Dom

Young people need to see themselves in the successful people around them and that includes pastoral leaders, teachers, and senior leaders in education. They also need to feel that they have people in the sector who understand where they are coming from: the strengths and the challenges they face. All of this applies to staff as well as students in the education system. 12 years ago, I was the first secondary senior leader in Bristol who was from either a Black or Asian background; for a city as diverse as Bristol, I was shocked by this. Now, 12 years later, while I am no longer the only Black or Asian senior leader in education in the region, we are still far too few. I was particularly struck by a black male colleague in one school who said to me that, until he met me, he never really thought that a Black or Asian teacher could ever become a senior leader in education. 

Since moving to the West Country, I have been told such gems as: if I'm ever to become a Headteacher then I need to speak English a bit better than I currently do, due to peppering my speech with words that make me sound a bit too urban; been described to my face as 'weird', 'not like others', and 'different' but, of course, it was just jokey banter so I shouldn’t feel offended; been excluded from fishing and golfing weekends with peers (no alternative team bonding experiences were on offer); and felt the raised eyebrows at my preference for flowery dresses and smart black leggings rather than suits. I have been given a 'friendly warning' not to appear like I have a chip on my shoulder by bringing up issues of race, unconscious bias and discrimination, especially when I deplored that yet again after multiple interviews trying to progress my career to the next stage, despite being told that I was more than ready for the job, the useless feedback I received when applying for a more senior position was that they “decided to go a different way” or that I was “just not the right fit” and watching the position more-often-than-not being given to a white middle-class male candidate. I even reached a point where I felt that I had to change my professional name to sound less Asian. I did so but could not completely bring myself to let go of my racial identity so I went for a name that would be easy (so I thought) for others to spell and say. Sadly, it appears that Leong, with just five letters, is still too ‘foreign’ and difficult for some, so I am frequently referred to as Long.