Campaigners want anti-racist content to be embedded in curriculum and for Black history to be compulsory subject

Schools and colleges are failing in their legal duty to prevent and address racism, say campaigners who are calling for the national curriculum in England to include an explicit anti-racism focus with Black history as a compulsory subject.

A coalition of organisations representing young people's voices has written to the prime minister, warning that "racism is holding all young people back" and calling for urgent action to "address the impacts of this growing crisis".

The letter says the government's review of the national curriculum, which is due to report next year, offers an opportunity to explore ways "to embed diverse, anti-racist content to ensure young people receive a more well-rounded and inclusive education".

It also warns that the existing legislative framework to support schools in adopting anti-racist practice is "insufficient" and calls for a meeting with Keir Starmer to discuss how to better support young people affected by racism.

The letter makes a number of recommendations, including that a whole-school approach to tackling racism be implemented. It says upcoming race equality legislation should require all schools to have an action plan for addressing race inequality. It calls on the Department for Education (DfE) to treat racism as a safeguarding issue and for anti-racism guidance to be published for all schools and colleges to ensure a consistent approach.