Leading Anti-racism in Schools - Cohort 1

Join Domini Choudhury, Associate for the Belonging Effect for the Leading Anti-racism in Schools Programme launching in Autumn 2026.

Programme Context:

A freedom of information request in 2021 by Newcastle University found that more than 60,000 racist incidents occurred in schools across the UK in the preceding five years, and this is likely an underestimate, given that the coalition government in 2010 removed the requirement for schools to record such incidents. A study by YMCA in 2020 found that 95% of young Black people report having heard and witnessed racist language at school, while 49% felt racism was the biggest barrier to attaining success.

A poll of 5,800 teachers by NASUWT in 2025 found educators warning of a rising tide of misogyny and racism in schools. Furthermore, a 2022 report by the Children's Commissioner for England found that 38% of strip searches in schools are carried out on Black children, the vast majority of whom are boys, while the Institute for Public Policy Research reported in 2024 that Roma children are four times more likely than the national average to be permanently excluded and placed in alternative provision schools and that Black students are disproportionately punished, excluded, and criminalised through behavioural policies, including bans on Afro hairstyles and Black British English.

Despite these challenges, the schools sector continues to represent a disproportionately white, under-prepared workforce: in 2025, 85.1% of all teachers in state-funded schools in England were White British, compared to 70.8% of the working-age population, and many educators have no formal training in understanding race and racism, leading to racial bias in assessments, discipline, and student interactions. (BLAM UK CIC, 2025)

Despite this clear professional need, research has revealed a deafening silence in the professional frameworks and standards of teacher training when it comes to racism; there is currently no requirement for teachers at any stage of their career to learn about racism or become anti-racist practitioners. The Teaching Commission's 2025 report has recommended that anti-racist frameworks be used to guide Initial Teacher Training providers in embedding anti-racist practices, and that schools and training providers adopt such frameworks to ensure meaningful change.

Taken together, this evidence makes a strong structural and moral case for schools to treat anti-racism as a core part of their work rather than an add-on.

Programme Overview:

This entry-level programme draws upon research evidence of the need to develop an anti-racism strategy in schools, academic literature to support with developing your racial literacy, best practice already existing in schools, and will provide practical strategies and tried-and-tested methods which will help to support your organisation’s journey.

This 6-part programme will support you throughout an academic year, through a half-termly virtual session. Each session will provide reflection points to consider and review your setting’s journey towards becoming an anti-racist organisation. There will also be time to ask any questions and discuss any relevant aspects of the session to support your setting to move forward on its anti-racism strategy.

Programme Target Audience:

• You are passionate about equity, inclusion, diversity and belonging (DEIB).
• You are passionate about student and staff wellbeing.
• You are a middle or senior leader in your school, college or trust with responsibility for DEIB.
• You are an anti-racism advocate.
• You are a governor or trustee linked to the oversight of equalities in a school, college or trust.

Programme Themes:

• The case for anti-racism and commitment in policy: This session lays out the compelling evidence for developing an anti-racism strategy in schools, how to demonstrate commitment to this through institutional policies and how to win the hearts and minds of staff to call them into this work rather than call them out.
• Auditing your whole school’s current position in relation to anti-racism: This session will show you how to embed anti-racism work within whole school improvement planning rather than as an ‘add-on’. It will introduce you to a variety of tools for evaluating your setting’s anti-racism work and show you how to create an implementation plan for your strategic work and measure the impact of your work.
• Developing a shared language around race: This session will explore the use of language within anti-racism work considering what is and isn’t appropriate and introducing key concepts such as racialisation, microaggressions, colourism, majority privilege, proximity to whiteness and many more.
• Managing racist incidents in schools: This session will look at practical strategies and the appropriate language for addressing and managing pupil to pupil incidents of racism, as well as pupil or parent/carer allegations of racism towards staff.
• Developing a diverse, anti-racist curriculum: This session will explore how to ensure that your school has a diverse and representative curriculum before beginning to explore what it means to decolonise the curriculum.
• Diversity in recruitment and retention of school staff: This session will focus on improving recruitment practices in schools in order to increase diversity and representation amongst school staff, as well as strategies for retaining a diverse body of staff.

Programme Schedule:

• Tuesday 13th October 9.00-10.30am
• Tuesday 1st December 9.00-10.30am
• Tuesday 2nd February 9.00-10.30am
• Tuesday 23rd March 9.00-10.30am
• Tuesday 11th May 9.00-10.30am
• Tuesday 29th June 9.00-10.30am

Programme Fee:

• £350 + VAT per person to attend the series of 6 sessions.
• You can pay through Eventbrite or request an invoice.
• Payment is required in advance to secure 1/24 places in the cohort.

Programme Facilitator:

• Domini Choudhury is an associate trainer, an award-winning EDI consultant, a former Deputy and Acting Headteacher for 17 years, a local authority consultant and an Evidence Advocate for the Research Schools Network, part of the Education Endowment Foundation (EEF).

For more information:

Contact hannah@thebelongingeffect.co.uk