Tackling Misogyny in Schools Digital Conference

Susie McDonald is Chief Executive of Tender.   Tender is an arts charity working to prevent domestic abuse and sexual violence by promoting healthy relationships based on equality and respect.  Using theatre and the arts, Tender engages young people and adults in domestic abuse prevention workshops, enabling them to recognise and avoid abuse and violence.   Since 2003 Tender has delivered workshop training to over 540,000 children and young people and to 27,000 adults who support them (teachers, youth workers, social care professionals).

Susie has used theatre for social change for over 30 years; initially working with prisoners to develop confidence and communication skills, including directing a production of “Our Country’s Good” with lifers at Wormwood Scrubs prison.  In 1998 she became an associate member of the National Theatre’s education department, writing and touring specialist interactive theatre productions across London.   Susie has worked closely with the General Medical Council, the Metropolitan Police and government, most recently giving written and oral evidence at the Women and Equalities Select Committee’s inquiry into sexual harassment in schools.  Susie has three adult daughters and is a governor at their former secondary school.

Dan (he/him) is Managing Director at Beyond Equality.

He’s most at home in front of a testing group of young adults, or steering a group of senior leaders and teachers through uncomfortable conversations with compassion.

He is also a mental health first-aider, a former pro-rugby player and has a PhD in Cultural Anthropology.

Will Gardner is the CEO of Childnet International, a children’s charity working with others to help make the internet a great and safe place for children. Will has worked at Childnet since 2000 and has been the CEO since 2009.

He is a Director of the UK Safer Internet Centre, in which Childnet is a partner alongside two other charities, the Internet Watch Foundation and the South West Grid for Learning, and in this role Childnet organises Safer Internet Day in the UK every year. He is also an Executive Board member of the UK Council for Internet Safety and founded and chairs the Early Warning Working Group of helplines, hotlines and law enforcement. Will also sits on Meta’s Safety Advisory Board and the Advisory Group for the AntiBullying Alliance.

In his time at Childnet Will has led national and international projects, and has led the development of Childnet’s range of award-winning internet safety programmes and resources aimed at children of all ages, parents and carers, and teachers and schools.

Will was awarded an OBE in the 2018 Queen’s New Year’s Honours List for his work in the field of children’s online safety.

Nick Dunne has over 22 years’ experience within youth work, sexual health education, and therapeutic services for young people. He is a qualified counsellor, educator, coach, and youth worker, who specialises in trauma informed support to young people.

Nick started his career working with young people who were being exploited into the sex industry within Birmingham. Nick then went on to manage a purpose-built youth centre, that at the time of taking over, was in special measures and faced closure. During the 10 years Nick spent managing the youth centre, he developed effective sexual health, therapeutic and substance misuse pathways and engaged the Gypsy, Roma, Traveller community within both the youth centre, and as an outreach youth worker on several sites across Worcestershire, leading on research to improve the health outcomes of the community, with a focus on infant mortality rates and sexual health access.

After 10 years at Brook with a variety of roles, ranging from clinical, education and business development, Nick’s current role is Head of Business Development. A member of Brook’s leadership team, with a national remit to substantially grow Brook’s business development activities, extending Brook’s reach to even more young people, the professionals who work with them and further supporting vulnerable groups of adults through community outreach. A key milestone within this role was the research, development and launch of the latest iteration of Brook’s Traffic Light Tool, which enables professionals to critically understand and respond to sexual behaviours young people are displaying, along with supporting the redevelopment of our Brook Learn e-learning hub which offers a range of free online trainings for professionals and young people.

Alongside his work at Brook, Nick works part time at the newly launched Gender Development Service for young people at Great Ormond Street (formally GIDS). Here, Nick supports young people on a range of therapeutic interventions to address their needs, and ensure the service achieves the very best outcomes for young people.

Ellie Softley is the Head of Education and one of the Co-Founders of the charity ‘Everyone’s Invited’. Ellie has worked in sexual violence prevention for over 6 years, and in September 2022, she launched the Everyone’s Invited Education Programme, delivering specialist education in schools to tackle Rape Culture and gender-based violence. Ellie has extensive experience working for organisations delivering education on gender inequality and sexual violence prevention. Ellie’s session will focus on the rise of online misogyny and how this is impacting young people’s lives. Through her own experience facilitating workshops with young people and her extensive research on the topic, Ellie will provide a clear picture of not just the issues but the solutions to this problem as well.

Jenny is a Senior Subject Specialist at the PSHE Association, working closely with the Director of Education to lead the Subject Specialist team. She led PSHE education in two London schools, and has a Masters in Teaching and Learning. Since joining the PSHE Association, she has worked with a range of agencies, from the NSPCC, to the Home Office, to the National Crime Agency, developing materials that support schools to deliver highly effective, safe PSHE education

Katharine is Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Lead and Head of German at Bolton School Boys’ Division. A proud member of Cohort 10 of the Fabian Women’s Mentoring Programme, she is passionate about inclusive education for all. Her work with young people focuses on  proactively and positively engaging young men with gender equality issues, in order to further the equality agenda for women. She has written on this theme for Tes magazine and Schools Week, and has also presented at the Manchester University Inclusion & Inspiration Conference and to the Department for Education Women’s Network. She holds a BA (Hons) in French and German from Oxford University. She tweets @KJ_Roddy.

Emily Spurrell was elected as Merseyside’s second Police and Crime Commissioner (PCC) in May 2021, after securing 57% of the public vote.

As PCC, Emily has prioritised fighting crime, tackling Violence against Women and Girls (VAWG), improving police scrutiny and transparency, and supporting victims of crime. These are encapsulated in Emily’s Police and Crime Plan for the region, which focuses on three key pillars:

• Fighting Crime; Proactive Policing.
• Supporting Victims; Safer Communities.
• Driving Change; Prevent Offending.

Emily is the national lead on Custody and Joint Lead for Criminal Justice on behalf of all PCCS through the Association of PCCs (APCC). She is also on the Board of Directors for the Independent Custody Visiting Association (ICVA).

Emily is committed to being a visible and proactive PCC, who is dedicated to connecting with local people and using resources effectively and responsibly. To ensure she listens to the voices of residents across Merseyside, she holds monthly PCC Advice Surgeries and invites public question for her Scrutiny Meetings, which are live-streamed.

Prior to being elected, Emily served as Deputy Police and Crime Commissioner from September 2017 to March 2019 leading on the victims’ portfolio.

She also served as a Liverpool City Councillor between 2012 and 2021. Elected to represent Mossley Hill ward, in 2014 she was appointed as the lead for Community Safety.

Emily lives in Crosby, Sefton, with her husband Graeme and her dog Spencer.

Natasha is the founder of Bold Voices, an award winning social enterprise that prepares and empowers educational communities to recognise and tackle gender inequality and cultures of gender-based violence. Natasha has an academic foundation in issues of gender and equality with an MSc in Gender and International Relations from the University of Bristol. She has facilitated workshops and delivered lectures on gender equality, feminism and women’s rights at multinational investment banks, start ups, schools and universities across the UK.

Susie McDonald is Chief Executive of Tender.   Tender is an arts charity working to prevent domestic abuse and sexual violence by promoting healthy relationships based on equality and respect.  Using theatre and the arts, Tender engages young people and adults in domestic abuse prevention workshops, enabling them to recognise and avoid abuse and violence.   Since 2003 Tender has delivered workshop training to over 540,000 children and young people and to 27,000 adults who support them (teachers, youth workers, social care professionals).

Susie has used theatre for social change for over 30 years; initially working with prisoners to develop confidence and communication skills, including directing a production of “Our Country’s Good” with lifers at Wormwood Scrubs prison.  In 1998 she became an associate member of the National Theatre’s education department, writing and touring specialist interactive theatre productions across London.   Susie has worked closely with the General Medical Council, the Metropolitan Police and government, most recently giving written and oral evidence at the Women and Equalities Select Committee’s inquiry into sexual harassment in schools.  Susie has three adult daughters and is a governor at their former secondary school.