Written Statement: Closure of the Recommendations from the Black Asian and Minority Ethnic Communities, Contributions and Cynefin in the new Curriculum Group report

In March 2021, the Welsh Government published the report by Professor Charlotte Williams OBE on the Black Asian and Minority Ethnic Communities, Contributions and Cynefin in the New Curriculum Working Group. All 51 recommendations were accepted. The recommendations concerned a range of issues, including curriculum content, the teaching workforce, Initial Teacher Education, professional development, inspection, and broader Welsh Government policy on schools. 

I am proud to announce today that we have taken action on all the report’s recommendations and we are monitoring ongoing work. Since publication, we have made Wales the first UK nation to make the teaching of Black, Asian and minority ethnic history mandatory, to ensure the curriculum reflects the history and contribution of all its citizens. 

Crucially, we have launched the hugely successful Diversity and Anti-Racist Professional Learning (DARPL), upskilling over 27,000 practitioners in anti-racist practice through support, training and guidance, up to December 2023. 

We have also taken steps to make our teaching profession more representative. In September 2022, we began a £5,000 incentive scheme to attract more ethic minority applicants to Initial Teacher Education, helping our workforce better reflect the diversity of our population. In the same year, the Betty Campbell (MBE) Professional Teaching Award  was launched to promote the contributions and perspectives of Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic communities.

Since publication, we have updated on our progress towards developing a whole-school and national approach to anti-racism in the 2021 annual report on implementation of the recommendations and last year’s Curriculum for Wales Annual Report.

While actions are in place and the formal response to report is now concluded, our efforts to address racial inequality through our education system must continue and the closure report sets out how we will continue to monitor to ensure work is fully embedded. It remains vital to sustain momentum, continue to embed anti-racist practice across our education system, and ensure meaningful change. We remain committed to delivering an anti-racist education system to match our ambition to become an anti-racist nation by 2030. 

I would like to personally thank Professor Charlotte Williams OBE for the advice, guidance, and expertise she has provided throughout the course of this work. Her insight and support have been invaluable to our journey in becoming a fairer nation for all.