Racism is holding all young people back. It’s time for the Government to #TakeRacismSeriously
As a coalition of organisations representing young people’s voices, we know that racism is holding all young people back. There is longstanding evidence of the harmful outcomes caused by bias and a lack of racially inclusive practice, and we are calling for urgent action to address the impacts of this growing crisis, acknowledging the evidenced structural outcomes.
We are therefore calling for four key changes:
1. For the review of the national curriculum to take an explicit anti-racism focus and to include Black history as a compulsory subject.
2. For the upcoming Race Equality Act to require schools to have an action plan for addressing race inequality alongside their enhanced collection and reporting of ethnicity and race data.
3. For racism to be recognised by the Department of Education as an explicit safeguarding issue and included in mandatory school staff training.
4. For anti-racism guidance to be published for schools and colleges, including how to respond to peer-to-peer racism, mental health effects of racism and racial trauma.
Organisations include The Diana Award, Everyday Racism, The Centre for Mental Health, Not So Micro, The Black Curriculum, UK Youth and the African Caribbean Education Network.
Why is this important?
WHY IS THis important?
Research shows us that students in the UK are regularly witnessing and experiencing racism within their schools.
This is also evident from recent headlines and news stories which range from hair discrimination, higher rates of exclusion for students from the global majority, issues of adultification as seen in the case of Child Q and most recently the disturbing video of a black child being viciously assaulted outside their school.
One of the major ways we can ensure the safety of our students is to equip school leaders and staff with a basic understanding of the issues that face employees and students from the global majority in education.
We already know that school leaders and teachers are overwhelmingly white so this is an area in which they need time to study, reflect and understand how not being racialised as white will give you a very different experience and perspective of the education system in this country.
did you know?
Racism in schools is increasing; 11,619 pupils in England were suspended for racist abuse in the 2022/23 academic year, a 23 per cent increase from 2021/22 (DfE, 2024).
Children and young people affected by racism face barriers to attending schools, with the rate of exclusions in the 2022/2023 academic year at 11.74 for Black Caribbean ethnicity students and 13.62 for mixed white and Black Caribbean students, compared with just 7.9 for white British ethnicity students (DfE 2024).
Almost 90% of teachers are not trained to prevent racism in schools.
95% of respondents to The Black and British Survey in September 2023 believed the UK’s curriculum neglects Black lives and experiences, while fewer than 2% think educational institutions take racism seriously.
Racism is harming all 9.1 million young people in schools in the England.
how can you help?
Firstly sign the open letter below –we need 100,000 signatures for it to even be mentioned in parliament.
If you can do more, please sign up to our Patreon and support us financially. Your financial support is crucial as we embark on our campaign. We won’t receive payment for our advocacy work, and will need to turn down paid opportunities to commit more time to this cause. Your contributions enable us to attend parliamentary meetings, gather petition signatures, build community connections, organise impactful protests, and lead campaigns for systemic change. Moreover, your support helps cover our essential bills, allowing us to dedicate ourselves to this vital mission.
As a thank you, you will gain access to exclusive monthly resources not posted on Instagram and receive regular updates directly from the campaign, showcasing the impact of your valuable contribution, as well as monthly Q&A and learning sessions with us.