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Working to address racism in schools through partnership and education
Leeds City Council and the Centre for Race, Education and Decoloniality (CRED) at Leeds Beckett University have launched an Anti-Racist Professional Network for Schools in order to create an anti-racist school and college community in Leeds. Professor Vini Lander, Director of CRED and Professor of Race and Education in the Carnegie School of Education, discusses why the network is so important.
In 2021, following a Freedom of Information request, the Guardian reported more than 60,000 racist incidents recorded in UK schools over the past five years. It is likely that the true scale is far higher, because in 2012 the government advised schools they no longer had to report racist incidents to local authorities. The YMCA report (2021) revealed 95% of young Black people have heard and witnessed racist language at school.
Testimonies from Black youngsters show they expect to experience racism because of their ethnicity and culture, noting “racism is part of my everyday life” (Lander, 2015).
Schools and teachers need to act to safeguard the wellbeing of Black and global majority students to protect them from the harm caused by racism and racial microaggressions. Yet the failure of institutions and the teaching profession to tackle the detrimental effects of personal and systemic racism is a long-standing issue.
Over the past fifty years, reports such as Swann (1985) and the Macpherson Inquiry (1995) have recommended the revision of the National Curriculum to better meet the needs of an ethnically diverse student population (approximately 33% of pupils in English schools are from ethnic minority groups).
Yet the curriculum remains Eurocentric due to the lack of teachers from ethnically diverse backgrounds, the lack of anti-racist education and training for pre-service teachers and government action to kerb teaching about race and racism (Lander 2011, Smith and Lander, 2012 and 2022).
How the Anti-Racist Professional Network aims to make a difference
The Centre for Race, Education and Decoloniality (CRED) based within the Carnegie School of Education at Leeds Beckett University, has partnered with Leeds City Council to launch a free-to-access Anti-Racist Professional Network for Senior Leaders in Leeds schools and colleges.
The network aims to create an anti-racist school and college community to meet the needs of a growing, ethnically diverse city population and to prepare all students to live in a racially diverse society. Through collaboration and as part of our civic responsibility we have created a unique bespoke offer for all schools and colleges in Leeds.
Teachers who are knowledgeable about race and racism can lead the way in their schools to establish equitable policies and practices which have a positive impact on all students as well as those from racially minoritised groups.
The community is aimed at Senior Leaders from all phases of schools and colleges who wish to develop their knowledge and understanding of race and racism in education and share good practice with peers. Through the community we aim to showcase Leeds schools’ commitment to anti-racist practice regionally and nationally.
How CRED is making an impact
The Centre for Race, Education and Decoloniality is based within the Carnegie School of Education at Leeds Beckett University. It aims to challenge everyday racism and structural race inequalities in education through research, evidence-based practice, and the professional development of pre-service and in-service teachers nationally and internationally.
The work of CRED focuses on:
• Challenging racism in all its forms and developing anti-racist practices, also to decolonise the curriculum and develop colleagues’ knowledge and understanding of race and racism in education.
• Developing teaching resources to tackle racism in schools and society.
• Providing support and guidance for schools, including professional development for staff working in schools.
• Supporting schools to develop through working towards the Anti-Racist School Award
• Research to ensure that interventions are evidence-based and that we produce best practice publications
• Collaboration with strategic partners to develop provision and support for schools.
CRED has undertaken consultancy, professional development and research for over 100 organisations such as multi-academy trusts (MATs); teachers and governors; schools, colleges, independent schools, university departments; NHS; Yorkshire and Humber Postgraduate Medical Deanery; GP practices and AQA Exam Board.
Through the Anti-Racist Professional Network for Schools in Leeds, school senior leaders and teachers will have the opportunity to: attend the monthly CRED free seminars and engage in a range of anti-racism professional development sessions offered by CRED such as Governance, Leadership & Strategy, gain access to resources on the Mighty Networks platform and have opportunities to showcase their commitment and practice in developing a culture of anti-racism within their school communities.
To develop a sustainable anti-racist professional network, schools will be encouraged to engage with CRED’s Masters programme entitled Race, Education and Decolonial Thought. It is the only one of its kind in the country. This Masters programme, which is also offered as Postgraduate Diploma, is taught online and examines the history of race and colonialism.
The path to an equitable future lies in working in partnership to address and reverse the racial inequities and injustices within educational provision in the city.
Professor Vini lander
Professor Vini Lander is a former Director of the Centre for Race, Education and Decoloniality at Leeds Beckett.
