Teaching Britain’s colonial past becomes mandatory in Wales

Teachers in Wales are undertaking anti-racism training in the 'biggest reform to Welsh education in decades' as shocking figures show lack of diversity.  

Credit: Wales Online.

By: Derry Salter.

Across schools in Wales, only 35 teachers are Black. 25,915 are White. Education Minister Jeremy Miles has recognised that more needs to be done to bridge this gap.

Now, Wales is set to become the first UK nation to make the history of Britain’s colonial past mandatory in school.

Learning about ethnic minorities histories and experiences is now mandatory and the new curriculum, based on six areas of learning and experience, will enforce this.

However, the curriculum does not wholly set out what schools should be teaching, but it is a great step towards recognising colonial oppression.

The legacy of Betty Campbell, Wales’ first Black head teacher, carries on fifty years later through her granddaughter Rachel Clarke. Rachel said her grandmother would be happy with the change, but also said: “It should have happened a long time ago.”

 

One of Betty Campbell’s former pupils Chantelle Haughton is working alongside Rachel and has provided new resources for teachers called ‘diversity and anti-racist professional learning.’

 

BBC Wales reported that many pupils have felt alone and isolated at school, following racist bullying. Rachel and Chantelle stated that racism in schools extends further than bullying and it is ingrained in textbooks; these core texts need to change and instead focus on holding colonialism to account.

 

Rachel cited Of Mice and Men as a prime example, which features racist language. The education pioneer stated that her work does not want to eradicate such texts, but instead teach context alongside them.

 

The training was first launched in Llanwern High School in Newport and will soon be picked up by other schools across Wales. This is the first move in Wales’ plan to become an anti-racist nation by 2030. This bid calls for zero tolerance of racism and to achieve this, the education system must first be reformed.