Anti-racist network to launch across schools in Liverpool

A groundbreaking partnership between Liverpool City Council and Leeds Beckett University will create a network to share anti-racist knowledge between schools in Liverpool.

Led by the Centre for Race Education and Decoloniality (CRED), at Leeds Beckett Uni, it forms part of the Council’s commitment to promote and enhance racial equality and diversity within the city’s education system, and follows the appointment last year of Paul Olubayo, the council’s first education race equalities officer.

Aimed at transforming the institutional culture and structures for schools in the city, the scheme will enable professionals from all schools and colleges in the city to attend sessions to learn how to challenge racism.

The sessions examine how to develop anti-racist policy, to improve racial literacy, and to develop colleagues’ knowledge and understanding of race and racism in education to establish racial equity within schools.

The aims of the new training programme are:

• To work collaboratively with schools to develop their knowledge of race and racism
• To develop a professional network for senior leaders, to showcase and share good practice with other schools
• To coordinate activity with the council, and tailor support to address racial issues arising locally
• To plan and implement an equality and diversity policy and plan for schools which is race cognisant and helps build a diverse workforce which engenders a sense of belonging and safety for all staff of colour
• To support the professional development of school staff with respect to race and racism

Mayor of Liverpool, Joanne Anderson, said: 

“We want our schools to be places that reflect the diversity of cultures in our city, by providing the right environment for people of all backgrounds to take on leadership and governance roles in schools. 

“I’m really proud of this initiative, and this piece of work. It’s about professional development and resources to tackle institutional bias, to promote anti-racism and to tackle discriminatory behaviour.”

Cllr Tomas Logan, Liverpool’s Cabinet Member for Education and Skills added: 

“What we want is to create an education system where every school in this city can honestly say that every child feels at home, feels a belonging in that school and can flourish and thrive.”

Training will be made available to all schools in Liverpool from September 2023.

For more info on the anti-racist network, you can head over to the Liverpool City Council website here.