Education

Our Education Mission

The Anthony Walker Foundation (AWF) believes that education is key to dismantling racism. Our aim is to empower and educate young people to challenge hate crimes/incidents and embrace anti-racism through collective learning and thought-provoking discussions. With the aid of positive group participation and engagement with our young people, we work to create a society free from hate and prejudice.

We know that prejudicial views, unconscious bias and stereotypes often start at a very young age as a result of (but not limited to) environment and upbringing. Anti-racism work should always start in the home but should be closely followed and supported by what is being taught in our schools. By educating pupils from a young age, we hope to instil anti-racist values before prejudice and discriminations develop.

Through our educating we encourage young people to challenge attitudes that lead to harm against others and to celebrate and welcome all that makes us different. We never encourage anyone to place themselves in danger when challenging racist attitudes, rather we give people the tools and confidence to deal with matters sensitively.

Our Aims

We recognise that young people are our future and work collaboratively with them so they develop a strong understanding of:

What constitutes a race hate crime and its impact?
What the effective ways of preventing or responding to racist incidents or hate crimes are.
How to report a racist incident or crime.
How to become an active ally.
How pupils and staff members work together to ensure the school environment is safe for all.
To develop a shared understanding of anti-racist language and practice.

What We Do

Taking the form of workshops and assemblies, we deliver educational sessions to young people across the Merseyside region from primary to sixth form and college. Our sessions always celebrate Anthony’s positive life and legacy. Through telling Anthony’s story, we hope to teach young people the importance of kindness, compassion and community.

In 2020 – 2021 the Foundation has directly connected with over 7,000 young people in educational settings and community organisations across the Merseyside city region and beyond. There is a general consensus among many school leaders that more work needs to be done to address racial equity in education which the Foundation is well placed to do.

At AWF we offer a comprehensive suite of educational modules focused around our anti-racism message that can be adapted to different age groups. These modules can be adapted for assemblies or workshops. This suite of modules includes ‘Speak Out! Stop Hate’ which promotes hate crime awareness and the importance of speaking out and reporting hate when you see it.

Through our impactful ‘See Me, Be Me’ campaign, which was developed in partnership with M&S Bank, we developed an educational module which focuses on the importance of positive role models from minoritised backgrounds. This module aims to empower young people to feel confident about their futures.

Our Love What Make Us Different assemblies developed for primary age children focuses on the need to love and celebrate diversity. At these assemblies pupils learn the importance of not prejudging, what it means to be an anti-racist, and showing love and support to each other.

As a leading anti-racist charity in the North West, our education curriculum is always under development and review to ensure that we are leaders in the field and all of our content is cutting edge. We support schools and colleges to become leaders in anti-racist practice and support them to foster an educational environment of inclusion and diversity that is free of racism and hate.

AWF Equity in Education Charter

In response to the growing demands from schools and colleges, the Foundation is developing an AWF Equity in Education Charter. This model will allow us to work closely with schools in a sustainable, holistic and consistent manner.

The AWF Equity in Education Charter is currently being developed with the aim of dismantling institutional, racist barriers in leadership, curriculum and learning. We hope to roll this model out to schools and colleges in the new academic year, and encourage any educational institutions who are interested to get in touch and register their interest.

Get In Touch

If you would like to take advantage of the learning offered, or have any questions regarding our educational programme, please contact the Foundation on 0151 237 3974 or email info@anthonywalkerfoundation.org.uk