Agenda item

(a)     That the Committee support the vision of the Anti-racist Wales Action Plan and the actions set out for education;

(b)     That the Committee confirmed that it had received an appropriate level of assurance regarding the work of the Education & Youth Portfolio in meeting the requirement of the Anti-racist Action Plan for Wales;

(c)     That the Committee receive annual update reports on the Anti-racist Action Plan and that it be added to the Forward Work Programme.

            Prior to consideration of the report, the Chair welcomed the report and said that as a former teacher she was aware of the work undertaken in schools to highlight this issue.  As a member of Flintshire’s City of Sanctuary she fully endorsed Wales being a Nation of Sanctuary and said that lives were enriched by diversity and enhanced by the experienced of additional cultures.  Education was a means of bringing about societal change, dispelling stereotypes and untruths which was why she welcomed the report.   

            The Senior Manager (School Improvement) thanked the Chair for her comments and introduced the Anti-racist Wales Action Plan which had been developed in collaboration with a wide range of communities and organisation across all parts of Wales.  

On the 20th of July 2022, the Welsh Government (WG) published the National Anti-racist Wales Action Plan which required the public sector, third sector and government funded private sector to work to the Actions set out in the Plan.  The vision within the Plan was active, dynamic and allowed for change when required to ensure the Plan was appropriate to meet the 2030 vision set by WG.  The Senior Manager outlined the policy areas covered within the plan which related to Education and Welsh Language and provided information on the goals and priorities for Education and schools especially within the new Curriculum with Wales being the first country to make a mandatory element within the Curriculum for pupils to learn about ethnic diversity within Wales and the wider world.  Some of this work was already being undertaken within schools through specific workshops, professional development opportunities and e-Learning modules for practitioners in schools working with partners for Show Racism the Red Card, the North Wales Regional Equality Network and Victims Support Cymru.  Schools were also signposted through Hwb to resources which could be used in the classroom. 

            The Senior Manager reported on the work carried out across the portfolio to support the Action Plan which included a wide range of activities and measures which could be used moving forward.  The Council’s response to the Action Plan sat with the Corporate Equalities Board which fed into the Corporate Resources Overview & Scrutiny Committee.  In referring to the recommendations within the report, the Senior Manager sought the Committee’s views on how often an update report should be presented to future meetings. 

            Councillor Paul Johnson welcomed the report and the Philosophy for Children, Colleagues and Communities (P4C) which he felt allowed for children to ask questions about what was fair, unfair, just and unjust.  He referred to his time working as an Education Officer for UNICEF where children were told what their rights were in school which enabled them to understand not only what their rights were but the rights of other pupils and felt that understanding as a child what your rights were as a human being was part of that process.

            The Leader of the Council and Cabinet Member for Education, Welsh Language, Culture and Leisure agreed with the comments made.  He felt Flintshire schools carried out excellent work in this area and he thanked the staff for the action they took ensuring that Flintshire was a racially fair County.

            A number of Members spoke in support of the report and thanked Officers for the work undertaken. 

            The Chief Officer (Education & Youth) thanked Members for their positive comments on the report and echoed the thanks to the Senior Manager and her team.  Referring to the recommendation outlined within the report she felt it would be manageable to bring an annual report to the Committee which would include an overview of actions undertaken, evidence of the impacts of those actions and any appropriate data sets.

            The Senior Manager (School Improvement) thanked Members for their support and recognition of the work undertaken with colleagues in schools.  She thanked Claire Sinnott and the Healthy Schools Team as much of this work was already being undertaken in schools.

            The Chair suggested that recommendation 3, as outlined within the report, be amended to reflect that the Committee receive annual update reports on the Anti-racist Action Plan.  The recommendation, as outlined within the report, together with the suggested amendment from the Chair were moved by Councillor Gladys Healey and seconded by Carolyn Preece.

RESOLVED:

(a)     That the Committee support the vision of the Anti-racist Wales Action Plan and the actions set out for education;

(b)     That the Committee confirmed that it had received an appropriate level of assurance regarding the work of the Education & Youth Portfolio in meeting the requirement of the Anti-racist Action Plan for Wales;

(c)     That the Committee receive annual update reports on the Anti-racist Action Plan and that it be added to the Forward Work Programme.