E V E RY G I R L - E V E RY DAY

13th March 2020

Leadership Likes – Mrs Fran Cook

“Health is not valued until sickness comes.”

(Thomas Fuller, 16th Century Historian)

I’m sorry.

I really would have liked this week’s Leadership Likes to have been a

refuge from the C word, but I am afraid I can’t avoid it.

From a country obsessed with Brexit, we have moved to a quick

dalliance with Megan and Harry and now, along with the rest of the

world, we are fully immersed in COVID-19 – although thankfully, not

literally.

I am by no means making light of the situation nor the reality that is facing so many people

around the world. Like many others, I suspect, I move from wondering if we are falling victim to

yet another media hype to feeling anxious, uncertain, and somewhat dazed by the way events are

unfolding. Here in school, I have (as ever) been reassured and impressed by the measured yet

proactive approach we are adopting. Keeping parents and staff informed, making plans for

‘worst case’ and not so ‘worst case’ scenarios, and maintaining a calm and reassuring response to

some of the anxieties raised by pupils. It is very much business as usual – but with an eye to the

future and what might need to happen staying very firmly fixed in our minds.

In among all our discussions about the health of the world and the economy, we held our annual

National Council for Young Women Sixth Form Conference last week. The eighth of these annual

events, we seem to have an uncanny knack of ‘hitting’ on something topical every year. And this

year was no exception – although not perhaps in the way we were thinking. The conference is

organised by the school’s Marketing Prefect and this year the role has been admirably performed

by Milla. When she and I met back in the autumn term to sound out possible subjects for our

conference, she was keen to explore something that we felt delegates needed to understand more

deeply. It wasn’t long before we decided on disability, as we both agreed that for some of us, this

is a subject we may never really understand unless we have some personal experience. Once

agreed, the challenge was to represent the scale of the subject matter – there were just so many

avenues to explore.

Little did we imagine then, that by the time we were welcoming our delegates on International

Women’s Day last week, the whole world would be involved in a debate on how to preserve

good health and support those who are sick, frail, or vulnerable.

This year, our panel of speakers was truly outstanding. As each

one took centre stage, it was very moving to witness the rapt

attention and empathetic responses from the floor, from our own

sixth formers and the sixth formers from a number of other local

schools.

We heard first from Seema Flower, a truly inspirational woman

for whom being almost entirely blind due to a progressive eye

condition seems, on the surface, to be only a minor inconvenience

to her. The truth, of course, is very different. As we watched her

make her way to the

lectern with her

mobility cane and the support of Upper Sixth’s Esther

(her excellent ‘buddy’ for the day) and as she shared

her stories and excellent advice, we were all left with a

sense of wonder and a realisation of how much we

take for granted in life.

The next speaker was scheduled to be Dan White, a

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broadcaster and campaigner for disability rights. Dan

was planning to talk to us about his daughter, Emily,

who is in a wheelchair as a result of spina bifida. Emily

is a huge fan of the comic book genre but was always

disappointed that disabled people weren’t represented

in the stories, films, and television programmes she

loved. So Dan, a trained artist, created a comic book

called Department of Ability, which features a group of

disabled superheroes. Just what any good dad would

do!

He is still trying to get funding to enable him to publish this book, which is a potential game

changer for disabled children around the world. Unfortunately, Dan was not able to join us for

the conference. The day before, he sent an email to say that as well as his daughter, his wife is

now in a wheelchair and he is therefore a full-time, sole carer for his daughter. He had been

hoping to get help from social services to enable him to come, but it has not been forthcoming.

Dan’s words, when he wrote to say he would be unable to join us, were so poignant:

“Please forgive me. I am literally exhausted.”

We were determined that Dan’s story should be heard, particularly

as among other things it raised the very topical debate on how the

Government’s proposed ‘points scheme’ for immigrant workers

might impact on an already overburdened NHS. So, our very own

Mrs Webb stepped in to the breach and told Dan’s story with

passion and conviction. The irony of someone having to cancel due

to a lack of available support was not lost on the audience. The

‘virtual’ support for Dan and his family was palpable.

The next speakers – fundraisers and students from the remarkable

Orpheus Centre – captivated our delegates with their attitudes to

life, with and without disability. They were followed by Dr Pooky

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13th March 2020

Knightsmith, an acknowledged authority on mental

health, who spoke powerfully about autism,

depression, and other ‘hidden’ disabilities that can

impact on so many people who struggle to cope in a

world where their challenges are often overlooked.

We then heard from Sarah Shannon, who had

travelled in her wheelchair (accompanied by her

‘best friend’, the beautiful Reba, a Golden Labrador).

Her journey from the other side of Wimbledon by

tram and bus took almost three hours. She made no

complaints, but smiled throughout as she told us her story of a life with cerebral palsy but also a

life as a double Paralympian swimmer, psychology graduate with a PGCE qualification

specialising in special needs. Sarah’s words (below) and the image of her setting off a 5:30 PM on

a Friday night to make the long return trip home alone (with Reba, of course) will stay with me.

Not with any sense of pity – just sheer admiration.

“Employers generally love what I represent on paper and a

lot of employers have genuine admiration for me; sadly, it

becomes a different story when meeting me in person. Being

rejected over and over again gets to you after a while and

eventually you incorporate that 'rejection' and it becomes a

part of your self-worth, contributing to the doubts you have

about yourself, leaving you too scared to even to put yourself

out there out of fear of rejection...”

Our final speaker was Adam Pearson, an award-winning

disability rights campaigner, actor, and presenter. Croydon

born and bred, Adam is something of a local celebrity,

particularly following recent appearances on BBC’s Question

Time and other popular television discussion programmes,

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13th March 2020

as well as in films including Under the Skin alongside Scarlett Johansson. As Adam said, nice

work if you can get it! Adam has an incurable genetic condition called neurofibromatosis, which

causes tumours to grow in the nervous system. In Adam’s case, these are mainly on his face.

To say that Adam held the audience in the palm of his hand is an understatement. Very much in

the style of a stand-up comic, he told his story and explained his approach to life, including but

not only including, the challenges he faces. At the end there was a shared feeling that we had all

somehow had our subconscious prejudices challenged and had been given the gift of seeing

things differently.

Which brings us nicely back to the title of our Conference,

disABILITY – great minds think differently.

Talking to delegates afterwards, I felt uplifted, especially

after hearing how much they have taken from this event

and how inspired many of them were to do more to

challenge perception and contribute to a more inclusive

society. Perhaps, among the many great minds at our

conference, there will be someone who (one day) will be

involved in finding a cure or a solution to some of the

world’s greatest challenges. It wouldn’t surprise me!

I hope the many opportunities they have had here at

Croydon High to open those great minds to different ideas will help them approach their own

issues and our global issues with compassion and creativity.

With grateful thanks to Milla and her team for all they did to make this year’s conference so

memorable.

Mrs Fran Cook

Director of External Relations

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13th March 2020