Our Diversity Training promotes equality, diversity and inclusion, helping people to manage sensitive relationships and conversations in the workplace, to create unity and collaboration, and to deepen understanding.
For many people, race is a topic they would rather avoid and for some it is a ‘no-go’ zone altogether. This is often because people want to avoid causing unintentional offence to others, or feel ill-equipped to discuss the sensitive issues appropriately or effectively. But in the summer of 2020, the killing of George Floyd by a US police officer propelled racial injustice into the global conversation in an unprecedented way. Public debate polarised over issues including police conduct, the manner in which protests were taking place, and comparisons between structural racism in the US and the UK.
Diversity Training Workshop content
Our Diversity Training Workshops focus on a variety of issues, depending on the time available and the challenges confronting each individual organisation. The facilitator holds a space which is respectful in tone, while providing people with room to speak freely and learn from each other. Topics can include:
- issues surrounding race
- anti-oppressive practices that enable people to support all marginalised groups
- the concept of white privilege
- being anti-racist/anti-oppressive (for wider equality, diversity and inclusion issues)
- microaggressions
- unconscious bias
- intersectionality
- how to be anti-oppressive in practice
- facilitated conversations where people can safely talk about their experiences and thoughts
Facilitator: Jeffrey Wotherspoon BSc (Hons)
Jeffrey is highly regarded for his ability to create and facilitate a safe space, free of judgment and the need to be seen to ‘get it right’ all the time. Instead, he encourages reflection on the issues, and allows all voices to be heard and all views aired, discussed, challenged, and worked through.
Jeffrey has delivered online diversity training in multiple formats and global locations, including to:
- IES Abroad in the UK, Spain, France, the Netherlands, Italy, and Austria (face-to-face delivery)
- Cafcass Surrey, Sussex and Kent (online)
- Bexley Local Authority (online)
- MOE Foundation (online)
- Hammersmith and Fulham Local Authority (online)
- Social work leaders across the country via Frontline (online)
Jeffrey is a certified Executive Coach, Facilitator and Accredited High Risk Conflict Resolution Specialist, with a BSc (Hons) in Psychology. He delivers coaching and training across a broad range of professional roles from C-Suite to interns, and across multiple sectors with clients including Sony Music Entertainment , GE Finnamore, National Education Union, Spark Inside, the African Prisons Project, and London & Quadrant Group.
He is active in a range of pro bono charity work: including the role of Master Coach Trainer with the MOE Foundation, and as a Trustee for the charity ‘Peer Power’. He also trains and/or coaches adult high-risk offenders, young men in prison, under-represented young women, and society’s most vulnerable young people from a background of gangs and youth violence.
Structure
These workshops can be effective with any size of group. For facilitated discussions and focus on specific challenges faced by an organisation, the recommended size of the group is 8-12, so that everyone has time to express their views or ask for help on their personal challenges.
The sessions can last from 90 minutes to workshops delivered over a period of time.
Diversity Training Reviews
- “Thank you Jeffrey for the extraordinarily impactful training event you provided. Your obvious skill in understanding your audience and your ability to adjust your approach to their learning needs, while still meeting the primary objective of the course, was exceptional. You rightly deserved the excellent rating you achieved in the evaluation feedback from all of the participants. It was a pleasure working with you and I look forward to continuing this partnership in the future.
Jeffrey delivered a training input to 10 officers from a Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic background to provide them with the skills and tools to engage young people from disadvantaged backgrounds. His approach and knowledge allowed the team to develop quickly and the input he gave them was well received and empowered them and will allow them to take forward our ambitious community engagement approach here at the British Transport Police to reach communities in a different way. I would highly recommend Jeffrey.” – Dennis Murray QPM MSc, Chief Superintendent, Lead for Trust, Legitimacy, and Community Policing, British Transport Police - “Jeffrey led a Diversity and Inclusion workshop for senior coaches coaching at C-Suite level which I attended. Jeffrey was excellent, being credible, grounded, thoughtful, and respectful of everyone who was there. He delivered a really well-structured session which created a very safe environment for us to discuss our experiences and awareness around diversity and inclusion.” – Wendy Oliver, Executive Coach.
- “Over the last few years Jeffrey has worked with the Knowle West Media Centre to support the team to learn more about coaching and to become confident coaches – to be able listen, to keep learning and to support others to make the change they want to see, or be. He is an excellent facilitator, sharing generously his powerful coaching tools, considerable experience and expertise. It is a revelation to see over 30 individuals bring these new skills into our organisation, from supporting the wellbeing, personal and professional growth of each other, to integrating into the creative work we do with communities. Almost every member of the KWMC team has completed an intensive course and they now drive a total commitment to being an organisation that wants to share its ‘coaching mindset’ and to grow the opportunities for change and empowerment for all. Thank you Jeffrey for inspiring us all.” – Dr Carolyn Hassan, Director, Knowle West Media Centre
- “It was a splendid, deep, well-facilitated evening. Thank you for helping all of us to confront, get more aware, and start exploring.” – Gianpietro Pucciariello, Appy Maps co-founder.
- “A really thought-provoking session, skilfully chaired.” – Ashley Boroda, professional speaker, performance coach and IMA practitioner.
- “Great, respectful, and masterful facilitation.” – Darren Robson, Executive Leader, Founder and Chairman of the MOE Foundation.
- “I am very honoured to write a note of reference in respect of the exceptional skills of Jeffrey Wotherspoon as a coach. Jeffrey was comprehensively engaged with my thoughts and was quickly able to hear my expressions of concern and context and build a mind model that helped me see myself and the reality around me with a new perspective. Consequently, I was able to discuss in a very meaningful and mature way with him how I should look at and review concerns and how we can work through subsequent decision making. Jeffrey is truly an excellent man exhibiting comprehensive patience and a wise unflustered manner that not only allows rapid ease but also pulls you away from the immediate into the prospective redefined as more settled and yet more ambitious.” – Lord Dr Hastings of Scarisbrick CBE, former Global Head of Corporate Citizenship for KPMG International
Reviews from a diversity training workshop with Cafcass attended by staff members from the Kent, Surrey and Sussex regions:
- Rated 5* by 89% of respondents
- Fab. Importance of keeping check of unconscious biases or the halo effect.
- Insightful, informative, very thought provoking.
- Really enjoyed it…the session may not have gone to the original plan (Breakout Sessions) but a lot of the ‘Chat’ comments said that this was to the good. The presenter was excellent, light-hearted, knowledgeable, and fully involved those that wished to be.
- Jeffrey was inspiring and a confident facilitator who promoted discussion. It was interesting to gain more information about the context as I am new to the team and it was helpful to consider the journey ahead. He balanced the realities without seeming to make any judgements, promoting honesty in thought and discussion.
- Great to have external trainer focusing on race and racism and white privilege.
- This was in many ways eye-opening. Informative, challenging and thought-provoking, it has made me reflect a lot on how I present and feel about race and talking about it.
- Excellent – great presentation by Jeffrey and to have the opportunity to think about our own unconscious bias and assumptions and learn from others.
- Dynamic presenter, professionally done in a sensitive way.
- This was such an excellent presentation, challenged me, informed me – such a timely and much-needed presentation.
- Extremely powerful and thought-provoking.
- I thought the trainer was excellent and did a good job of providing a positive space for discussion. I hope we might be able to get him back for further sessions.
- He was great, could have heard a lot more, lets really challenge ourselves.
- Excellent and thought-provoking.
- This was a very interesting section of the day that triggered a lot of talk and reflection. I found it very useful.
- What an amazing session – it really made me think about the issues, my feelings, with time to reflect and challenge ourselves.
- Excellent.
- Jeffrey was an excellent facilitator. I was very impressed in his manner and taking time to allow the group to consider how safe they felt. I was very moved (and a bit angry) that my black colleagues are subjected to overt racism in most areas of their lives but also importantly in the workspace. I truly hope that this would be another step in asking ourselves really important questions about the demographics of our workforce compared to the demographics of the client groups we work with.
- I loved the space to think about these issues and some of the questions were very useful to consider.
- Interesting, relevant, and informative.
- A really good, detailed session, which didn’t drag, even though it covered the whole afternoon. Again, good opportunity for self-reflection. He generated much discussion and interaction too.
- Speaker’s presentation was thought-provoking and raised issues that would need to be addressed when discussing child’s experience if they are not white in ethnic origin.
- Excellent facilitator, did not make you feel like there was a wrong answer.
- Personally, I’m pleased the Breakout Rooms didn’t work as I found listening to views very interesting!
- Really good discussion/session, engaging and challenging.
- Excellent session very thought-provoking.