The attached report by Remi Joseph-Salisbury at The University of Manchester is based on interviews with 24 teachers across schools in Greater Manchester. It will be one of the reference points for our development of a response to Black Lives Matter within our PGCE curriculum, and in collaboration with Partnership schools and colleges over the coming year. We are setting up a forum to take this forward and welcome partners who wish to engage with this.

The report helpfully focuses on the curriculum, on school policies, and on the teacher workforce. In terms of the workforce, I quote: “The teaching workforce is still overwhelmingly white, and there is a need to increase the proportion of teachers from black and minority ethnic (BME) backgrounds. But while this is an important step, it is incomplete without a commitment to increasing the ‘racial literacy’ of all teachers. By their own admission, many teachers are ill prepared to teach in ways that promote anti-racism, and this can include BME teachers. Racial literacy therefore needs to be placed at the centre of teachers’ role and teacher training. It is important that all teachers take responsibility for teaching in ways that promote anti-racism.”

https://www.runnymedetrust.org/uploads/publications/pdfs/Runnymede%20Secondary%20Schools%20report%20FINAL.pdf

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