness of the different identities we have at the College. This film shows some of the initiatives that took place throughout February 2022

Dulwich College Identity Awareness Month (DC I AM)

Black History Month

Each year our themes for Black History Month (BHM) build on what has come before, ‘Adding to History in 2020 and this year ‘Ancestors and Descendants’. BHM prompts all of us to critical reflection, we invite you to look back as a way of considering our present and future. What is the importance of knowing what went before us and uncovering the unknown and forgotten?

Dulwich College Black History Month: Ancestors and Descendants Programme

Emmanuel Jal launches BHM looking at his ancestors and why we still want peace

Ancestors and Descendants Black History Month

Thinking About…

The Thinking About series is a platform for diverse speakers on a range of subjects and embraces challenging conversations. Speakers and talks have included Alex Renton on ‘Blood Legacy’, David Lamy MP on Identity, and Dr Toby Green on African Kingdoms.

Gender Allyship

Allies work for social justice from positions of knowledge and empathy. We invite, encourage and educate our young people and wider school community to work in solidarity towards gender equity, equality, and respect through allyship.

International Women’s Day

IWD is an important marker in our annual calendar to understand the current issues and challenges women face locally and globally. It is an opportunity to educate about the achievements and struggles of women, and to recognise how far we have come whilst reminding us of the work that still needs to be done towards gender parity.

International Women's Day 8-12 March 2022, Allyship & Hope - programme of talks and presentations

A place to share and space to care…

IWD: a week of inclusion and discussion

Thinking About…

Thinking About… webinars are a joint project between Dulwich College and the Southwark Schools Learning Partnership (SSLP). Students at Dulwich College, SSLP schools and other schools with which we have connections are invited to join weekly guest speakers, whose talks have included ‘Identity’ by Rt Revd Rose Hudson-Wilkin and ‘Being happy in your own skin’ by Pam Dusu.

LGBTQ+

DC I AM

Children make sense of themselves and the world around them by what they experience. Estimates suggest that, on average, every class of 30 children will have between one and three pupils who will come to have a different sexual or gender identity from the majority of their peers. We all have a responsibility to be a safe space, a place of support, to learn and to teach so that all people in our community feel, explore and be themselves without judgement or discrimination.

DC IAM ‘Here’ month spotlights the LGBTQ+ community’s histories and their many contributions.

DC I AM HERE programme

DC I AM We Are

“Belonging is not a once and for all condition, a static identity tattooed on our skin; it is a constant self examination and dynamic revision of where we are, who we are, and where we want to be”
Elif Shafak

Thinking About…

In his Thinking About webinar, Sir Nick Partridge described how the LGBTQ+ community and allies responded to AIDS fear, prejudice, pain and loss with compassion and commitment, paving the way for the development of highly effective drug treatments and transforming social attitudes to sex and sexuality in the UK.

Progress

Our D&I work is in collaboration with our D&I Alliance, D&I Forum, and external partners. For more information, please contact Sue Mulholland, Director of Inclusion and Head of Free Learning mulhollandsm@dulwich.org.uk.

Curriculum Review

Launched across Lower School for all subjects with a focus on Race and Ethnicity, LGBTQ+, Gender Allyship and Sustainability.
Regular meetings with Ducks and Junior School on their curriculums to create a more cohesive and inclusive framework for September 2022.

Staff training

A range of ‘bite size’, whole staff and smaller group sessions for staff responsive to staff need and want, including Ben Mearhart with The Black Curriculum delivering sessions on Race and Language and unconscious bias.
An ACEN conference for training and networking with a plethora of talks and workshops.
‘Rethinking Masculinity’, sex and sexism lunchtime sessions for staff and trainee teachers.
Black History Studies sessions with Heads of Subject and departments on curriculum reviews for Junior and Lower School for September 2022.

Pupils’ workshops and wider learning

A range of talks and workshops with a focus on our three strands - Race and Ethnicity, LGBTQ+ and Gender Allyship - including Jon Holmes from Sky Sports, Sir Nick Partridge, The Terence Higgins Trust, Healthy Relationships: Positive Masculinity - Beyond Equality, Amy Forbes-Robertson – It Happens, Gender in Action and The Rap Project.

Policies reviewed and updated

Equal Opportunities and Inclusion Policy
Anti-bullying (with specific reference to racism, misogyny, homophobia, gender issues)

360-degree surveys and reviews to build understanding

Flair anti-racism survey
Protected characteristics survey

News

Keynote speaker Dr Josephine Perry talk in the Auditorium

A place to share and space to care…

14 Mar 2023

…were our central themes for International Women’s Day (IWD) 2023. We launched the week with assemblies co-led by women and men of Dulwich. The messaging celebratory, whilst also reminding us that though we have come a long way, there is still work to be done.

Pieces of the past and building peaceful futures

7 Apr 2022

Aegis Trust talk and workshop

Genocide is not just a murderous madness; it is, more deeply, a politics that promises a utopia beyond politics - one people, one land, one truth, the end of difference. - Michael Ignatieff

Ancestors and Descendants Black History Month

2 Nov 2021

Building on the College’s theme from last year’s Black History Month of Adding to History, this year we explored the focus of Ancestors and Descendants.

Emmanuel Jal launches BHM looking at his ancestors and why we still want peace

15 Oct 2021

"Let it be!" was the phrase that resounded through the Auditorium on Friday 1 October, as the activist, musician, and entrepreneur, Emmanuel Jal, encouraged the Upper School students to pursue our vision.