BAMEed Wales at the Senedd: 2026 Election Commitments on Anti-Racist Education
BAMEed Network Wales met with members, partners and policymakers at the Senedd to discuss the future of anti-racist education ahead of the 2026 election.
We thank the Rt Hon Vaughan Gething MS for sponsoring the regular space for cross-party discussion at a critical time.
Wales has set a clear policy direction through its anti-racism commitments and curriculum reform. But implementation is uneven and outcomes remain unequal. Progress has been made, yet it is not embedded across the system. Without sustained cross-party commitment, it will not be sustained.
Recent national research reinforces what many educators and communities already know:
- Racist incidents experienced by learners exceed those formally recorded.
- Most educators value anti-racism professional learning, but fewer than half accessed it in the past year.
- Minority ethnic staff frequently report feeling unsupported when racism occurs.
- Research with minority ethnic communities documents racial trauma, low institutional trust and gaps in culturally competent, trauma-informed support.
The pattern is consistent. Racism is under-reported, unevenly addressed and insufficiently supported at system level.
In advance of the 2026 Senedd election, BAMEed Network has written to party leaders and education spokespersons asking for clear, measurable manifesto commitments in four areas:
1. Anti-Racist Education Delivery
- Full delivery and resourcing of national anti-racism action commitments through to 2030.
- Sustained anti-racist professional learning across the workforce, moving from optional to expected provision.
2. Workforce Representation and Progression
- Continued and expanded recruitment, retention and progression programmes for ethnic minority educators.
- Structured leadership development pathways for underrepresented groups.
- Annual public reporting on workforce diversity, including leadership representation and promotion outcomes.
3. Curriculum, Pedagogy and Learner Experience
- Funded support for schools to embed diverse histories, perspectives and scholarship across the curriculum.
- Investment in specialist, culturally competent wellbeing and trauma-informed support for learners who experience racism.
4. Transparency, Reporting and Accountability
- Standardised racist incident reporting and response expectations across local authorities.
- Annual public monitoring of how education bodies meet their equality duties, including quality of response and follow-up support.
These are practical, evidence-based actions aligned with Wales’ ambition to be an anti-racist nation. They strengthen workforce sustainability and improve learner safety and belonging.
This work is not partisan. It reflects shared statutory and moral responsibilities to learners and educators across Wales.
The evidence is clear. The next Senedd term must secure delivery.
