Racism in UK education remains deeply embedded, not just in individual interactions but within the very frameworks shaping assessment, careers, and institutional culture. The articles and videos all underscore a crucial message that anti-racism is not about surface-level representation but structural transformation.
Before reading Alice Bradbury’s article, I had no idea that a Baseline Assessment existed for children starting school in England. The fact that children, aged four or five, are starting school being assessed based on a ‘snapshot’, probably bias test, and results are being compared to progress later on is worrying and feels incredibly flawed. What struck me is how it completely missed the complexity of a child’s background. For example, Bradbury highlights how bilingual or multilingual children, many of whom are from minority backgrounds, are disadvantaged by this. Aside from and beyond language, other factors related to race that can affect children’s learning before school that it doesn’t consider, could be whether a child has had access to books at home, if their parents have the time or capacity to support learning, preschool attendance, and so on. The assesment doesn’t consider the reality that children don’t start school with the same starting point.
Bradbury uses Critical Race Theory to show how these seemingly ‘neutral’ policies can reinforce racial inequalities, which made me think more deeply about how policies can look fair on the surface but actually embed disadvantage.
Azeem Sadiq’s TEDx talk supported this idea and expolors how Diversity, Equity and Inclusion policies are more often another tick-box exercise. It supports other blog post responses in this unit, whereby policies and terms don’t go far enough to make systemic changes, or take in to account other human factors. As Sadiq puts it, going beyond the surface. Sadiq talks about the need to move from performative actions to systemic change, which feels like the only way we’ll start to meaningfully address issues like race, class, gender, and all the other identity factors that shape students’ experiences.
Watching the video from James Orr, which criticises organisations like Advance HE for making universities “woke,” I was struck by how some people view equity as a threat rather than progress. It feels like a real misunderstanding of what anti-racism is about. It’s not about shutting down free speech or imposing ideology—it’s about making sure everyone has a fair chance to belong, contribute, and thrive.
In the video excerpt from The School That Tried to End Racism, a group of 11-year-old students at a UK school take part in an experiment, being asked questions in relation to their racial indentity. Watching this clip, I was struck by how open and thoughtful the children were, arguably more willing to engage in honest dialogue than many adults. It reminded me of something I reflected on in my earlier posts: how early inequalities like those ignored in the Baseline Assessment policy, can shape a child’s entire educational journey.
Overall the learning and reflection that I have taken from this is that racism in UK education is deeply embedded in systems and policies, and often overlook the real challenges faced. To create meaningful change, it must move beyond surface-level actions and tackle the structural inequalities that shape students’ experiences from the very start of their education, not just as a ticking box exercise or making symbolic gestures.