Anti-racism training in Wales to boost ethnically diverse teachers

Teachers in Wales are getting anti-racism training as schools try to attract more diverse staff

Teachers are being given anti-racism training in Wales as pupils have spoken of their experiences of racist bullying and feeling isolated in schools.

Wales is the first UK nation to make the history of Britain's colonial past mandatory in school lessons.

Figures show that 35 teachers identify as black and 75 as Asian, and 25,915 as white in Wales' schools.

Education Minister Jeremy Miles said more needed to be done to attract an ethnically diverse range of teachers.

Pupils who spoke to BBC Wales described their experiences of racist bullying, with one saying he wanted "everyone to feel safe", while a teacher spoke of feeling alone, and hoped the training would help.

"I have experienced racism at school,' said Ifan, a pupil at Ysgol Glantaf in Cardiff.

"I think it's still going on in the younger years. I think it's more a lack of education than being cruel.

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Ifan thinks youngsters need to be educated better

"If we can educate the teachers and the younger pupils, it will reduce - it will make a huge difference I believe," he added.

Schoolmate Gwen believes the community in Wales can feel "quite a white place", adding: "By being a person who isn't white within the community, you can feel quite alone or you can feel different.

"Raising awareness of the problems people like us face within the community is something really important, especially within schools."

Gwen says children can feel very lonely if they are not white

"There are only seven black or brown head teachers in Wales today. That's not good enough," said deputy head teacher Rachel Clarke.

Welsh government figures show that for the 2021-22 academic year, of the 26,600 teachers in Wales, 25,915 of them said they were white.

The training was launched at Llanwern High School in Newport

Around 1% of teachers in Wales say they are black, Asian, or from other or mixed minority ethnic backgrounds, according to the 2021-22 school workforce census.

In terms of pupils, for the 2021-22 academic year, 350,842 said they were white British, while 51,128 were from other ethnic backgrounds.

It is 50 years since Rachel's grandmother Betty Campbell became Wales' first black head teacher at Mount Stuart Primary School in Butetown, Cardiff, and she believes not enough progress has been made since.

She believes her gran would think the change was "wonderful", but added: "It should have happened a long time ago."

Rachel Clarke, the granddaughter of Wales' first black head teacher, said the changes should have been made a long time ago

New resources are now available to teachers called 'diversity and anti-racist professional learning' which were created by academic Chantelle Haughton, a former pupil of Betty Campbell.

The Cardiff Metropolitan University lecturer described it as "ground breaking" but added: "It's really troubling that we're still having this conversation in 2022".

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The training was launched at Llanwern High School in Newport, which has its own diversity club and was the first winner of the Betty Campbell MBE award.

"When I was growing up, I was being bullied, people making racist comments, calling me the P-word, telling me to go back to my own country. We just want to create a safe environment," said Navid, a pupil at the school.

Alex says the racism he faced at school shows why the anti-racism training and curriculum are needed

Another pupil Alex has also also experienced racism and said he just wants "everyone to feel safe here".

"When I was younger, obviously not being white, some students made nasty comments just for no reason. I just want to raise awareness to young students to make them feel more comfortable in who they are," he said.

'Sometimes you feel alone'

Head of year 10 Leon Andrews said the percentage of staff in Wales from different backgrounds is "extremely small".

Leon Andrews said he could sometimes feel a bit alone

Referring to the new training, he said: "It helped me a great deal because sometimes you feel a bit alone, if you like, if you're the only person of colour in a school.

"So for me personally, I can speak to like-minded people and get some ideas for what I can do in my school and to manage my own time too.

"Everyone's learning at the end of the day and I'm still learning about all these issues myself."

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Learning about black, Asian and minority ethnic histories and experiences is now a mandatory part of the new curriculum for Wales, which is billed as the biggest reform to Welsh education in decades.

The new curriculum is based on six "areas of learning and experience" and does not set out exactly what schools should be teaching.

However, the changes will now mean all learning areas will need to reflect the diverse experiences and contributions of communities and individuals to both past and present Wales.

Education Minister Jeremy Miles said: "I don't think anybody would believe enough has been done up to this point.

"I absolutely accept the challenge that there is much more to do, we have a very clear plan for doing that, that is underway. Unfortunately it will take some time to do that."

Almost 35,000 people called for racism and the contributions of black, Asian and minority ethnic communities to be taught in schools.

Pupils have been discussing the changes at Llanwern High School

It followed worldwide protests after the death of George Floyd in US police custody in 2020.

The Welsh government also announced a plan to make Wales an anti-racist nation by 2030.

To achieve this the minister added: "Our education system must broaden pupils' understanding and knowledge of the diverse cultures which have built our past and present".

Children's Commissioner Rocio Cifuentes described it as a "positive step" in an area where there is "much work to do".

She added: "Over the coming months we'll be listening to pupils' and teachers' experiences of racism and highlighting what needs to change.

"All children have a right to be safe and to learn without fear."