MEET THE TEAM

Meet the founder of Representation Matters

Aisha is a born and bred Bristolian. She studied law at the University of the West of England before transitioning to education in 2010. In September 2016, Aisha became an Assistant Principal at an inner-city secondary school in Bristol. She is also an educational activist specialising in race and anti-racist practice.

After transitioning to education, she has completed the national qualification for senior leaders (NPQSL), Roehampton University Level 6 Certificate of professional development in PSHE, Foundation for Educational Leadership, Leading with moral purpose and the CLF Diversity Leadership Programme.

In 2018 Aisha presented a BBC documentary about the lack of black teachers in Bristol and collaborated with city partners to launch the ‘One Bristol Curriculum’. This aimed to create a more equitable representation of black history, achievement, and culture in Bristol as well as Britain and globally.

2019 saw Aisha deliver her TEDx Bristol talk, ‘Why representation really matters‘. In a world where many people do not see themselves recognised in all aspects of life, Aisha wanted to reignite the debate and challenged education and industry to look at their practice.

Aisha’s talk…

“Until society represents everyone, the question will always be, where do I belong? …Representation matters.” 

During a mentoring meeting a young offender said to Aisha Thomas, “If you were my teacher, maybe I wouldn’t be in prison today.” 

Then a law graduate, Aisha realised she had an important role to play in inspiring young minds. She decided to retrain as an educator and dedicate her life to improving the lives of children in her community. As an Assistant Principal in an inner city school in Bristol, she is one of only 26 out of 1346 black secondary school teachers in the city. She says: “The impact of this is far-reaching and is about more than the person standing at the front of the classroom. It affects the attainment of the students and the adults that young people become once they leave school.” Aisha challenges us to imagine a world where all races are represented in all aspects of life. Where children grow with a sense of value, connection and understanding of difference. 

Aisha believes we can all play a role inspiring the next generation. #RepresentationMatters

Representation Matters contributor

A Bristol native and a qualified Teacher of English since 2012, Shauna took her skills to London where she has taught English to secondary school students, in some of London’s most challenging Boroughs. 

Over the years, Shauna has worked closely with Virtual Schools in both Bristol and London and is currently Head of English for a group Pupil Referral Units. 

In 2018, Shauna was interviewed as part of Inside Out West’s Black Teachers programme to discuss Bristol’s under-representation of Black teachers. It was during this process that Shauna and Aisha Thomas had the idea to create ‘Culturally Educating’- a platform which raises awareness of under-representation within the black community and looks to promote diversity in education and other social sectors.

Representation Matters contributor

Lana is currently a SENCO for an Inner-city Post 16 provider in Bristol. She has worked in a number of roles in her 20-year teaching career including Head of Dept, Associate Assistant Head (staff development/training) and as a Specialist Leader in Education, which has developed her expertise in EDI (Equality, Diversity and Inclusion) - specialism (Race), and as an activist for grassroots movements including No More Exclusions and BAMEed. 

She is a Psychology graduate and has previous experience of coaching and working in therapeutic settings. After transitioning to education, she has completed two Master level degree MSc Psychology and MA in Education, a Certificate in Coaching, and the CLF Diversity Leadership Programme.

As SLE (specialist leader in education) for EDI, Lana can provide a full range of advisory and systematic support for schools. This includes developing inclusive practice in schools and setting up systems and procedures that meet the requirements of the Equality Act 2010. She has supported schools by providing auditing tools which look at their school environment, the curriculum, and their work force. She is also able to sign-post schools to find further support in relation to specific protected characteristics, as listed in the Equality Act 2010. Additionally, Lana has a great deal of experience in progressing staff development using a coaching approach and leading change for impact within different institutions.  

As a confident public speaker Lana has led continuing professional development (CPD) sessions across many schools on Racism and Equalities and worked with partnership schools to develop their school culture and ethos to reflect inclusivity from students, parents, and staff.