Standing firm in power and pride – beyond Black History Month 2025

The theme for Black History Month 2025, “Standing Firm in Power and Pride,” is both a celebration and a call to action. It honours the resilience and achievements of Black communities while inviting us to actively shape spaces where voices from Black and global majority heritage backgrounds are heard, valued, and celebrated.

As Black History Month draws to a close, schools are encouraged to build on the activities, discussions and reflections that have taken place, turning words into action by making inclusion, belonging, and anti-racism a lived part of everyday practice. Across the SSAT and RACE Charter Mark networks, and in schools who have undertaken Equalities Audits, this work is being actively developed and strengthened. Since the launch of the RACE Charter Mark, which we are proud to deliver in partnership with CEO Ann Palmer at Fig Tree International, around 115 schools have achieved awards at bronze, silver or gold level, and three reaching Beacon of Excellence status for sustained, transformative practice.

These schools show that standing firm in power and pride is not just a message for a month, but a mindset woven into school life. They put this mindset into practice through commitment to race equity, inclusive leadership, a conscious curriculum, ongoing professional learning, and meaningful stakeholder engagement. They create communities where belonging and pride are lived values.

In a recent blog, I outlined five key actions schools can take to nurture inclusive, anti-racist, school communities. The examples below show how schools across our networks are putting these actions into practice year-round, making race equity and inclusion an integral part of school life.

Create safe spaces for dialogue

• Staff and student forums such as working parties, Race Ambassadors, Culture Groups, Diversity Champions, and Anti-Bullying Ambassadors provide structured spaces to share experiences and influence practice.
• Drop-ins, briefings, and bulletin updates give staff bite-sized, ongoing opportunities to explore racial literacy, identity, and inclusion.
• Anonymous reporting channels such as drop boxes, dedicated emails, and reporting systems allow concerns to be raised confidentially and addressed promptly.
• Parent engagement opportunities, from discussion forums and taster sessions to language groups, give families insight into the school’s work on race equity while offering a supportive environment to share perspectives.

Develop racial literacy

• Weekly racial literacy terms, shared in a variety of formats, help staff, students, and parents develop understanding and a common language to engage confidently in discussion and actions on race equality. Staff libraries, book groups, and shared reading resources support ongoing professional learning and discussion.
• Whole-school drop-down or culture days focus on developing racial literacy through workshops, discussions, access to visiting speakers and role models, and projects on race, identity, religion, and inclusion.
• Curriculum across subjects strengthens racial literacy through lessons and activities on allyship, unconscious bias, and historical and current global events, linking learning to lived experience and developing critical thinking.
• External partnerships offer staff practical guidance, resources, and frameworks to develop racial literacy and inclusive practice across the school.

Address racist language and behaviour

• Clear policies and reporting systems ensure concerns are addressed consistently, fairly, and safely for staff, students, and governors.
• Education alongside sanction supports learners to understand the impact of their behaviour and promotes a respectful culture.
• Staff and governor training equips teams to challenge racist language and behaviour confidently and supportively.
• Student-led initiatives, including discussions, workshops, debates, and campaigns, challenge racist language, promote peer understanding, and inform relevant school policies.

Celebrate diversity as a strength

• Curriculum, learning resources, and displays highlight local and global stories through diverse texts, lessons, and projects, reflecting students’ experiences and introducing new perspectives.
• Cultural festivals and campaigns celebrate identity and heritage, within and beyond the school, showing that diversity enriches everyone.
• Student leadership shapes assemblies and creative projects that promote pride, allyship, and mutual understanding
• Family, community, and governor engagement, including faith groups, parent networks, and diverse governance, strengthens connection, authenticity, and belonging.

Collaborate and partner

• Community partnerships with faith groups, charities, universities, local businesses and cultural organisations connect students to real-world voices and experiences.
• Parent and family engagement through workshops, taster events, ESOL classes, cultural events and festivals strengthens trust and engagement.
• Collaboration across schools creates opportunities to share effective practice, reflect on successes, address challenges, and amplify voices in local and national forums or campaigns.
• Engaging with wider networks and expertise through the RACE Charter Mark network, Racial Equity Networking Dinners (REND) or an equalities audit, helps inspire, sustain and strengthen race equality work beyond Black History Month.

As Rachel Macfarlane highlights in her book Unity in Diversity, achieving race equity requires a life-long commitment. Drawing on Malcolm Gladwell’s insight, she reminds us that race equity cannot be treated as a focus for a single academic year, the theme of a training day, or a strand on a development plan. The examples shared here show some of the ways schools are putting this commitment into action: creating safe spaces for dialogue, building racial literacy, addressing biased language, celebrating diversity, and collaborating with families and wider communities. By standing firm in power and pride, schools challenge systemic racism while embedding race equity into daily school life, creating communities where every student and staff member can thrive and be seen, heard, and valued, whatever their background.