Race Council Cymru welcomes the interim report published today by the Welsh Government on the teaching of themes relating to minority communities in the Welsh school curriculum. The report has been prepared by a working group appointed by the First Minister to review current resources for teachers and to advise on addressing identified gaps and challenges. The working group is made up of independent members who are experienced practitioners and contributors to issues and themes relating to minority communities in Wales, and we are delighted that Race Council Cymru is well-represented in this group.

The new teaching framework for schools, which will be fully rolled out by 2022, expects each school to design its own curriculum, and so this report is timely. It recommends that schools teach a range of values, perspectives, and cultures throughout Wales and across all disciplines – including STEM subjects. But this report identifies several areas of concern regarding the number and quality of existing teaching resources that are currently available to support these changes.

Race Council Cymru endorses the report’s call for resources that promote positive attitudes to diversity, and which focus on a wide range of experiences, themes, and history of minority communities in Wales. As the report makes clear, while there are some resources available on the histories of slavery and empire – subjects that remain vitally important for all the young people of Wales to learn about – far more work needs to be done on developing teaching materials that focus on wider and contemporary issues.

We believe that minority ethnic themes and experiences can be incorporated into every part of the new curriculum in Wales. These will impact positively on everyone’s lives and will lead to a resilient and successful Wales, which recognises and supports all its citizens.