‘Really excellent from start to finish. Very illuminating and engaging. The scenarios provided a lot to discuss and think about’
Feedback from a delegate at Hymans Robertson
At Spurway Training our core expertise is in helping people better understand the differences between us, and how they affect our lives. It is always true that we humans have more in common than that divides us. But often the differences are important, and have profound impact on people’s lives and experiences.
The essence of our approach is to explore the patterns that tend to keep people recreating the deep and widespread inequality we see in the world. Each of our sessions is structured around a set of short phrases which summarise these patterns into memorable expressions we call ‘mottos’. The mottos provide a shared language for exploring disparity across society, as well as unintentional discrimination within the organisation.
An example is the phrase ‘advantage tends to be invisible to those that have it’. This short sentence describes a pattern which plays out in endless ways. Typically, an individual is all too aware of the discrimination, injustice and prejudice that they have directly experienced. (The know it at the cognitive level and at the emotional. They can bring examples of it to mind in an instant.) But we tend to have nothing like the same level of insight into the barriers and challenges that do not affect us. And while this is obvious in some ways, it also manifests in ways that we find very difficult to identify. Even in values-based organisations, people work in ways that exclude or discriminate against others, not because of intention, but because the barriers created are not ones that affect themselves.
We consider the role of individual identity in shaping what we experience in our own lives and how those experiences influence our beliefs and behaviours. Taken together the mottos help illustrate the connection between individual experiences, and outcomes on both organisational and systemic levels.
We offer a range of highly interactive, engaging courses on equality, diversity and inclusion, delivered in a conversational and non-judgemental style. Our courses typically explore inequality and injustice at the societal level, before considering how the same patterns are showing up in the organisation. Longer sessions then discuss: specific inequalities within your context; the interpersonal, organisational and societal factors behind them; and what interventsions could be transformative.
(Half day/ 3.5 hour course)
This session explores a set of stubborn patterns, occurring in essentially every human context, which play key roles in both creating and sustaining inequality and injustice. Summarising these patterns into short ‘mottos’ we develop a shared language for exploring disparity across society, as well as unintentional discrimination within the organisation. Taken together, the mottos help illustrate the connection between individual experiences and outcomes – on both organisational and structural levels. We start by considering the role of individual identity in shaping what we experience in our own lives and how those experiences influence our beliefs and behaviours. We also explore: the role of normalised identities in shaping our society and organisations; why some people ignore or deny the discrimination that others experience; and how to respond to misunderstandings or unintended offence.
The session is interactive throughout and uses a mix of both plenary discussions and small group tasks.
Learning Objectives. On completion of the course participants will be able to:
And the mottos themselves are:
(Half day/ 3.5 hour course)
This session is intended as a follow on to ‘3 Mottos for EDI. The exploration deepens our understanding of how discrimination shows up, with stubborn consistency, across society and within organisations – often despite our best intentions. We will consider the relationship between the common beliefs held about specific groups, the behaviours arising from those beliefs, and the systemic outcomes observed. Common forms of resistance to discussions of inequality will also be discussed. The paradox that ‘some things have to be believe to be seen’ will inform our reflections on how many people respond. The session will focus on two characteristics where inequality and discrimination are most deep and widespread eg race and disability, and we will consider the multiple factors creating the inequalities we observe. Typically the multiple factors creating inequality have elements at the societal level, at the organisational, the interpersonal and the individual levels.
Learning Objectives. On completion of the course participants will be able to:
(Half day/ 3.5 hour facilitated discussion)
In this session we will apply our learning from the previous session(s) to the specific context and challenges of the organisation. Participant are invited to have already identified a handful of inequalities observed within the organisation for us to explore. Common examples include: a lack of minoritised people in positions of leadership; evidence of bullying/ harassment of minoritised staff/ volunteers; gender/ racial/ disability pay gaps etc. In small groups we will explore specific challenges and what factors have created and sustain them, considering the layers of: structural; institutional; interpersonal; and individual. Following this analysis, groups will begin to envision what interventions the organisation could make to address the specific challenges and how those interventions would have impact.
Typical Structure:
(Full day/ 7 hour course)
This one-day training discusses the two key areas where organisation should strive to achieve equality, diversity and inclusion: in the design and delivery of its services; and in the workplace itself. Diversity takes a wide variety of visible and invisible forms – many more than those protected by law (race, age, disability etc). A staff group composed of people from many backgrounds and identities, with varied personalities, skills and perspectives, has many advantages. But such differences can also be a source of tension, misunderstanding and even hostility. And the differences between ourselves and those we work for can prevent us from understanding their needs and perspectives.
In this interactive course, we will consider five models to guide our approach to working with diversity. They provide touchstones to aid empathy, give valuable insight on our interactions and, taken together, can greatly improve equality & inclusion.
Through discussion of different case studies and scenarios, we consider how we can improve the way we work with our colleagues and with the people we support. We explore why some people ignore or deny the discrimination that others experience; how to respond to misunderstandings or offence; and the impact of our beliefs on our behaviour and decisions. We also consider how different groups may experience our organisation and work to counter common barriers to people fully benefiting from our service.
The course is participative and focuses on practical examples throughout, as well as theoretical underpinnings.
Learning Objectives. On completion of the course participants will be able to:
And the mottos themselves are:
‘Really excellent from start to finish. Very illuminating and engaging. The scenarios provided a lot to discuss and think about’
Feedback from a delegate at Hymans Robertson
(Half day/ 3.5 hour course)
This session is intended as a follow on to ‘3 Mottos for EDI. The exploration deepens our understanding of how discrimination shows up, with stubborn consistency, across society and within organisations – often despite our best intentions. We will consider the relationship between the common beliefs held about specific groups, the behaviours arising from those beliefs, and the systemic outcomes observed. Common forms of resistance to discussions of inequality will also be discussed. The paradox that ‘some things have to be believe to be seen’ will inform our reflections on how many people respond. The session will focus on two characteristics where inequality and discrimination are most deep and widespread eg race and disability, and we will consider the multiple factors creating the inequalities we observe. Typically the multiple factors creating inequality have elements at the societal level, at the organisational, the interpersonal and the individual levels.
Learning Objectives. On completion of the course participants will be able to:
(Half day/ 3.5 hour facilitated discussion)
In this session we will apply our learning from the previous session(s) to the specific context and challenges of the organisation. Participant are invited to have already identified a handful of inequalities observed within the organisation for us to explore. Common examples include: a lack of minoritised people in positions of leadership; evidence of bullying/ harassment of minoritised staff/ volunteers; gender/ racial/ disability pay gaps etc. In small groups we will explore specific challenges and what factors have created and sustain them, considering the layers of: structural; institutional; interpersonal; and individual. Following this analysis, groups will begin to envision what interventions the organisation could make to address the specific challenges and how those interventions would have impact.
Typical Structure:
Very useful, gained new knowledge about service delivery challenges and how to break down the barriers
The course was very thought provoking and it has made me look at how I can change my approach to EDI.
Feedback from delegates at Port of Leith Housing Association
(Full day/ 7 hour course)
This one-day training discusses the two key areas where organisation should strive to achieve equality, diversity and inclusion: in the design and delivery of its services; and in the workplace itself. Diversity takes a wide variety of visible and invisible forms – many more than those protected by law (race, age, disability etc). A staff group composed of people from many backgrounds and identities, with varied personalities, skills and perspectives, has many advantages. But such differences can also be a source of tension, misunderstanding and even hostility. And the differences between ourselves and those we work for can prevent us from understanding their needs and perspectives.
In this interactive course, we will consider five models to guide our approach to working with diversity. They provide touchstones to aid empathy, give valuable insight on our interactions and, taken together, can greatly improve equality & inclusion.
Through discussion of different case studies and scenarios, we consider how we can improve the way we work with our colleagues and with the people we support. We explore why some people ignore or deny the discrimination that others experience; how to respond to misunderstandings or offence; and the impact of our beliefs on our behaviour and decisions. We also consider how different groups may experience our organisation and work to counter common barriers to people fully benefiting from our service.
The course is participative and focuses on practical examples throughout, as well as theoretical underpinnings.
Learning Objectives. On completion of the course participants will be able to:
And the mottos themselves are: