The Building Racial Literacy programme is open to all educators in Scotland. The programme is for those interested in becoming anti-racist educators and leaders, those seeking to build their confidence in discussing and challenging racism and those who need help identifying and implementing anti-racist behaviours and processes in their everyday practice.

We welcome educators at different stages of their anti-racist learning

The programme is delivered entirely online through the Education Scotland website, online events are hosted on Microsoft Teams and the Education Scotland collaborative platform.

Participants on this national programme are expected to:

• commit to two afternoon induction events, one full day at the end of the programme, three twilight webinars and a minimum of six hours of self-directed online learning between programme events.
• keep a reflective journal and submit a short extract of your final journal entry with your anti-racist action plan to present to your peers at the end of the programme.
• engage your school and/or learning community in the programme (through programme tasks provided on the programme website and professional dialogue)
• become part of an anti-racist learning network and a national movement for racial literacy
• collaborate and support anti-racist change in your context following your personalised action plan and with the support of the learning network. This can also include:
• supporting colleagues, children and young people, learners and wider communities to engage in anti-racist learning; supporting colleagues to engage with anti-racist resources and professional learning opportunities; and applying to support the delivery of future iterations of the Building Racial Literacy programme (this requires attendance to future Train the Trainer sessions).

By completing this programme, you will:

• build your racial literacy. In particular, start learning about the nuances of racism and anti-racism (with the language to name it) and build the skills to continue this learning long after the programme is over
• begin developing the skills, confidence and resilience to engage in racial dialogue
• develop a personalised action plan to lead anti-racist change

You will also receive a certificate of completion.

The Building Racial Literacy (BRL) programme was co-constructed with partners as part of the Scottish Government’s Anti-Racism in Education Programme (AREP). Its core purpose is to establish anti-racism as a professional baseline across Scottish education. The programme provides a unique and supportive environment where educators can engage in open, honest, and reflective dialogue. It is designed to be a safer, braver space for transformative learning - centring the wellbeing of participants while encouraging collaboration, personal growth, and critical self-awareness.

Participants have the opportunity to develop confidence and leadership in anti-racist practice, explore the intersectionality of race with other factors such as class and gender, and design personalised action plans for change. Grounded in France Winddance Twine’s concept of racial literacy as a form of anti-racist training, the programme equips educators with the language and frameworks to name and address racism; including concepts such as whiteness, microaggressions, and structural inequality. Delivered through identity- and affinity-based groups, live webinars, journaling, peer collaboration, and follow-up BRL+ webinars, the programme helps educators become agents of change in their settings and beyond.

Cohort 7 (2025-2026)

Induction 1: Thursday 25 September 2025, 2 - 5 pm

Induction 2: Wednesday 1 October 2025, 2 - 5 pm

Webinar 1: Wednesday 29 October, 4 - 5:30 pm.

Webinar 2: Thursday 4 December, 4 - 5:30 pm

Webinar 3: Wednesday 7 January, 4 - 5:30 pm

Sharing the Learning Summit: Friday 6 March, 9 - 3 pm

Once you are registered on the Building Racial Literacy programme, you will be able to access the programme area by logging in. From there, you will be able to see and complete the programme tasks. The programme tasks require you to:

1. Read/listen/watch/reflect using the programme area and your reflective journal
2. Post your responses to tasks on the online group spaces
3. Collaborate by commenting on the task responses of the peers in your private channels.

The additional online learning will take place during programme events such as twilight webinars. You will be sent instructions to join these online events on Microsoft Teams.

Whilst learning online, we expect participants to:

• work independently and in a self-directed manner
• get in touch with the Programme Leads Facilitators and/or Anti-Racist Buddies if additional support is required
• devote appropriate time to the programme (excluding programme events, spend at least six hours on self-directed learning)
• read, listen to and watch relevant texts and find out more about anti-racism in education
• develop or enhance the skills of critical thinking and reflection
• have a reliable computer and broadband internet access
• work with computers, including using the internet to access Microsoft Teams for programme events.

The Education Scotland Code of Conduct has been created to support the effective participation of all attendees and is designed around the respect, privacy and compassionate communication.

Please read this code before you attend any Education Scotland professional learning programmes, webinars or events.

The Building Racial Literacy programme creates safer, braver spaces for learning, not for blame, where honest and open discussions allow educators to collaborative, reflect, grow and experience truly transformative and life-changing professional learning. The support available on the programme is unique as the wellbeing of participants centred throughout the programme.

Past participants rated the networking opportunities and quality of learning on the programme as excellent.

Participants' feedback and evaluation of the programme to date has been overwhelmingly positive, with the majority feeling:

• more confident to talk about and deal with racism,
• eager to continue deepening their increased understanding of racism,
• inspired and motivated to commit to anti-racist action in their different settings,
• supported by the programme and its newly formed learning networks.

White majority ethnic educators and Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic educators were challenged and supported throughout the programme. Several participants have shared their experiences of the programme:

1. My Experience of Building Racial Literacy blog by Rukhsana Ali: Rukhsana is a primary teacher who felt the programme helped build her confidence to apply for an Education Officer post.
2. Building Racial Literacy blog by Gemma Walters: Gemma is a secondary teacher who explains how the programme had a liberating impact on both herself and her learners.
3. Decolonising the Curriculum blog by Angel Hinkley: Angel discusses exploring positive narratives that challenge assumptions, empower learners and inspire unity.
4. Safe Spaces, Inclusion, Belonging and Pupil Empowerment by Angel Hinkley: Angel discusses creating safe spaces in schools, highlighting that such environments are crucial for effective learning and personal development.

The inspirational and transformative nature of the Building Racial Literacy programme was highlighted in Cohort 1 participants’ evaluation of programme:

“Challenging, powerful, uncomfortable learning. It has been the most valuable experience of my career.”

“I am more confident in leading others to become racially literate. More knowledgeable about where to get resources and information for myself and others to support anti-racist change. I feel more able to tackle courageous conversations with staff and parents.”

“The BRL programme, has been by far, THE best CPD I have ever attended. Not just the content but the actual structure, support, ease of access, pace, rhythm, signposting, platforms used etc.”

“Completely life changing. I feel that the blinkers have been taken off. I hope that I am more switched on to racial micro-aggressions, unconscious biases etc. I will also be an active bystander now that I am more aware of what to look and listen for. I hope to affect positive change in my school community and local authority. It will be a long process, but one that I am happy to be part of.”

“The most valuable lesson that I have learned so far is that I am not alone. I may be the only person of colour in my school but I am part of this huge community of educators who want to make the right change for the young people in our care.”

“The content has been expertly selected and has been incredibly powerful. The speakers have been truly inspirational and immensely credible. The tasks have helped me to formulate my own response to the materials provided, which have been extensive and intelligently curated. Caters well for white and Black participants.”

In May 2022, Education Scotland produced an internal evaluation report which drew on evidence gathered from the programme design and its first iteration with Cohort 1: Interim evaluation report of the Building Racial Literacy programme.

In March 2024, The Collective Scotland shared their independent review of the Building Racial Literacy Programme. They conducted interviews and focus groups with BRL past participants, programme leads, and current learners; as well as examined date from evaluations for each session from cohorts 1-3 and observed sessions for cohort 4. They highlighted the positive outcomes of the programme, as well as some of the challenges participants faced when sharing anti-racist learning online or in their workplace. You can read the full Collective Scotland evaluation 2024.

If you would like to apply to join the Building Racial Literacy programme, the application form will be open from 9am on Monday 18 August 2025 until 11.45pm on Friday 5 September . We will let you know the outcome of your application as soon as possible after the recruitment window closes. (Please note where applications exceed places, we reserve the right to close the window early.)

Please fill in the Building Racial Literacy application form.