Anti-Racism in Education Programme Board minutes: August 2024

Attendees and apologies

Present

• Khadija Mohammed, Chair
• Nuzhat Uthmani, Diversity in the Teaching Profession and Education Workforce  (DiTPEW) Subgroup
• Monica Medina, Scottish Qualifications Authority (SQA)
• Carrie Lindsay, Association of Directors of Education in Scotland (ADES)
• Nikhat Yusaf, Educational Institute of Scotland (EIS) Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic (BAME) Network
• Pauline Stephen, General Teaching Council for Scotland (GTCS)
• Mélina Valdelièvre, Curriculum Reform Subgroup
• Chereen Rain, Education Leadership and Professional Learning Subgroup
• Carol Young, Coalition for Race Equality and Rights (CRER)
• Louise Barrett, Scottish Council of Deans of Education (SCDE)
• Samir Sharma, Glasgow City Council
• Garvin Sealy, Intercultural Youth Scotland
• Safia Ali, Racism and Racist Incidents (RRI) Subgroup
• Hakim Din, DiTPEW Subgroup
• Laura-Ann Currie, Education Scotland
• Laura Ross, Curriculum Reform Subgroup
• Judith Ballantine, Learning Directorate, Scottish Government
• Emma Bunting, Learning Directorate, Scottish Government (Secretariat)

Apologies

• Orlando Heijmer-Mason, Deputy Director, Learning Directorate, Scottish Government
• Laura Murdoch, RRI Subgroup
• Catherine Law, Learning Directorate, Scottish Government (Secretariat)

Items and actions

Welcome and introductions

The Chair welcomed everyone to the meeting. Apologies were noted as above. The Chair welcomed Garvin Sealy, Interim Chief Executive of IYS, as a new member of the Board.

Guided mindfulness

The Chair outlined the rules around ensuring respectful dialogue. Recognising the benefits of instilling mindful practice in all approaches to the AREP work, the group took 5 minutes to reflect. Members had been asked to consider the usefulness of this item, no more feedback has been received to date.

Minutes of the previous meeting

The minutes from the previous meeting were agreed as final. An update was provided on outstanding actions

• group Members were encouraged to send further thoughts on finance proposals and work plans, as well as where actions could be progressed with additional funding, via email to Secretariat – ongoing, this was discussed under agenda item 6
• the Secretariat agreed to consider how to engage young people in the work of the Programme following the withdrawal of the Members of the Scottish Youth Parliament – ongoing, during the summer break the Secretariat and Chair met to discuss how to pursue this action. It was discussed under agenda item 6
• the Secretariat to investigate with Scottish Government analytical services colleagues whether the development of a Theory of Change (ToC) model for each of the workstreams would be possible – ongoing, the Secretariat have now met with Scottish Government analytical services colleagues to better understand the process for developing ToC models. Invites will shortly be issued for sessions specifically to discuss the development of these for the three subgroups that don’t yet have one
• the Secretariat to pick up with Laura Meikle, as temporary chair of the RRI, with regards to the ask by Connect to undertake parental engagement in relation to racist incidents – ongoing, the Secretariat met with Connect to discuss. This was covered under agenda item 6
• the Secretariat to provide advice on how to apply for Scottish Government funding on behalf of AREP workstreams – closed, a session discussing this was run by the Secretariat over the summer break
• group Members are advised to look at the final draft of the terms of reference and to provide any final comments to the Secretariat by 28 June – closed, no comments were received on the terms of reference document and as such this will be published on the Scottish Government website
• the Secretariat will organise a meeting during the summer holidays to discuss next steps following the cancellation of the Anti-Racism in Education summit, a doodle poll will issue to identify a date – closed, a session to discuss what replaces the summit was held over the summer break. This was discussed further under agenda item 8
• the Secretariat will share with the Board the two recommendations that have been identified as better suited for the Board as a whole, as well as each subgroup’s response to the recommendations. The Secretariat will ask Members to provide any additional comments in writing over the summer break – closed, these were shared following the June meeting of the Board and this item was discussed further under agenda item 9
• group Members are to provide comments on the Youth Ambassadors’ recommendations by close of business on Monday 8 July – ongoing, comments were received only from GTCS. This was discussed further under agenda item 9
• the Secretariat asked Members to consider if they would be content for IYS’s interim Chief Executive, Garvin Sealy, to join the Board in order to ensure that there is continued input from IYS, following the changes to the organisation’s governance – closed, Garvin is now a full member of the Board

Recap of previous meeting and overview of this one

The Chair reminded members of what was discussed at the June 2024 meeting of the Board and provided a summary of that discussion, reflecting that there were a number of absences which may have impacted discussions.

The Chair noted that at the previous meeting, members discussed the rolling agenda items on education reform, finance and subgroup progress updates.

The Chair noted that the young people’s recommendations, stemming from the youth ambassadors’ programme facilitated by IYS, were discussed.

The summit replacement event was also discussed, with a follow up meeting then scheduled for over the summer break and a further discussion at this Board meeting.

Whilst not specifically related to the previous Board meeting, the Chair highlighted that a letter was issued following the riots and disorder in other parts of the UK from Gillian Hamilton to all Directors of Education and head teachers, in advance of schools returning. This was welcomed by members of the Board.

Education Reform (including National Discussion and Reform of Assessment and Qualifications)

The Chair outlined the current position with regards to Education Reform

• work continues on development of the Centre for Teaching Excellence
• the expectation is that the Centre will be hosted by a university, learning from the successful model of the Centre for Excellence for Children’s Care and Protection. The aim is to appoint a host to the Centre by the end of 2024
• the Education (Scotland) Bill was introduced to the Scottish Parliament on 04 June 2024 and published on 05 June 2024. This establishes a new qualifications body, Qualifications Scotland, to replace the SQA and creates and independent inspectorate
• on 5 June, the Scottish Government provided an update on the future of Education Scotland, confirming that the agency will see its role refocussed to become more curriculum orientated

Finance

The Secretariat outlined the current spending controls that are in place within the Scottish Government and explained that these will impact upon the budget currently available to the AREP. These spending controls will be reviewed quarterly and members will be advised when the measures are lifted or superseded. It is expected that the Cabinet Secretary for Finance and Local Government will give a statement to the Scottish Parliament with regards to wider Scottish Government budget during week commencing 2 September 2024 and the Secretariat encouraged members to watch it, or read the transcript, in order to gain further clarity.

Members reflected that whilst disappointing, the news was not unexpected. Questions were raised with regards to what the spending controls mean for the future of the education reform agenda. 

It was advised that Education Scotland’s new Peer Mentors Programme was signed off ahead of the controls being brought in and as such will proceed as planned. Proposed expenditure, such as a venue for the summit and further engagement with the IYS youth ambassadors, will not be able to go ahead at this time. Despite the spending controls, the Secretariat advised that the Anti-Racism in Education Programme (AREP) remains a priority for Scottish ministers, as articulated in the aftermath of the recent unrest across the rest of the UK.

Progress updates from each of the chairs of the AREP subgroups

A new approach will be taken going forward with regards to a written update from subgroups, from now on a shared workplan will be updated in advance of Board meetings.

DiTPEW subgroup updates

The group last met on 27 August 2024. The group discussed:

• upcoming Co-Chair priorities for 2024/25
• the launch of the new anti-racist action guide for local authorities, formally named “Teaching in a Diverse Scotland: Increasing and Retaining Minority Ethnic Teachers. An Action Guide for Local Authorities”
• an update on the work of SCDE’s Anti-Racism in ITE (ARITE) group
• professional learning for minority ethnic teachers
• the review of the 2030 target

The group is currently seeking new representatives from ADES, COSLA and SAMEE.

Members of the Board suggested that they would circulate the new action guide to their networks.

ELPL subgroup updates

The group noted that Cohorts 5 and 6 of the BRL programme will begin shortly, with over 370 participants (double last year). There are also a number of alumni events planned in the coming months.

They also noted that the new BRL alumni pack is complete. This includes a facilitation guide that can be used in different settings and was co-constructed with alumni. They are also beginning to see local alumni groups forming.

Curriculum Reform subgroup updates

The group last met in January 2024. Work is currently underway with the Children’s Parliament to develop a child-friendly version of the anti-racist curriculum principles.

The Teaching Slavery in Scotland fund, already underway, continues, this year with a focus on empire.

Anti-racist curricular resources are being developed in partnership with Scotdec and WOSDEC, these will be ready by the end of September. Consideration is being given as to the best way to launch these, with some suggestions of a launch during Black History Month

A small working group will commence shortly to look specifically at the SQA history qualification.

The group is working with the SQA and Penguin Publishing on a programme related to supporting English teachers to select texts, similar to that available in England. It is expected that this will now fall into the next financial year.

The group recently received a presentation from IYS on the work that they are doing in schools.

With regards to the curriculum improvement cycle, work is currently underway to look at structural change. There is optimism around the potential for social justice to become a new curricular area. It was proposed that a presentation be brought to the Board.

RRI subgroup updates

The group noted that work is underway to consider what measures already exist, and how to make sure that school leaders are using them as there is concern that at present these are not being followed. Members of the Board reflected that they did not feel that anti-bullying measures are fit for purpose with regards to tackling racism and racist incidents.

There was some suggestion that the group should seek to engage with the work to refresh the ‘Respect for All’ guidance which is nearing final draft stage. AREP Board members are currently involved in this refresh, however there was also a commitment to engaging directly with the RRI group.

Anti-racism in education summit

A separate meeting to discuss the summit was held during the summer break, there was broad agreement that a different approach was needed to what had been considered previously. It was recognised that there are both risks and benefits associated with having ministerial involvement in any event.

There was a suggestion that perhaps a workshop style event, looking at different aspects of the AREP be held in the morning and a ministerial led event in the afternoon. There was recognition that current spending controls will impact the ability of the programme to hold an event in an external venue. Some members suggested that it might be worth considering an online event. There was a commitment to continue to consider options for something to replace the cancelled summit.

IYS youth ambassadors' recommendations

Members suggested that they would welcome more time to consider the recommendations made by the youth ambassadors. They agreed that they would bring thoughts, specifically on whether the recommendations have been correctly allocated to the 4 subgroups and if not, where they should in fact sit.   

The recommendation made relating to exam invigilators has been taken away by the SQA for consideration as to how it can be implemented.

Any other business

There was a suggestion that Board meetings should not always be held on the same day of the month, however most members reflected that this made it easier to plan their calendar and to commit to attending the Board.  Therefore, Board meetings will continue to be held on the last Wednesday of every month but this arrangement can be kept under review, with members flagging up where there is a collective desire to change the current day/time.