Beyond the flags: How can we nurture inclusive, anti-racist school communities?

A couple of weeks ago, I visited the northern town where my son and grandson live. I arrived just before 10pm. By the next morning, as we drove down the neighbouring streets, each lamppost had a George Cross attached, and Union Jack bunting hung on railings at crossings along the main road. None of this had been there the night before. My son told me that, compared to other streets he’d seen, this was nothing. As in other towns across the country, displays seem to have been coordinated by groups, worryingly encouraged by far-right political rhetoric.

In the daylight, I could almost shrug off what I saw, though it brought back memories of my own school days in the 1970s and ’80s, growing up as a Black British child of Ghanaian heritage. A time when it was acceptable for students to come to school in green canvas jackets with Union Jacks and the letters NF sewn on the back. Raising these flags by stealth in the dead of night – audacious! It undermines our sense of safety and belonging and sows suspicion across communities.

Later, driving back through the same streets, much quieter at night, these same displays looked menacing. As someone not easily shaken, I certainly felt discomfort and unease, a reminder that division, bullying, and intimidation can be quiet, strategic, and deeply unsettling. We do not want to live like this, with fear shaping our streets and our communities.

The following weekend, the huge far-right demonstration gave groups a platform to express hostile and divisive views on race, immigration, and asylum. On the day itself and in the days leading up to it, conversations reflected wide-spread anxiety and tension. Plans were changed, streets were avoided, and people stayed away from the centre. The demonstration sent clear messages of division and exclusion to everyone in our communities, including generations of British-born children and adults whose families, like mine, originate from other parts of the world and have contributed so much to the country. These messages are unacceptable, whether aimed at recent arrivals or those whose families have lived here for decades.

I’m sure my reflections will resonate with many of you.

If this is how events of recent weeks have felt to me as an adult, how much more unsettling must this be for the children who come to our schools?

• What are they noticing and what questions are they asking?
• How are children from global majority backgrounds interpreting what they see and hear?
• How are children processing the messages they pick up in their communities, online, or in wider society?
• What effect does this have on their sense of safety, belonging, and wellbeing?

In my work with schools, I see first-hand the commitment, courage, and compassion it takes to intentionally build and sustain inclusive, anti-racist school communities and act to combat systemic racism. Leaders face tight budgets, limited capacity, and competing priorities. Events like those I’ve described, which go against the values and principles schools work to see lived within their communities, can distract, disappoint, and make progress feel too slow. Activism fatigue can set in, but we cannot afford to step back from this important work.

Dr Penny Rabiger, in her 2025 article, Against completion culture: Permanent anti-racism in resistance to permanent racism in schools, stresses that anti-racism cannot be treated as a “completion culture” project. It does not end once training is delivered or a policy is written. It is ongoing work, tackling institutional and structural racism as well as the everyday experiences of exclusion and bias.

So how can our schools help children and staff make sense of what they have seen, heard, and felt in recent weeks, while continuing to nurture inclusive, anti-racist communities?

• Create safe spaces for dialogue. Give staff and children opportunities to share experiences, ask questions, and reflect together in ways that build empathy and understanding. Linking school discussions to wider events helps make anti-racism real and relevant.
• Develop racial literacy. Equip everyone with the language, confidence, and frameworks to talk openly about race so that they can truly understand the lived experiences of others.
• Address racist language and behaviour consistently and fairly. Clear, well-thought-out policies and systems means everyone learns from the response. Those affected will value being heard beyond the immediate moment, while those responsible need education alongside sanction, reinforcing a sustained culture of fairness, respect, and inclusion.
• Celebrate diversity as a strength. Continually weave diverse stories, histories, and cultures from within and beyond the school community into curriculum and daily life so that inclusion is normalised, not treated as an exception. This richness reminds children that belonging and pride in identity are for everyone.
• Collaborate and partner. Work with specialist organisations, networks, and peers to sustain anti-racist practice, share learning, and maintain momentum that helps bring about lasting change.

Civil rights activist, scholar and author Angela Davis said: “I am no longer accepting the things I cannot change. I am changing the things I cannot accept.” Her words are encouragement to continue to act boldly, stay committed, and keep challenging as we embed anti-racism in schools and across the systems that shape our communities.