Evaluation of Pilot Programme

EVALUATION OF PILOT PROGRAMME

Leeds-Bradford | 2018

Muslims and Jews talking Israel-Pales�ne CONTENTS

03. Execu�ve Summary

08. Background

10. Impact and eﬀec�veness

16. Future prospects and far reaching poten�al

20. Programme structure

23. Workshop content

29. Facilita�on

34. Complete list of recommenda�ons

Appendix I – Evalua�on framework for Real Conversa�ons

Appendix II – Who were the par�cipants?

Appendix III – Data collected

Appendix IV – Real Conversa�ons – Workshop outline

Appendix V – Schools recruitment

2 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

REAL CONVERSATIONS

Real Conversa�ons is an ambi�ous na�onal programme that is reinven�ng interfaith rela�ons across the UK. Its core principle is that only by having diﬃcult conversa�ons – conversa�ons that are o�en avoided because they are divisive - can we understand the point of view of others.

The need for dialogue that actually works could not be more pressing. Home Oﬃce sta�s�cs show rising hate-crime and inter-communal tension1. Real Conversa�ons enables a more integrated Britain by tackling the roots of these tensions, which o�en grow from problema�c assump�ons and reluctance to air diﬀerent perspec�ves.

Real Conversa�ons is the ini�a�ve of Senior Rabbi Laura Janner-Klausner. Its pilot project was delivered by the Islamic Society of Britain (ISB) and Reform Judaism and the programme is now jointly led by Muslims and Jews.

The aim is to promote discussions within Muslim and Jewish (i.e. “single iden�ty”) groups on a range of aliena�ng topics, of which Israel-Pales�ne is the most well- known, and by so doing improve how Bri�sh Muslims and Jews perceive each other.

In accordance with Real Conversa�ons’ core principle, extremism is tackled at an early stage by challenging mistrust, misconcep�ons and beliefs. Discussions with a single iden�ty group take place in workshop se�ngs that are facilitated by carefully trained members of both single iden�ty groups (i.e. one Muslim and one Jew).

Quan�ta�ve and qualita�ve results show that Real Conversa�ons works. Par�cipants’ views are moderated and replaced by greater understanding and resilience.

Real Conversa�ons was designed with scalability in mind. Although the pre-pilot and pilot programmes focused on schools in Bradford and Leeds, Real Conversa�ons has the poten�al to be rolled out na�onally - into synagogues and mosques, universi�es, prisons, youth clubs and single gender social spaces.

Real Conversa�ons is at its heart an educa�onal tool that teaches the skills required for high quality interac�ons on challenging topics. As such it can be adapted for use in other areas where discussion is diﬃcult or shut down, such as immigra�on, gender or Brexit (see chapter en�tled “Future prospects and far reaching poten�al”).

1 Home Oﬃce: Hate Crime, England and Wales 2017/18, h�ps://�nyurl.com/ycpgcfay, page 7 3 REAL CONVERSATIONS...

runs ac�vi�es that are scalable na�onally and can reach a cri�cal mass of people

works in hard-to-reach and enclave communi�es

tackles the most diﬃcult issues

THE PILOT

A ‘pre-pilot’ test of Real Conversa�ons in Leeds and Bradford in April 2017 was enthusias�cally received by both Muslim and Jewish par�cipants who expressed a huge thirst for this kind of interven�on. The ﬁndings from this small-scale programme were fed into an extensive pilot the following year.

In January 2018, Reform Judaism and the Islamic Society of Britain (ISB) embarked on a seven month pilot of Real Conversa�ons in Leeds and Bradford, working with local partner Together for Peace (T4P). The pilot began with facilitator training in late January 2018 and concluded with interviews in schools in July 2018.

The pilot focused on young Muslim and Jewish people, equipping them with the skills to discuss the poten�ally divisive Israel-Pales�ne conﬂict. These groups were facilitated by one Muslim and one Jew.

The pilot programme worked with nine facilitators and delivered eleven programmes (of two workshops each) in schools across Bradford and Leeds: two cohorts of Jewish students and nine cohorts of Muslim students. In total, Real Conversa�ons worked with 221 students.

The programme was predominantly delivered to students in Key Stage 4 (Years 10 and 11).

4 THE NEED

Real Conversa�ons focuses on the most diﬃcult issues between and within communi�es. This approach matches the sen�ments expressed within the Government-sponsored Casey Review (2016) into opportunity and integra�on, which stressed problems occurring when diﬃcult conversa�ons are avoided. Tradi�onal interfaith has its place, but, as Dame Louise Casey points out in her Review, such interac�ons can feel “so� in their impact”2. Real Conversa�ons is a prac�cal solu�on to integra�on issues, which go to the heart of inter-community problems.

Sta�s�cs bear out the pressing need for an interven�on improving integra�on and focusing on Jews and Muslims. UK studies show a dispropor�onate level of an�-Semi�c a�tudes amongst Muslims3, and recent years have seen increased levels of Islamophobia in Bri�sh society4.

Very few schools examine Israel-Pales�ne in depth, and feedback from teachers has indicated that it is an important topic for study.

ACHIEVEMENT OF LEARNING OBJECTIVES

Analysis of feedback from the pilot indicates that Real Conversa�ons delivered strongly on the following four objec�ves:

Engage in debate and discussion with other young people who may have diﬀerent perspec�ves

Discuss the role of assump�ons and how they can impact on language and ac�on

Iden�fy, develop and demonstrate listening skills

Demonstrate how to apply tools to manage diﬃcult conversa�ons

A fi�h objec�ve, to increase knowledge of alterna�ve narra�ves, was well achieved for some cohorts however lower ra�ngs for this objec�ve occurred in groups where Jews and Muslims study in the same school. This may be significant, reflec�ng a greater base level of awareness in such environments, and therefore se�ng a higher bar for the development of knowledge of alterna�ve narra�ves.

2 The Casey Review, A review into opportunity and integra�on, h�ps://goo.gl/uPAg69, page 149

3 JPR/CST, An�semi�sm in contemporary Britain September 2017, h�ps://�nyurl.com/yb8f65vr, pages 53-60

4 The Times, h�ps://�nyurl.com/y7j3y3ﬀ, 20/06/17 viewed 23/10/18 5 SUMMARY OF OUTCOMES

Evalua�on form data shows that Real Conversa�ons significantly benefits par�cipants, adding value for schools in an educa�onal area – conten�ous topics – where teachers indicated that they require extra assistance. Quan�ta�ve results were strong, par�cularly in the case of three of the learning objec�ves. Powerful qualita�ve responses from teachers and par�cipants reflect a clear desire for the transforma�ve impact Real Conversa�ons can have. The following four chapters of the evalua�on give more detail on stakeholders’ responses to the pilot, and discuss four exci�ng areas of opportunity for the programme’s future.

Main recommenda�ons based on the pilot:

Real Conversa�ons should be used more widely to address bespoke highly controversial issues with a range of groups, especially considering the increasing awareness of societal isola�on and fragmenta�on highlighted in the Government’s Integra�on Strategy.

More workshop �me is needed to fulﬁl the aims of the programme. Overall contact �me for each programme should be lengthened by one hour.

Deepen facilitators’ ability to engage par�cipants on the speciﬁc issue, Israel-Pales�ne.

To consolidate and expand the reach of Real Conversa�ons, there is a need to employ full �me staﬀ to facilitate workshops, administer and promote the programme.

6 Other signiﬁcant ﬁndings:

Many of the Muslim students had never knowingly met a Jewish person before – the fact that they actually liked the Jewish facilitator was one of the most memorable parts of the experience for them.

Students’ knowledge of Israel-Pales�ne and the conﬂict varied vastly. Jewish students were rela�vely knowledgeable about the situa�on and the issues arising.

Teachers felt that the programme content was necessary and effec�ve. However, workshops need to be adapted to suit the different needs and backgrounds of each cohort of students and to include more detail and �me on the specifics of Israel-Pales�ne.

Workshop content should be adapted to complement the needs of individual cohorts, with considera�on for how the programme could ﬁt with the GCSE History syllabus.

Jewish students in mixed faith schools requested the opportunity to have a conversa�on about Israel-Pales�ne with their Muslim peers in a safe and controlled space. The requirements of the programme diﬀer in schools where students are used to learning alongside peers from the other faith community.

Facilita�on of the programme was strong, but not universally so, especially due to facilitator pairs changing frequently based on availability of the nine facilitators.

Facilitator training requires more than the two days, par�cularly due to the need to air diﬀerent views and concerns about the subject ma�er (Israel-Pales�ne), which requires almost as much �me as skills and content-based learning.

Facilitator pairings must be fully conﬁdent with each other before running their ﬁrst programmes in schools.

Workshop facilitators need to be equipped in the diﬀerent roles they need to play during a workshop: educator, facilitator, space holder, representa�ve and should be encouraged to develop their use of powerful personal stories as part of the content delivery.

Facilitators must be prepared to embrace unexpected topics in the workshops, with par�cipants o�en raising issues beyond the an�cipated subject ma�er.

Recrui�ng schools is helped by local knowledge and contacts. The Real Conversa�ons Advisory Board and local professionals produced most leads in schools.

7 BACKGROUND

CORE PRINCIPLES

Real Conversa�ons’ core principle is that only by having real, diﬃcult and challenging conversa�ons can we understand the point of view of others. Gentle interac�ons may be pleasant, but they do not provide rela�onships resilient to impac�ul external events (such as wars in Israel-Pales�ne or terrorism in the UK)5.

REAL CONVERSATIONS

“Par�cipants leave our programme with an understanding of how their ac�ons can impact on others, and with exposure to an Israel-Pales�ne narra�ve that they might otherwise never hear. Par�cipants hear why the region is important to each faith group, and see the damage that conﬂict by proxy can have on UK Jewish-Muslim rela�ons.” (Programme promo�onal material)

Target audience

The Real Conversa�ons Pilot 2018 worked in schools with par�cipants in years 9-13, ages where pupils are s�ll forming their views on key issues, but are old enough to grasp the main areas of conten�on.

Real Conversa�ons does not physically bring groups together, rather the focus is on conversa�ons within exis�ng groups (e.g. Jews or Muslims), due to the need for an eﬃcient and scalable programme (this is discussed more at the start of chapter ‘Programme Structure’)

Pre-pilot programme

The focus of this report is the pilot programme that took place in schools in Leeds and Bradford between January 2018 and July 2018. It built on a pre-pilot programme that ran in spring 2017, in the same ci�es. This engaged one Muslim and one Jewish group.

An evalua�on of the pre-pilot concluded:

Feedback from par�cipants was extremely posi�ve, with many – both Muslim and Jewish – expressing that they understood the value in broaching the topic of Israel-Pales�ne. The balance of the workshops should allow for more free discussion of the issue of Israel-Pales�ne, and spend rela�vely less �me on acquiring the skills to do this.

The two facilitators who ran each workshop were highly skilled, but it is clear that future training should be extended to allow them to become more comfortable with the workshop plans.

5 The Casey Review, A review into opportunity and integra�on, h�ps://goo.gl/uPAg69, page 149 8 PARTNERS

The Real Conversa�ons pilot was delivered by Reform Judaism and the Islamic Society of Britain (ISB). Reform Judaism is an umbrella membership body represen�ng 41 Reform synagogues across the United Kingdom. ISB is a community-based charity and not-for-profit company. Established in 1990, it was one of the first organisa�ons that sought to evolve a uniquely Bri�sh flavour to Islam.

Local Leeds-based organisa�on, Together4Peace, assisted with administra�on, evalua�on and workshop design.

THANK-YOU

We would like to acknowledge the �me given, par�cularly by schools, to give perspec�ves from teachers and students to contribute to these findings. We would also like to recognise the �me, effort and pa�ence put in by facilitators to help the development of this pilot programme and reflect back on their experiences, both via ques�onnaires and in person.

ADVISORY GROUP

Thank you to members of our Advisory Group, whose invaluable guidance helped get the project oﬀ the ground:

• Adam Aslam Leeds Muslim Youth Forum • Geraldine Cooper Bradford Council, Diversity and Cohesion Service • Linda Cowie The Linking Network • Mike Fligg Jewish representa�ve on Leeds Faith Forum • Meg Henry The Linking Network • Patrick Moriarty Head Teacher, Jewish Community Secondary School • Kamran Rashid Director, The Socially Conscious Company

A note on terms used

Note: where the word programme is used, this refers to a complete series of two workshops delivered in a school. Workshop is used to refer to each individual session delivered. A programme therefore consists of two workshops.

Facilitator refers to an individual who runs Real Conversa�ons workshops in schools. Each workshop is facilitated by a Muslim facilitator and a Jewish facilitator.

9 IMPACT AND EFFECTIVENESS

QUALITATIVE

Below is a selec�on of responses from par�cipants, teachers, workshop facilitators and observers from cohorts across the Real Conversa�ons pilot.

What the par�cipants said “(Real Conversa�ons)… has informed me more about Israel and Pales�ne and taught me more about handling conversa�ons about tough things.” Year 9 Muslim par�cipant, Allerton High, evalua�on form

It was safe, I could say what I wanted and didn’t feel concerned that I would oﬀend someone.

“I talked to some people in the few days a�er the workshop. I a�ached new opinions to my opinion, overall my opinion hasn’t changed: Muslims want to be the main people; Jews feel it is their holy place. Violence has to not be involved. It has to be both of ours. There is no point ﬁgh�ng for it.” Year 9 Muslim Par�cipant, Dixons Trinity, deep dive interview

“Most of us are on one side and all share the same opinions, so it was good to ﬁnd out what others thought [i.e. Jewish facilitator’s perspec�ve].

I hadn’t met a Jewish person before; he was good. He had a lot of knowledge, the Muslim guy did too. It was good that we had more �me to learn about what they taught us. I really enjoyed it and don’t think I’d change anything about it.” Year 9 Muslim par�cipant, Dixons Trinity, deep dive interview

“From the workshop I learnt that Muslim and Jewish people are diﬀerent but get along. I saw two women who worked really well together. It was my ﬁrst �me mee�ng a Jew and she was nice.” Year 9 Muslim par�cipant, Dixons Trinity, deep dive interview

10 “Yes I think this workshop has given me new learning about Pales�ne and Israel or about Jewish and Muslim people because I took part and listened and learnt new things in this workshop.

… it has given me more unbiased informa�on about the things that are going on.

... It has shown me how to deal with diﬃcult conversa�ons and assump�ons.” Year 9 Muslim par�cipants, Ruth Gorse Academy, evalua�on forms

It is not something we bring up in a non-controlled environment. If we do, we might get passionate, which can be misunderstood, or we might get told oﬀ for it at school.

Year 9 Jewish par�cipant, Allerton High deep dive interviews

What the teachers said

“The facilitators were good. They expected the students to communicate and gave them opportuni�es to do so.” Teacher, Allerton High, Jewish cohort, deep dive interview

“[Students were]… desperate to be involved and students [had] been so very posi�ve and enthusias�c.” Teacher, Ruth Gorse, Muslim cohort, conversa�on with observer

“Students ﬁnd it hard to be put on the spot so could struggle with explaining their views, or admi�ng to a minority view. However they warmed to it once one or two went against the majority and were right.

... It is very important that they start to develop the ability to discuss their worldview, understand that it is not the only one, and engage meaningfully with others from diﬀerent faith and poli�cal backgrounds, so that they can thrive in social and work situa�ons.

... Our students – par�cularly this group – do not o�en prac�ce these skills so have a low star�ng point. They’ve made progress.” Teacher, Dixons Trinity, Muslim cohort, evalua�on and benchmark forms

11 “[The majority of the students] ‘live in a bubble’ and don't think about these sorts of topics because they never meet anyone apart from other Muslims, aside from in a professional capacity (teachers, GP etc.). Our students are, we hope, going to move on to university or appren�ceships in the next few years and will encounter people from non-Muslim backgrounds much more o�en than they are currently used to doing. Therefore it is very important that they start to develop the ability to discuss their worldview, understand that it is not the only one, and engage meaningfully with others from diﬀerent faith and poli�cal backgrounds, so that they can thrive in social and work situa�ons.” Teacher, Dixons Trinity, Muslim cohort, conversa�on with observer

“The exercise on assump�ons was par�cularly good as it allowed students to reflect on their own prejudices. Although a difficult task, the exercise took students out of their comfort zones to discuss prejudices which can lead to discrimina�on. I think the students are generally be�er equipped to have/hold difficult conversa�ons.” Teacher, Bradford Academy, mixed cohort, evalua�on form

12 QUANTITATIVE

Quan�ta�ve data indicates that four of the ﬁve key objec�ves were delivered strongly across almost all cohorts. One objec�ve, to improve ‘knowledge of alterna�ve narra�ves/stories’, was less consistently achieved and provides the focus for some of this evalua�on.

Par�cipants were asked to fill in evalua�on forms immediately a�er the final workshop. Par�cipants were asked to rate the level to which they believed the five core objec�ves had been successfully achieved, scoring from 0, where the objec�ve had not been achieved at all, to 7, where it had been completely achieved.

The following chart summarises the responses given by par�cipants.

RESPONSES OF PARTICIPANTS

The table below details the responses given by par�cipants in the pilot.

LEARNING OUTCOMES 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

How much has your knowledge of alterna�ve narra�ves/stories, including 8 12 26 35 38 45 17 8 Israel-Pales�ne, increased? (L1)

To what extent have you had the opportunity to engage in debate and discussion with other young people who may have diﬀerent perspec�ves? (L2) 13 6 19 17 17 57 35 57

Have you had the opportunity to discuss the role of assump�ons (a�tudes and opinions) and how 1 3 4 8 16 33 58 59 they can impact on language and ac�on? (L3)

Have you had the opportunity to iden�fy, develop and demonstrate listening skills? (S1) 0 1 1 10 29 30 64 63

Have you been given the opportunity to demonstrate how to apply tools to manage diﬃcult conversa�ons 2 2 8 16 24 45 54 50 and have you been able to do this? (S2)

Note: Numbers do not tally, as not all students completed a score for every learning objec�ve or ac�vity.

13 OUTCOMES

Students rated ‘opportunity to iden�fy, develop and demonstrate listening skills’ extremely highly, with 127 giving a ra�ng of 6 or 7, and only 12 giving 3 or lower.

Having the opportunity to discuss the ‘role of assump�ons and how they can impact on language and ac�on’ (117 gave 6 or 7) and being ‘given the opportunity to demonstrate how to apply tools to manage diﬃcult conversa�ons’ (104 gave 6 or 7) both also scored highly.

The extent to which students had the ‘opportunity to engage in debate and discussion with other young people who may have diﬀerent perspec�ves’ scored slightly lower, with 42% of students giving a ra�ng of either 6 or 7, the two highest scores.

The learning objec�ve which scored least consistently was ‘knowledge of alterna�ve narra�ves/stories, including Israel-Pales�ne, increased’. Here, scores clustered in the middle of the range.

THE POWER OF STORY-TELLING

Facilitators used personal stories to address taboo topics in a relatable way. These proved to be key transforma�onal moments in the workshops. It would be ideal for all facilitators to have one of these stories to be ready to share, ideally their own, but it could be adapted and told second hand, with almost as much eﬀect.

Here are three such examples, all told by female Muslim facilitators:

STORY ONE

“I once walked onto a train, and as I sat down I no�ced a fellow Muslim. He was young and had a long beard and I no�ced he also had a backpack. I don’t know why but I became nervous and worried. The thought crossed my mind that what if he is carrying a bomb in his bag. I didn’t know if I should believe what was in the media or if I should just carry on as normal. In the end – I got up and changed carriages.”

14 STORY TWO

“I am o�en challenged by the assump�ons held by my own community. I live in a predominantly Asian-Pakistani area, and when I return home from a long day’s work, some�mes late, as mee�ngs are o�en held in the evening; I no�ce that my neighbours are peering through their windows at me. Some of them know about the work I do, and yet s�ll most of them judge me, or say bad things about me behind my back. This makes life hard for me.

I am a single-mother and I have worked hard and struggled to raise my children, whilst also trying to set a good example to them and show them what they can do and achieve. So, it’s not right that my community should judge me, when the work I do is also community focussed, and when I am struggling to do the right thing for my children. Really, they should encourage and support me.”

STORY THREE

“I was recently involved in a car crash on the M1 where my car ended up going through a crash barrier, over a sign post and landing upside down.

When the car eventually came to a halt and I realised that I was s�ll alive, I started reci�ng prayers out loud to myself and speciﬁcally saying ‘Allahu Akbar’ to reassure myself because in the seconds beforehand my children’s faces ﬂashed before me and I actually thought I was not actually going to make it alive. It was all a very trauma�c experience and something I will never forget for the rest of my days.

I no�ced that people were running over towards my car to see if I was ok and assist me. Then I suddenly realised that if they heard me saying ‘Allahu Akbar’, they might think that I was on some suicide mission or a terrorist and that I had inten�onally wanted to cause the accident and harm others on purpose. This thought alarmed me as they were trying to assist me so I stopped reci�ng my prayers and saying ‘Allahu Akbar’.

This is what the media has done for me. I was afraid to even call on my creator in a �me of need as it may have been misinterpreted or misunderstood in some way.”

15 FUTURE PROSPECTS AND FAR REACHING POTENTIAL

Key recommenda�on: Real Conversa�ons should be used more widely to address bespoke highly controversial issues with a range of groups, especially considering the increasing awareness of societal isola�on and fragmenta�on highlighted in the Government’s Integra�on Strategy.

The pilot showed that the educa�onal tool of Real Conversa�ons is needed and could operate in different spheres, beyond schools and far beyond the topic of Israel- Pales�ne. Britain is an increasingly polarised society6 where arguments are o�en fought in the faceless arena of social media and between different groups, divided o�en by age as well as ethnic and poli�cal iden��es. In this environment, difficult face-to-face conversa�ons are crucial. The problem is perhaps best expressed by former Secretary of State for Communi�es and Local Government, John Denham, now Director of the Centre for English Iden�ty and Poli�cs at the University of Winchester, who explained in a recent lecture:

“We some�mes lack the ability to talk to each other. One person’s resistance to change in their community is another’s clear evidence of racism.”7

It is exactly these assumed interpreta�ons which can be unpacked in a Real Conversa�ons programme. Just as in the pilot, Muslims and Jews were able to air assump�ons about the other group without fear of being shut down, open conversa�ons about immigra�on and racism are needed in many parts of Britain. The Real Conversa�ons model can provide a space for individuals to calmly express challenging views without immediately being labelled.

“The Real Conversa�ons model can provide a space for individuals to calmly express challenging views without immediately being labelled”

6 The Guardian, h�ps://www.theguardian.com/society/2018/oct/17/divided-britain-study-ﬁnds-huge-chasm-in-a�tudes, viewed 23/10/18 7 Open Democracy UK, h�ps://goo.gl/NA8tTx, A na�on divided? The iden��es, poli�cs and governance of England, viewed 23/10/18 16 The Government’s ‘Integrated Communi�es Strategy’ (2018) stated that ‘ethnic minority communi�es are increasing in concentra�on with growing isola�on from White Bri�sh communi�es.’8 Recent debates on important issues such as Britain’s departure from the European Union and the Gender Recogni�on Act are increasingly described as ‘toxic’9, ‘polarised’10 and a sign of a ‘divided’11 Britain. In the context of this increased division, Real Conversa�ons takes these diﬃcult topics from the coarse arena of newspaper websites and social media and bring them into a classroom, mosque, synagogue or community centre.

In this environment, Real Conversa�ons can provide the an�dote to increased social isola�on, the shu�ng down of conversa�ons and the development of unchecked extreme views.

Diﬃcult topics in the workshops

Facilitator and teacher feedback suggest that Real Conversa�ons should align itself with schools’ needs as closely as possible. Many commented on the need for a bespoke prepara�on of workshops determined by the socio-economic and ethnic make-up of the school, and driven by the topics most needing a�en�on in any given area.

When difficult conversa�ons were held in the workshops, they did not always focus on Israel-Pales�ne. One facilitator commented in one workshop: ‘we definitely had a proper discussion about difficult conversa�ons – not re. Israel/Pales�ne, but about managing emo�ons, and taking �me and thought to react.’

Teachers talked posi�vely about the development of skills amongst their students. One teacher talked about developing the RE curriculum at a new school within the academy chain, and how the principles that students had been taught would be equally transferrable and applicable in that se�ng. That par�cular school is a�ended predominantly by students of African-Caribbean Chris�an heritage and Bri�sh-born Asian Muslims.

8 Integrated Communi�es Strategy Green Paper, h�ps://goo.gl/Axj9tm, page 12 9 Thomson Reuters Founda�on News, h�p://news.trust.org//item/20181019111136-klizy/, What is a woman? Toxic debate over trans rights engulfs Britain, 19/10/18, viewed 23/10/18

10 The Washington Post, h�ps://goo.gl/ucZRcp, The center in Bri�sh poli�cs has all but disappeared, leaving the country as polarized as the U.S., 08/06/17, viewed 23/10/18 11 VOANews, h�ps://www.voanews.com/a/poll-bri�sh-opinion-s�ll-deeply-divided-by-brexit/4558213.html, 04/09/18, viewed 23/10/18 17 Teachers commented that the programme may be par�cularly useful at transi�on �mes for students. Examples included Year 7, on entering a mixed community school from a single faith iden�ty school; or Year 12 and 13, preparing students in predominantly Muslim schools to go to University/workplace to learn and work among peers of all diﬀerent faith and ethnic backgrounds.

One teacher also suggested the possibility of promo�ng Real Conversa�ons as part of Restora�ve Prac�ce12. This is a popular approach that many schools use to develop community and to manage conﬂict and tensions by repairing harm and building rela�onships. There are elements to this process that clearly resonate with the fundamentals of the Real Conversa�ons content and this would be an area for further explora�on.

What the teachers said

“The sun shines on ac�vity was hard for this group because they nearly all have conﬁdence issues and would be really challenged by being in the circle. However once it got to the ques�ons about Trump they quickly became very focussed and much more keen to par�cipate.

Girls in this group raised issues about the sexism they feel they experience at home and school, with religion being used to put women down.” Teacher, Dixons Trinity, Muslim cohort, Evalua�on form

“Students are required to understand various controversial and sensi�ve topics within RE and this session enabled students to approach these topics with a be�er understanding on how to manage diﬃcult conversa�ons and to consider the opposing view.” Teacher, Dixons Kings, Muslim cohort, evalua�on form

“A good format for a place like this would be hi�ng them hard with a range of sensi�ve issues and ge�ng them outside their comfort zone from the start.

12 Restora�ve Jus�ce Council, h�ps://goo.gl/b6FdhU, Restora�ve prac�ce in schools, viewed 23/10/18 18 I think the idea of Real Conversa�ons is really good and the students clearly enjoyed the format. I would suggest for the future adap�ng the actual content of the mee�ngs in a more nuanced way to the composi�on of the school, in that here, the students are already generally conﬁdent about addressing edgy issues, since these are not only covered on the compulsory RS syllabus (everyone does GCSE, and there is an excellent take-up for A level) but many are involved in deba�ng, and quite a few have experience of interfaith discussion groups.” Chaplain, Grammar School at Leeds, Muslim and Jewish cohorts, evalua�on form

What the facilitators said

In commen�ng on hos�ng a mixed cohort, one facilitator commented: “[The] group were very mixed in terms of religious, cultural and ethnic backgrounds – in some ways this made the session harder to deliver, in others it brought out the universality of the content and its relevance to all young people in building the skills to talk and listen respec�ully”. Facilitator, Bradford Academy, Mixed cohort

Recommenda�ons

Real Conversa�ons has the poten�al to improve par�cipants’ ability in several transferable skills, including managing emo�ons; coping with ‘transi�on �mes’; developing community; and managing conflict and tensions. How this training could be used to benefit other groups, where the Israel-Pales�ne conflict is not so per�nent, should be explored.

Par�cipants showed a thirst to discuss many challenging ‘current aﬀairs’ issues and the possibility of exploring these issues with similar and diﬀerent groups should be considered.

19 PROGRAMME STRUCTURE

Key recommenda�on: More workshop �me is needed to fulﬁl the aims of the programme. Overall contact �me for each programme should be lengthened by one hour.

Scalability is a key principle of Real Conversa�ons. There are approximately 284,00013 Jews and 4.1 million14 Muslims in the UK. To impact signiﬁcantly on Britain, Real Conversa�ons must be replicable on a large scale. This is a driving mo�va�on for keeping programmes as short as possible, so long as they s�ll achieve the given aims of Real Conversa�ons. Addi�onally, the huge diﬀerence in popula�on sizes between the two groups dictates that the programme does not bring Jewish and Muslim groups together – there would simply not be enough Jews for this to be done meaningfully.

The programme is designed to deliver short and intense sessions that have a measurable las�ng impact. The drive for scalability inevitably puts pressure on the workshop designers and facilitators to pack the essen�al contents into just two hours. This chapter explains how successful fulﬁlment of the objec�ve ‘knowledge of alterna�ve narra�ves’ requires an extension of overall programme �me.

Feedback from par�cipants, teachers and facilitators

Facilitators were challenged by the limited session �mes. At Allerton High, for example, ﬁve of the Muslim cohort indicated that the sessions needed to be longer. The following quotes are also indica�ve of a thirst for more conversa�on �me:

The exercises “could have taken it deeper; some of it felt on the surface” and “it didn’t delve deep enough. It was an interes�ng and enjoyable experience but it would have been nice to have a chance to use the skills in some real conversa�ons.” Year 9 Jewish par�cipant, Allerton High deep dive interviews

“I would make the workshop with more conversa�on and less ac�vi�es” Year 9 Muslim par�cipant, Ruth Gorse Academy, evalua�on forms

13 The Board of Depu�es of Bri�sh Jews, h�ps://www.bod.org.uk/jewish-facts-info/jews-in-numbers/, viewed 23/10/18

14 Pew Research Centre, h�ps://goo.gl/mdKcp2, 5 facts about the Muslim popula�on in Europe, viewed 23/10/18 20 Teachers echoed the thoughts of their students, highligh�ng the essen�al nature of the programme, and the need for more �me for extended conversa�ons:

“Given the scope of the ac�vity the impact is inevitably limited. I would not expect to see a measurable shi� in a�tudes or understanding over such a short �mescale.” Deputy Head teacher, Allerton high Muslim and Jewish cohorts, evalua�on form

“The delivery of the ac�vi�es was excellent, students loved them and seemed to get a lot from them. However, you could think about the �me limit…Pupils were encouraged to speak their minds and be themselves, they were ready and ok to shine in the ‘safe space’”. Trainee teacher, Allerton High, Muslim cohort

Facilitators made clear that more �me would be needed for discussions and ac�vi�es to be suﬃciently deep:

“Be�er �me management” needed;

“In the second session we spent too long on the energisers, which didn’t leave a lot of �me for the rest of the ac�vi�es;”

“Timing is the most difficult thing. Par�cularly with the first session. It is difficult to get into a rhythm with the other coordinator;”

“I would make the sessions longer, there is no �me to give the young people �me to explore their feelings and experiences that we are hoping they will reﬂect on.”

Reﬂec�ons from facilitator feedback forms

Addi�onal ac�vi�es

There was a clear desire for more free discussion �me, and opportunity to use the skills learnt in workshop 1. The ‘assump�ons’ ac�vity, where par�cipants consider assump�ons made about their own group and about ‘the other’, was highly rated, with some teachers sugges�ng that it represented the ‘start of a process’, and should be used earlier on in the programme.

One teacher suggested the addi�on of ‘fact checking’ skills to the programme, which, while extremely valuable in the age of ‘fake news’, may not be possible within the conﬁnes of Real Conversa�ons.

21 Baseline student knowledge

Student knowledge prior to the workshops varied vastly. Some already have a well- developed skills set and knowledge of Israel/Pales�ne, most notably in the Jewish cohorts. In some schools, students had li�le or no prior knowledge of the conﬂict, including the basic geography of the region: ‘where is Pales�ne?’ asked one student.

As one facilitator summed up: ‘I think students are in a much be�er place to have these conversa�ons – the topic obviously lends itself to understanding the process of conversa�on – though perhaps they need to have the opportunity to prac�se a counter-narra�ve’.

Measuring progress

The programme could be topped and tailed by a baseline-checking ac�vity. This would ask par�cipants to reveal their a�tudes towards Muslims or Jews at the start of the programme, and then test again at the end. A comparison could indicate the rela�ve success of the programme. However, it would be challenging to extract honest views from par�cipants at the start of the programme, before facilitators have created an open atmosphere and built trust. Nevertheless, this proposal will be seriously considered in the next itera�on of Real Conversa�ons.

Recommenda�ons

Key recommenda�on: More workshop �me is needed to fulﬁl the aims of the programme. Overall contact �me for each programme should be lengthened by one hour.

Programme in more �me for open (and structured) discussions on challenging topics.

Ensure facilitators are clear how long they should spend on energises.

Con�nue to gather informa�on on knowledge of key issues of each cohort, and plan sessions accordingly. [The following chapter ‘Workshop Content’ discusses this in more detail].

22 WORKSHOP CONTENT

Key recommenda�on: Deepen facilitators’ ability to engage par�cipants on the speciﬁc issue, Israel-Pales�ne

Par�cipants felt that deeper discussions on Israel-Pales�ne were needed and that more facts and ﬁgures should be injected into the workshops. This chapter builds on the ﬁndings of the previous chapter and plots a path forward for transforming educa�on on Israel-Pales�ne in Bri�sh schools.

What the par�cipants said

“I hope they can come back again to explain a li�le bit more about Israel.” Year 9 Muslim par�cipants, Dixons Trinity, evalua�on forms

“We did talk about Israel and Pales�ne but it didn’t change my opinions, as we talked about what I already know about from social media. It hasn’t had an impact on what I think about the conﬂict. But I didn’t know before the programme that some Jews help Muslims.” Year 9 Muslim Par�cipant, Dixons Trinity, deep dive interview

“I LOVED the energy of the two people who led the workshop however next�me I hope that we can talk more about the Pales�ne-Israel conﬂict (learn about how it started, what is currently happening).”

Par�cipant, Allerton High, deep dive interview

23 What the teachers said

“… the absence of an actual real conversa�on about Israel/Pales�ne was a shame – the students clearly wanted it, were ready for it and had assumed from the �tle of the programme that they were going to have the opportunity to have one.” Teacher, Allerton High, deep dive interview

“There was an assump�on that students know a lot about it but students with lower academic abili�es just heard it’s a thing”. Teacher, Dixons Trinity Academy, Muslim cohort, conversa�on with observer

“I think spending more �me looking at why the conﬂict exists [and] how others (group) could use the conﬂict for personal interest etc. would create more discussion.” Teacher, Bradford Academy, mixed cohort, evalua�on form

“I don’t think our learners will have any informed views about the situa�on in Israel-Pales�ne as it isn’t something we cover un�l GCSE RE year 11.” Teacher, Dixons Trinity Academy, Muslim cohort, evalua�on form

The teacher at Dixons Trinity suggested other areas of school prac�ce where the programme could be integrated, such as pastoral staﬀ and Heads of Year using it as part of their Restora�ve Jus�ce15 approach. She spoke about True Tube, an award winning online resource for RE, PHSE and Ci�zenship which has excellent videos on a wide range of subjects. She suggested that Real Conversa�ons could produce a video for that, as it would then be much more widely available as a resource across the country for teachers to use in all these subject areas. Teacher, Dixons Trinity, Muslim cohort, verbal feedback to observer

15 Restora�ve Jus�ce Council, h�ps://goo.gl/b6FdhU, Restora�ve prac�ce in schools, viewed 23/10/18 24 What the facilitators said

“Statement Line didn’t seem terribly relevant as a lot of young people didn’t know enough about Israel-Pales�ne to have strong opinions either way. Most had limited knowledge/experience of Jewish people and again didn’t have hugely strong opinions – this made the wider discussion about assump�ons more powerful and relevant as it drew on their experiences far more.” Facilitator, Bradford Academy, mixed cohort, evalua�on form

“I think there may have been some frustra�ons with some of the kids who felt like they hadn’t been taught to address the speciﬁc topic in so much depth.” Facilitator, end of programme evalua�on form

“A great assump�on was that the young people all knew quite basic, factual informa�on about Israel-Pales�ne. I found that this was certainly not the case and it meant that there was less understanding as a result.” Facilitator, end of programme evalua�on form

Analysis

A universally observed detail was that Jewish students tended to be more literate in the subject ma�er than some (though not all) of their Muslim counterparts. This is reflected in the findings from the two Jewish cohorts, where the ‘increase knowledge of alterna�ve narra�ves’ objec�ve received the lowest scores. Interes�ngly, the Muslim cohort at Allerton High (who learn alongside their Jewish peers) also gave low scores in this area. We can suggest from this, that groups who spend less �me mixing with other faith groups are less likely to develop an understanding of alterna�ve narra�ves, a finding that matches our ini�al principle to work in hard-to-reach communi�es.

25 Ul�mately, there was no consensus in the ﬁndings regarding the objec�ve ‘increase knowledge of alterna�ve narra�ves’. To improve knowledge of diﬀerent narra�ves requires more contact �me, as discussed in the previous chapter. We also propose changing our educa�onal approach in the following ways.

Synchronizing with the exis�ng syllabus

Israel-Pales�ne can be studied within the History GCSE or A-Level courses. At GCSE, only one exam body, EdExcel, include a module on the Middle East: ‘Conﬂict in the Middle East, 1945–95’16. At A-level, OCR include a module en�tled ‘The Middle East 1908-2011: O�omans to Arab Spring’17. Approximately one third of this module relates to the Israeli-Pales�nian conﬂict. While there are no available sta�s�cs on the number of pupils si�ng these modules, with history a non-compulsory subject at both GCSE and A-Level, only a minority sit exams in the subject18. Within this minority, an even smaller number will study modules rela�ng to Israel-Pales�ne.

Israel-Pales�ne may also be covered in PHSE classes or as a case study in GCSE RE ‘peace and conﬂict’, as indicated by one of the observing teachers.

We can conclude that the majority of students will not have spent any �me learning about the subject ma�er prior to the programme. As has been evidenced, this means that knowledge of Israel-Pales�ne varies hugely across cohorts. From this, two op�ons present themselves:

Promote Real Conversa�ons as suppor�ng delivery of exis�ng curriculum modules and align delivery with planned lessons within schools;

Adapt content to take into account that many students will not have much/any prior knowledge or understanding of the conﬂict and equip them with this knowledge as part of the delivery.

16 School History, h�ps://goo.gl/hmRDSe, Conﬂict in the Middle East, 1945-95 Edexcel GCSE History 9-1 Lesson Resources

17 OCR.co.uk, h�ps://goo.gl/aqC9Bb, History A-Level speciﬁca�on

18 In 2018, 248,925 pupils took GCSE History, in comparison to 715,775 for maths. At A-Level, 44,900 sat a History exam. h�ps://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/a�achment_data/file/712450/ 26 Report_-_summer_2018_exam_entries_GCSEs_Level_1_2_AS_and_A_levels.pdf These op�ons raise the possibility of a third, flexible, route, that is offering schools the op�on of one Real Conversa�ons programme that can run alongside GCSE study of the details of the conflict, and, where such educa�on is not taking place in schools, a longer programme, which provides background informa�on on the conflict.

Real Conversa�ons could partner an organisa�on such as Parallel Histories19, who already use balanced materials for teaching Israel- Pales�ne in schools. Parallel Histories is an educa�onal charity working with a team of students based around the world, and with Touch Cast, an innova�ve video communica�ons ﬁrm20.

Their approach is best summarised as follows:

“Don’t shy away from compe�ng perspec�ves - seek them out, lay them side by side and examine each of them.”

Where such materials and exper�se already exist, we are determined to devise educa�onal content bespoke to the needs and aims of Real Conversa�ons, and to share knowledge and prac�ce, but not to reinvent the wheel.

How to impart knowledge on a controversial topic

Facilitators quickly became aware of the varying knowledge levels on Israel-Pales�ne. Many felt that more material was needed to educate the students with a baseline of knowledge. Determining what knowledge to impart is a challenging endeavour when at least two popular opposing narra�ves are o�en cited. However, two par�cularly useful sugges�ons came out of the pilot, and would be used in future itera�ons of Real Conversa�ons, alongside an expanded curriculum:

19 Parallel Histories, h�ps://www.parallelhistories.org.uk/

20 TouchCast, h�ps://touchcast.com/team/?preview_nonce=d5f095d25e&preview=true, About TouchCast 27 A carefully cra�ed map is crucial to show par�cipants key details about the region. This would need to be constructed carefully, acknowledging diﬀerent narra�ves and introducing par�cipants to the geography and history of the region.

A glossary of terms and ‘golden facts’. This would help facilitators avoid difficult situa�ons where they are pressured towards giving incomplete, or personal, views in response to sensi�ve ques�ons. In a programme like Real Conversa�ons, where facilitators are invited in with different levels of background knowledge, it is vital that a fair representa�on of both sides is offered to maintain the balance that the programme is seeking to achieve. The process of crea�ng this resource would need to be very carefully considered.

Real Conversa�ons could supply teachers with a pre-prepared presenta�on to run through a week beforehand, giving a brief explana�on of the history of the land and outlining the claims the diﬀerent sides have to it. This could tackle confusion and incorrect assump�ons that were expressed by some students.

Recommenda�ons

Key recommenda�on: deepen facilitators’ ability to engage par�cipants on the speciﬁc issue, Israel-Pales�ne.

Two diﬀerent programmes should be developed, one to ﬁt with schools’ current teaching on Israel-Pales�ne, and one that assumes no prior knowledge.

An educa�onal resource should be created to impart balanced knowledge to students. The sensi�vity of the topics must be considered in formula�ng this tool. This could be developed from the exis�ng materials of an external organisa�on, for example Parallel Histories.

In addi�on, a pre-session could be developed, perhaps guided by a slideshow presenta�on and/or video, allowing teachers to impart knowledge to pupils before ﬁrst contact with Jewish and Muslim facilitators.

The communica�on of key facts, narra�ves and terms should be agreed beforehand in order for facilitators to impar�ally educate on Israel-Pales�ne.

28 FACILITATION

Key recommenda�on: To consolidate and expand the reach of Real Conversa�ons, there is a need to employ full �me staﬀ to facilitate workshops, administer and promote the programme.

Real Conversa�ons’ facilitators are the programme’s greatest asset.

Before recruitment, facilitators were required to have some experience of holding discussions with groups. Nine facilitators (ﬁve Jewish; four Muslim) were recruited for the dura�on of the Pilot. All facilitators went through a two-stage applica�on process, submi�ng an applica�on form, followed by an interview with two members of the Real Conversa�ons team. Not all of those who applied were accepted.

Facilitators play four key roles during any given Real Conversa�ons workshop:

educator – with basic educa�on around Israel-Pales�ne

facilitator – enabling students to engage with ac�vi�es

space holder – hos�ng space for students to discuss and apply what they are learning

representa�ve of their faith group – providing an encounter with ‘the other’, while acknowledging that both groups are extremely diverse

Nine facilitators were trained over two full ‘work day’ Sundays.

Time pressure was a key diﬃculty during facilitator training, as it was the case for delivery of the programme in schools. Decisions had to be made to focus on two areas: content of the workshops and crea�ng a space for facilitators to hold their own diﬃcult conversa�ons. The la�er was deemed crucial as facilitators had to be comfortable working with one another.

29 Training content and �metables

Facilitators spoke posi�vely about the trainers’ delivery and the content of the material, commen�ng that they were: ‘Both good and very warm and welcoming…’

Day 1 focused on introduc�ons, facilitators becoming comfortable with one another, and a small alloca�on of �me centred on the prac�cal challenges of facilita�ng workshops. More �me than an�cipated was spent holding diﬃcult conversa�ons across the groups. Temporarily spli�ng into Jews and Muslims allowed individual facilitators to express themselves on more diﬃcult topics (in line with the theory behind the Real Conversa�ons model). Bringing the groups back together to answer ques�ons from the other group led to powerful and important discussions which the trainers deemed could not be rushed. This of course had �metabling implica�ons for the second training day. Day 2 was an opportunity for facilitators to immerse themselves in the workshop ac�vi�es, with �me allocated for prac�sing ac�vi�es.

Due to the sensi�vity of the subject ma�er, all facilitators were made aware of the need to teach the given material and not their own views, and thus ensure they adhered to Sec�on 406 of the Educa�on 1996 Act, which forbids “the promo�on of par�san poli�cal views”21 in the classroom.

The group also discussed the Prevent Duty22. Facilitators were made aware that teachers would be present in the workshops at all �mes.

There was a clear procedure outlined should safeguarding issues arise during a workshop, and facilitators were made aware that they should not exchange personal contact details with students. It is essen�al that this training be emphasised and delivered in an extremely clear manner if Real Conversa�ons is to scale up or develop as a programme.

21 Educa�on Act 1996, h�ps://www.legisla�on.gov.uk/ukpga/1996/56/sec�on/406, sec�on 406: Poli�cal Indoctrina�on

22 NASUWT, The Prevent strategy, guidance for teachers, h�ps://www.nasuwt.org.uk/uploads/assets/uploaded/85ab�a-2ea4-400f-9ad12f705c559574.pdf 30 Feedback on training

TRAINER 1

• “It should be a responsibility - not op�onal - for pairs to meet and discuss the programme at length before running workshops.”

• “Addi�onal training is required on: being able to use the workshop plans selec�vely

how long to spend on some ac�vi�es (not spending a long �me on ac�vi�es that were supposed to be short)

thinking on their feet and understanding the needs of par�cular cohorts

what to do when a student says something diﬃcult – not having to answer but how ques�ons can keep a diﬃcult conversa�on going

how to end a workshop – didn’t present a problem, but needs to be covered”

TRAINER 2

• “We could have done more, but were limited by �me. We had to cut conversa�ons short and they were the heart of the experience. Having a weekend residen�al was considered but because of Shabbat Friday to Saturday evening that prohibits that, and then most return to work on a Monday.”

• “I was happy with it. I felt it was held and hosted really well. Feedback from par�cipants said the same. There was subject ma�er that people wanted �me to talk about, to personally take �me and make sense of. Might have been good to give more �me for people to explore Israel-Pales�ne.

• “More training was needed in managing diﬃcult conversa�ons. It would have been good to give facilitators the opportunity to have those conversa�ons themselves. It is good for facilitators to have a lived experience, as then they can be a lot more aware of it when it happens with the young people, and recollect from their own experience when using examples with young people.”

31 Overall Experience of training and how it could be improved

Facilitators indicated broadly that the training received equipped them with necessary skills to run the workshops, e.g.: ‘Good run through of session outline’ and there was a general feeling that the training had been thorough: ‘we’ve really gone through the workshop, we’ve asked loads of ques�ons, we role played’.

However, several facilitators le� wan�ng more �me to prac�se in order to feel fully prepared.

The following recommenda�ons are based on facilitator feedback. Training should provide:

• more opportuni�es to prac�se the material; • more �me on responses to diﬃcult ques�ons; • behaviour management training; • more opportuni�es for discussions among facilitators themselves; • more prac�ce through role play;

Priori�sing �me

More than two full days are required to fully equip facilitators with the full knowledge and skill set needed to run Real Conversa�ons. However, working with facilitators who have other roles (i.e. full �me work) necessitates holding training on weekends or evenings. The Jewish day of rest, Shabbat, from Friday night to Saturday night, means that weekend residen�al training is par�cularly diﬃcult to arrange. Several evenings would be required to fully cover the materials and this could take several weeks or longer, depending on availability of facilitators.

Administra�on

Administra�ve support was provided by Together4Peace, a local project-based charity focusing on peace-building and dialogue within and between communi�es. Coordina�ng several facilitators across mul�ple programmes, including the dissemina�on of resources, was a complex and �me-consuming task. Coordina�on with schools was successfully managed, but ineﬃcient, without one individual responsible, with Together4Peace, Reform Judaism and other individuals communica�ng with each other and with schools and facilitators.

The programme would beneﬁt from a streamlined approach, linking workshop facilitators to every stage of the process, from making approaches to schools, running workshops, and following up with teachers a�er programmes.

32 Recommenda�ons

Key recommenda�on: To consolidate and expand the reach of Real Conversa�ons, there is a need to employ full �me staﬀ to facilitate workshops, administer and promote the programme.

Con�nue to uphold a robust applica�on process for facilitators

Residen�al training will aid the building of rela�onships between facilitators

In a lengthened overall training �me, facilitators should be given as much space as is needed to discuss and understand the views of the other. This is impera�ve both to build trust, and to avoid diﬃcult unan�cipated situa�ons during workshops.

Building a rela�onship between pairs of facilitators means that one-to-one �me should be made mandatory for facilitator pairings.

33 COMPLETE LIST OF RECOMMENDATIONS

FUTURE PROSPECTS AND FAR REACHING POTENTIAL

Par�cipants showed a thirst to discuss many challenging ‘current aﬀairs’ issues and the possibility of exploring these issues with similar and diﬀerent groups should be considered.

PROGRAMME STRUCTURE

Key recommenda�on: More workshop �me is needed to fulﬁl the aims of the programme. Overall contact �me for each programme should be lengthened by one hour.

Programme in more �me for open (and structured) discussions on challenging topics.

Ensure facilitators are clear how long they should spend on energises.

Con�nue to gather informa�on on knowledge of key issues of each cohort, and plan sessions accordingly. [The following chapter ‘Workshop Content’ discusses this in more detail].

34 WORKSHOP CONTENT

Key recommenda�on: Deepen facilitators’ ability to engage par�cipants on the speciﬁc issue, Israel-Pales�ne.

Two diﬀerent programmes should be developed, one to ﬁt with schools’ current teaching on Israel-Pales�ne, and one that assumes no prior knowledge.

An educa�onal resource should be created to impart impar�al knowledge to students. The sensi�vity of the topics must be considered in formula�ng this tool. This could be developed from the exis�ng materials of an external organisa�on.

Key facts and terms should be agreed beforehand in order for facilitators to impar�ally educate on Israel-Pales�ne.

A map exercise should be developed to introduce par�cipants to key historical and geographical terms and events.

Data should be gathered to ascertain the primacy of Israel-Pales�ne as a cause of conﬂict in schools – i.e. schools and pupils should be asked what topics ma�er to them, in order to inform topic choices in future itera�ons of Real Conversa�ons.

Data should be gathered on par�cipa�ng schools’ current coverage of Israel-Pales�ne.

35 FACILITATION

Key recommenda�on: To consolidate and expand the reach of Real Conversa�ons, there is a need to employ full �me staﬀ to facilitate workshops, administer and promote the programme.

Con�nue to uphold a robust applica�on process for facilitators

Residen�al training will aid the building of rela�onships between facilitators

Building a rela�onship between pairs of facilitators means that one-to-one �me should be made mandatory for facilitator pairings.

36 APPENDIX I

EVALUATION FRAMEWORK FOR REAL CONVERSATIONS PILOT

Details on ques�onnaires:

1. Par�cipants

All par�cipants will be asked to complete one short evalua�on ques�onnaire, a�er they have completed both of the workshops.

2. Teachers/enablers

Teachers/youth leaders/enablers will be asked to complete a short three stage process to gather ini�al baseline and further data:

1 Ask teachers to complete a baseline table for their cohort which establishes collec�ve data for par�cipants

2 A�er session 1 and 2 teachers complete another table to show anything that changed as part of the session delivery, that they may have observed. This, along with a short ques�onnaire, will demonstrate the impact of sessions.

3 Further reflec�on a month later by teachers using the baseline table will demonstrate the las�ng success of programme. A further short ques�onnaire will highlight if there are any specific examples of ac�ons (by individual par�cipants or the group as a whole) that have taken place as a result of the workshops. At this point we will also seek to draw out any case studies that would be good to follow up for interviews and highlight in the final report.

3. Facilitators

Facilitators will be asked to make session specific reflec�ons following delivery of each workshop, no�ng what went par�cularly well, what needs/ed adap�ng during the workshop, what they par�cularly enjoyed delivering and what felt tricky (and why). They will also be asked to complete an overall ques�onnaire at the end of the pilot programme, giving more general reflec�ons on the experience of delivering the training and drawing comparisons between different se�ngs.

Appendix i APPENDIX II

WHO WERE THE PARTICIPANTS?

Jewish cohorts

Allerton High School – Jewish cohort

Allerton High School is a comprehensive school in Alwoodley, LS17, which is one of the most aﬄuent postcode areas in Leeds. 10.9% of students at the school are eligible for free school meals.

19 Jewish students from Year 10 (aged 14-15) par�cipated in the programme, 11 boys and 8 girls.

The Grammar School at Leeds (GSAL)

GSAL is the UK’s largest fee-paying independent school and is academically selec�ve.

There were a number of atypical factors in the delivery at GSAL compared to the other schools, which make it an unusual dataset and therefore not easy to directly compare with others:

• It was a small cohort of seven students (smaller than the 20-30 aimed for) • They were Year 12, thus out of the target age range (Years 9-11) • It was the ﬁrst �me for both facilitators • It was conducted in ‘free �me’ over lunch rather than lesson �me (and lunch was provided by the school)

However, their contribu�ons are helpful to consider as part of the wider picture, as it has some similari�es with the ﬁndings from the Jewish cohort at Allerton High School.

Appendix ii Muslim cohorts

Allerton High School – Muslim cohort

Allerton High School is a comprehensive school in Alwoodley, LS17, which is one of the most aﬄuent postcode areas in Leeds. 10.9% of students at the school are eligible for free school meals.

25 Muslim students from Year 9 (aged 13-14) par�cipated in the programme.

Bradford Academy – Two Mixed cohorts

Bradford Academy is based in Bowling. Almost a third of students do not have English as their ﬁrst language and 44% of students at the school have been eligible for free schools meals at any �me during the past six years (source: gov.uk).

These two cohorts have been analysed together because they were both programmes with Mixed cohorts:

• Cohort 1 had 12 students aged 14-15, four of whom were Muslim • Cohort 2 had 15 students aged 14-15, ﬁve of whom were Muslim. This was the only cohort in the pilot where all the students were the same gender, in this case female.

Dixons City Academy – Mixed cohort

Dixons Kings Academy is a comprehensive school in the Holme Top area of Bradford. 29% of pupils do not have English as their ﬁrst language and 31% have been eligible for free schools meals at any �me during the past six years (source: gov.uk).

24 students from Year 10 (aged 14-15) par�cipated in the programme; 11 Muslim and 13 from other faiths/no faith backgrounds.

Appendix ii Dixons Kings Academy – Muslim cohort

Dixons Kings Academy is a comprehensive school in the Lidget Green area of West Bradford. 60% of pupils do not have English as their ﬁrst language and 42% have been eligible for free schools meals at any �me during the past six years (source: gov.uk).

26 Muslim students from Year 10 (aged 14-15) par�cipated in the programme; 15 boys and 12 girls.

Dixons Trinity Academy – Muslim cohort 2

The delivery of the RC programme at Dixons Trinity – Cohort 2 was by two female facilitators, one Muslim and one Jewish.

This cohort had 26 students aged 14-15, including 19 Muslims.

Dixons Trinity Academy – Muslim cohort 1

Dixons Trinity Academy is a comprehensive school in the Li�le Horton area of Bradford. Just under a tenth of pupils do not have English as their ﬁrst language and a third have been eligible for free schools meals at any �me during the past six years (source: gov.uk).

This cohort had 22 students aged 14-15, including 19 Muslims.

Ruth Gorse Academy – Muslim cohort

Ruth Gorse Academy is Leeds’ most centrally located comprehensive school. Over a quarter of pupils do not have English as their ﬁrst language and over half have been eligible for free schools meals at any �me during the past six years (source: gov.uk).

20 Muslim students from Year 9 (aged 13-14) par�cipated in the programme.

Appendix ii APPENDIX III

DATA COLLECTED

Programmes delivered

11 programmes were delivered in seven diﬀerent schools, three in Leeds and four in Bradford, between 23rd March – 23rd May 2018.

Two programmes were delivered to Jewish cohorts, six programmes were delivered to Muslim students. In addi�on, three were delivered to students in cohorts where students were from a diversity of backgrounds including Muslim, Chris�an, Sikh, Hindu and non-faith.

Par�cipa�ng schools and data gathered

Complete Missing Data Leeds Cohort Age Lesson Type Dataset Explana�on

Allerton High Cohort 1 14-15 PSE Yes School Jewish

Allerton High Cohort 2 13-14 PSE Yes School Muslim

The Grammar Cohort 1 16-17 Lunch Club Yes School at Leeds Jewish

The Grammar Cohort 2 Students only 16-17 Lunch Club No par�cipated in School at Leeds Muslim workshop 1 Ruth Gorse Teacher’s Muslim 12-14 RE No post-programme Academy ques�onnaire

Appendix iii Complete Missing Data Bradford Cohort Age Lesson Type Dataset Explana�on Bradford Cohort 1 14-15 RE & PHSE Yes Academy Mixed

Bradford Cohort 2 No speciﬁc data on 14-15 RE & PHSE No workshops received Academy Mixed from teacher

Dixons City Mixed RE Yes Academy

Dixons King Muslim 14-15 RE Yes Academy

Dixons Trinity Cohort 1 14-15 RE Yes Academy Muslim

Dixons Trinity Cohort 2 14-15 RE Yes Academy Muslim

Cohort 2 (Muslim) at GSAL did not complete the ques�onnaires because they did not turn up for the second workshop. The programme had been arranged at a lunch�me and students elected to do other things on week 2 (summer hockey club for example), apart from one student who joined with his Jewish peers for workshop 2.

In schools where two programmes took place, teachers’ end of programme forms covered both cohorts.

The evaluators found it difficult to secure a complete dataset from some schools. This was due to staff changes – going on maternity leave, different staff at each stage of the programme and also non-response to request.

Further follow up with schools

Four schools were asked if evaluators could visit following comple�on of the programme to speak to students. Two schools agreed. At Allerton High School a group of six Jewish students were interviewed collec�vely. At Dixons Trinity Academy three Muslim students were interviewed individually. In both schools teachers also gave further feedback.

Appendix iii Group exercise to develop SWOT of Real Conversa�ons

A collabora�ve Strengths Weaknesses Opportuni�es and Threats (SWOT) document was developed, involving all those who had been involved in the development and delivery of the programme from Islamic Society of Britain, Reform Judaism and Together for Peace. This was done workshop style and took place on 20th June 2018. Later feedback from facilitators has also been included.

METHOD OF ENGAGEMENT

Data collec�on

• Students, teachers and facilitators were asked to complete ques�onnaires a�er each workshop. • Teachers were also asked to complete: ◦ a pre-programme form to provide some baseline data ◦ a post-programme form at least a month a�er the programme ended • Most of the sessions were observed by either Imran Arif (an experienced secondary teacher in RE and trained Social Scien�st) or Alex Fenton (Director of Public Aﬀairs, Reform Judaism, former Youth Worker and project lead), who fed their observa�ons in to the ﬁndings. • Students and teachers at two of the schools were interviewed four weeks a�er the comple�on of the programme.

Addi�onal gathering of informa�on and perspec�ves

In addi�on to the planned data gathering methods outlined above:

• Telephone conversa�ons were conducted with three of the four key people leading the programme: • Rabbi Laura Janner-Klausner, Senior Rabbi to Reform Judaism • Alex Fenton, Director of Public Affairs at Reform Judaism, and project lead • Kamran Rashid, Local Project Manager and associate with Together for Peace • De-briefs with facilitators, conducted by Imran Arif following workshops he observed, offered addi�onal reflec�ons on the process.

Appendix iii Appendix iv APPENDIX IV REAL CONVERSATIONS –WORKSHOP OUTLINE Age Group : Years 9 - 13 students (13 years – 18 years) Session delivery � me : 2 x 60 mins Number of workshops : 2 Aim of the programme To improve how Jews and Muslims UK in the view one another by: • Teaching young people how to respond construc � vely when their views are challenged. • Improving mutual understanding of Jewish and Islamic perspec � ves on di ffi cult topics, e.g. Pales� ne-Israel • Training young people to have di ffi cult conversa � ons • Providing a safe space for young people to air challenging views Learning outcomes & skills By the end of this programme young people will: • Increase their knowledge of alterna � ve narra � ves • Engage in debate and discussion with other young people who may have di ff erent perspec� ves • Discuss the role of assump � ons and how they can impact on language and ac � on • Iden � fy, develop and demonstrate listening skills • Demonstrate how to apply tools to manage di ffi cult conversa � ons Appendix iv • Informal introduc� on to Real Conversa � ons • Par � cipants encouraged to list necessary boundaries in order for the programme to take place e ff ec � vely • Whole group circle ac � vity • Brings energy to the group how it can feel to be di ff erent • Introduces the concept of di ff erence, and • Whole group exercise introducing di ffi cult conversa � ons • Lazy Listening: exercise in pairs demonstra � ng ‘passive listening’ • Introduc � on of 4-step worksheet ‘How to manage a di ffi cult conversa � on’ • Dynamic whole-group discussion on Israel-Pales � ne • Prac � sing four steps to manage a di ffi cult conversa � on • Recap of key points and discussion • Acknowledge ‘roll-over’ issues • Teacher and par � cipant feedback forms WORKSHOP 1 APPENDIX IV Welcome and ground rules Energizer: The Sun Shines on Wrap up and feedback Core component 1: Di ffi cult Conversa � ons Core component 2: Statement Line Appendix iv • Focus on four steps • Whole group guessing-game based on facts about the facilitators • Challenges assump � ons • Opens conversa � ons about assump • Whole group discussion introducing assump � ons and Jews • Small group idea-gathering ac � vity on assump � ons made about Muslims • Whole group discussion on ideas gathered; focus on ques � oning assump ons • Prac � ce using four steps to manage a di ffi cult conversa � on • Key issues and skills recapped • Teacher and par � cipant feedback forms WORKSHOP 2 APPENDIX IV Welcome and recap Second guessing: Who is it? Wrap up and feedback Assump � ons: What about us? APPENDIX V

SCHOOL RECRUITMENT

The process of recrui�ng schools began in November 2017 and con�nued throughout the pilot un�l late May 2018. Seven schools took part in the pilot, oﬀering a total of 11 cohorts. This is less than the 15 that had been aimed for.

Follow up conversa�ons with those tasked with recrui�ng schools iden�ﬁed various reasons why schools recruitment was less successful than hoped for. This includes:

Some schools chose not to par�cipate as they did not want to segregate students along faith lines.

Local Council infrastructure used to provide an accessible way for outside educa�on programmes to offer their ini�a�ves easily into schools, for example via group emails. This appears to have far less capacity than previously in both Leeds and Bradford. The specific impact of this was that: ◦ In Bradford council contacts who offered to facilitate connec�ons into schools did not do so ◦ In Leeds there was no coordinated way of communica�ng with schools from a central database (this had been the case previously.

Several contacts were ‘warmed up’ in the autumn, but then these informal posi�ve responses to the ‘oﬀer’ did not materialise into formal opportuni�es.

Summer terms are already full in schools’ calendars. By the �me some schools were approached most of the delivery fell within that school term.

A staﬀ member at Dixons Kings Academy recommended the programme to others within their academy chain, meaning that two addi�onal schools were recruited.

Logis�cs of recrui�ng, interviewing and training facilitators (which took place December 2017 – January 2018) and addi�onal project management responsibili�es from April 2018 meant that the person leading schools recruitment in Bradford was busy with other tasks, diver�ng focus away from recruitment.

The pilot programme was oﬀered free to schools. In future itera�ons of the ini�a�ve, the possibility of charging a fee will be explored.

In Bradford, the uptake was from schools that the local partner had personal contact with, highligh�ng the importance of local connec�ons and also the poten�al to expand into new locali�es if the rela�onships are in place.

Appendix V schools@real-conversa�ons.org.uk