Leicester Leaders

At the Walkers Stadium this morning for a Leicester Leaders Partnership Meeting, a pretty large event in the Great Hall involving Head Teachers of city and county schools, Senior Leaders, School Governors, educational advisers, specialists in community cohesion etc. I signed up for this at the SACRE AGM a couple of weeks ago, although all of us who enrolled at that meeting are missing from the list of attendees for today.I guess our forms got last somewhere between there and here.

The keynote speaker is Ted Cantle, the man who virtually invented community cohesion in terms of how it has been known, discussed, argued over, owned and disowned in the past ten years or so. He gives an overview of the past, present and future(s) of community cohesion, especially as it affects schools and the communities in which they are located. It's a pleasure to listen to him and to see his professional and easy (by which I don't mean slick") presentation. In a break later in the morning, I get the chance to speak with him for a few minutes one-to-one. Ted used to live in Leicester (his children were schooled here) and he has warm and positive associations with the Council of Faiths. He offers a few tips about strengthening our position in the city, which I find helpful and reassuring.

At the request of Jill Carr, Secretary of SACRE, I take part in the workshop presenting our new series of booklets, "Engaging with Faith Communities in Leicester", a round table discussion (literally) with representatives of half a dozen or so schools about the process of the series's development and the potential uses of the material it contains.

This is  rather high-powered occasion, with many influential figures from the world of education in Leicester, Leicestershire and beyond. From my understanding of our contract arrangements with Leicester city Council, we should be involved in such events by right. I'm only here because information about today was included in the pack that was given out at the SACE AGM. The Council of Faiths didn't receive any other notice of this occasion. I mention this (courteously of course) to Jasbir Mann, who leads this morning's meeting and she agrees the Council of Faiths should be automatically invited to any such event in future.