ERADICATING ANTI-BLACKNESS IN THE UK EDUCATION SYSTEM: ACHIEVING CURRICULUM AND POLICY’ REFORM THROUGH LITIGATION
Implementing the UK’s obligation to combat prejudices which lead to racial discrimination in education
BLAM UK (Black Learning Achievement and Mental Health) has released a groundbreaking report exposing the UK education system’s failure to address racial discrimination, colourism, and the erasure of Black history from the curriculum.
The report, “Implementing the UK’s Obligation to Combat Prejudices Leading to Racial Discrimination in Education,” highlights how Black students face institutional racism, biased discipline policies, and teachers unequipped to challenge racial prejudice.
KEY FINDINGS:
- Teachers lack racial literacy – Many educators have no formal training in understanding race and racism, leading to racial bias in assessments, discipline, and student interactions.
- Curriculum whitewashing – Black history is either ignored or framed solely through trauma narratives such as slavery and the civil rights movement, failing to celebrate Black excellence and contributions.
- Colourism remains unchallenged – Schools fail to educate students on skin tone discrimination, which perpetuates harmful biases within Black communities and wider society.
- Racist school policies – Black students are disproportionately punished, excluded, and even criminalised through strict behavioural policies, including bans on Afro hairstyles and Black British English.
“SCHOOLS ARE TEACHING IGNORANCE”
BLAM UK’s research exposes a deeply flawed education system that continues to centre whiteness while punishing Black identity. Black children are being failed—both in the content they learn and the way they are treated in classrooms.
“The UK government has an obligation under international human rights law to tackle racial prejudice in education,” says BLAM UK. “Yet, schools are not only failing to challenge racism, but are actively upholding it through biased policies and a curriculum that erases Black contributions.”
WHAT NEEDS TO CHANGE?
BLAM UK is calling for:
- A decolonised curriculum that fully integrates Black history across all subjects, rather than relegating it to Black History Month.
- Mandatory racial literacy training for teachers to ensure they can challenge racism rather than reinforce it.
- An end to racist school policies that police Black students’ hair, language, and identity.
- Recognition of colourism within the school system and proactive measures to dismantle it.
JOIN THE MOVEMENT FOR CHANGE
This report is a wake-up call. The UK cannot claim to be an inclusive society while its education system continues to uphold systemic racism.
BLAM UK CIC 