Tackling microaggressions in schools

What we did

This teacher training session was developed by young people who wanted to challenge everyday racism and microaggressions in schools. Drawing on their lived experiences and peer research, they created a toolkit and training model to help schools understand, recognise and respond to microaggressions.

Two young people facilitated a workshop on recognising and addressing micro-aggressions at a cross Academy inset day for teaching staff from 8 schools. Feedback from staff attending the workshop was extremely positive; we were contacted by a primary school asking if we could work with their children who frequently use racial slurs. While our funding and work is aimed at young people and young adults, we supported the primary school in developing strategies and a project to address the issues their children are facing.

“Colleagues have shared that the focus on the importance of precise language and clear definitions related to racism was incredibly enlightening. The idea of codifying our anti-racism policy for staff, including scripts and action/response flow charts, will be a valuable resource for staff moving forward. They also noted that the session was fantastic, and the discussions on teaching the wording and impact of micro-aggressions were both informative and eye-opening. Understanding these subtle yet harmful behaviours is crucial in ensuring we create a more inclusive and respectful environment for all students.”

“Will look to develop a whole school policy, in collaboration with parents groups, to show how we respond to incidents of racism in our school, and continue to celebrate diversity within the school for minority ethnic groups (e.g. Hindus). Continue to challenge the predominantly white ethnic group.”

“The session today was extremely powerful, facilitated by highly impressive young people. It gave me hope in a world that is becoming scarier by the day.”