“Oh God she’s talking about racism again” the cry of many a disgruntled friend and colleague no doubt as they suffer my preoccupation, and a likely eye roll from many a student as well.

The need for racial literacy in education and beyond is exponential. I sat in the Barony on my first day of teacher training and glanced around - as ever I was one of the few brown faces I could see, a tiny minority in a huge cohort of future teachers. I felt different from the outset, my perspectives were different, my ideas were different and the way I was perceived was different. Not a lot changed on placement, or on probation, or has it really changed since, there are so few teachers of colour in Scottish education.

But, I have learned to realise the incredible strength that otherness gives me.

I arrived at Smithycroft with a singular aim of starting an anti-racist club. Not an equalities club, not an inclusion group or a minority alliance, but an anti-racist club that gave voice to young people at my school who felt isolated in the way I had. It was also important to me to raise the profile of racial literacy in our school to help young people better understand themselves and others. The impact was immediate, I was put in touch with the Equalities lead, we set to work speaking to young people about their lived experiences, educating about the role of anti-racism and what it means to be anti-racist and it was generally well received. Young people were honest with me: good and bad. There were difficult conversations and inspiring chats. With support from a trusting SLT we began our journey together. It has been uncomfortable, it hasn’t always been easy, it’s often met with whataboutism and indifference but it is worth it! Our young people are becoming empowered. They are getting a voice and they are learning more about how to take up space unapologetically and to raise others up.

When I envisaged the club, I imagined a safe space for students of colour, a connection with a member of staff who has racialised experiences themself, who can empathise in a different way than white allies, but it has become so much more. The group we have established are from a range of backgrounds, they are learning, reflecting and moving forward in their racial literacy journey together. In just a few months, we officially launched in October 2021, they have had a huge impact on visibility and discussion around race at school.

School leadership has been hugely important, the support of a H ead and Senior leaders who value the merit of racial literacy work has enabled us to really fly. It is game changing - the trust that has been placed in myself and the Equalities lead I work with has been invaluable. We both were eager and excited to participate in the Building Racial Literacy course, and were so excited to begin. It has given us structure, and a frame within which to make a start on our procedural and policy making work in school. Melina and the other experts have given us a framework in which we can begin to find what works for our individual setting, they spur ideas we can take to our young people and help start conversations.

The best part of the BRL programme was meeting so many kindred spirits. The programme has provided me with a network of educators of colour and allies - that is invaluable in my personal anti-racist journey. The community we have created has had a huge impact on the young people I work with, we share ideas, experiences and contacts and it has been an incredible by-product of a fascinating course.

In addition, the BRL programme created a more confident, comfortable educator to respond to the needs of all young people. It has helped me to better communicate my own experiences, and respond to others’ experiences as well as making me more confident in tackling issues that occur with staff and other practitioners. The ability to discuss race and race issues confidently and from an informed perspective is so empowering!

It has helped me to be more honest and open about my experiences and the experiences of others I have witnessed. It has helped me to better articulate myself on racial issues, and respond from an informed perspective. The programme has really encouraged reflection and progression, I have learned so much about myself!

It should be obligatory for all those working in education to experience a course like this. In order to take a truly anti-racist stance in our schools and institutions we need people to be informed and reflective in a way that is structured, safe and facilitated and that is exactly what this programme offers.

We have spoken to staff, and given them access to a range of professional reading and activities to help them explore their own racial literacy. We have started to offer anti-racist learning in the PSE curriculum and will be expanding this further next session. We have built a procedure and are forming a policy to aide staff and students in navigating the often daunting task of dealing with racist incidents. Most importantly perhaps, we have raised the profile of young people of colour in our school and we have let them know they belong here, are appreciated and have a voice.

We have begun to challenge ideas of “colour blindness” and championed differences through a variety of inputs and initiatives. We have had high profile events like our “Diverse voices” series which championed BAME creatives in writing, poetry and drama and increased the visibility of BAME professionals to our young people.

We are not a utopia, and we are absolutely not done yet, but we are moving forward and I feel strongly that if someone asked our young people about race, they’d have lots to say. We are starting conversations. Talking about race is the first step and we are hoping to run!

“Oh God she’s talking about race again.” Yup and I'm not about to stop any time soon!