The DEIJ agenda in schools and school districts is being led by many courageous, committed and skilled people, the vast majority of whom can draw on real life experiences of dealing with the effects of personal and systemic prejudice and/or discrimination. Too often these people are isolated, insufficiently supported and recognised. They deserve better and their work will become more deeply impactful if they have the active support of their Heads of School/school leaders, especially those of us like me, white, male, cisgender, wealthy and possessing many other aspects of identity that afford me great privilege. In order to provide active support school leaders must model the learning journey that we expect our stakeholders to undergo; deeply interrogating and understanding their own identity, the identity of others; the opportunities and the struggles that aspects of identity can result in and our own privilege and internal biases. They also need to be active allies, if not advocates rather than the passive stance that I see so often. I have walked this journey with our talented and courageous Director of DEIJ. Most of the time I stand behind her, sometimes I stand beside her and occasionally I stand in front of her to help lead this work.

John Wray