News

Report highlights racism in Wales’s secondary schools

Published

2 years ago

November 30, 2023

A REPORT from the Children’s Commissioner for Wales claims that pupils from minority ethnic backgrounds are the target of racist abuse in Welsh secondary schools.

The report, published on Tuesday, November 28, says minority ethnic children and young people from across Wales experience racism in many ways. According to the report’s authors, those ways range from microaggressions to verbal and physical abuse.

The report claims those experiences are almost commonplace in schools.

The report also states that many incidents remain unreported as the youngsters targeted by abuse don’t want to be seen as “grasses”. If labelled “a grass”, victims of racist abuse fear they will be targeted with escalating abuse and retaliation. They also lack confidence in schools’ ability to tackle the issue.

The authors suggest that reported incidents are only “the tip of a very large iceberg”.

Meanwhile, teachers reported feeling underequipped and unconfident in responding to racism.

Mary van den Heuvel, Senior Policy Officer for the National Education Union Cymru, said: “NEU Cymru is deeply concerned by this report, which mirrors the experience of Black staff, who report a rise in racism in our schools and colleges with both Black students and staff facing varying degrees of racist abuse.

“NEU Cymru believes that all forms of racism must be challenged and that more must be done to support all learners and staff to feel safe and supported to understand and address this behaviour, and to feel valued and listened to in schools.”

Those teachers spoken to during the survey work for the report said they needed more practical and clearer guidance and ongoing support on how to respond.

How robust the report’s conclusions are is open to question.

Welsh secondary schools educate over 175,000 students, of whom 12% come from “Any other ethnic background’ other than ‘White British’.”

That’s 21,000 students, most educated in Cardiff, Swansea, and Newport.

However, researchers spoke only to 170 pupils, less than one per cent of the Welsh total.

In addition, the Commissioner drew on ten children who are members of her office’s existing advisory panel and special interest community ambassador groups.

According to the report, those “were children aged between 11 and 16 and with lived experience of racism who volunteered to join the CYP (Children and Young Persons) steering group.”

One of those participants, who appeared on television news to endorse the report’s findings, is the Youth

Officer for Swansea West Labour Party, whose membership includes the Children’s Commissioner for Wales, Rocio Cifuentes MBE.

Whatever issues exist about methodology, there is little doubt that racist abuse occurs in schools in every part of Wales. The scale of the issue in individual schools is likely disproportionate to the number of minority ethnic students. That is, where the number of minority ethnic children is fewest, abuse is more likely to occur.

One student in Pembrokeshire told researchers: “I was called a ‘monkey’ by a student.

“Other students reported it and parents were contacted but she [the student who called her the name] started crying so I didn’t want to make a fuss.”

A group of predominantly White Welsh participants shared that they had not directly experienced racism but had witnessed it, the majority daily.

Their experience included racist slurs in the corridor and people laughing it off. It also included people using a racial slur daily whilst talking about Asian-heritage boys.

One child said: “None of these incidents got reported apart from one. It’s all brushed under the carpet.”
Anecdotally, those incidents do not sound unlikely for Pembrokeshire schools, in which the number of minority ethnic students is comparatively small compared to the rest of Wales.

Problems with how schools tackle racism also feature in a comment by a Pembrokeshire student: “In my school, perpetrators must go to ‘rehab’ where they fill out the equality booklet. I don’t know how seriously they take this.”

Children’s Commission for Wales Rocio Cuifentes said: “There is a need for a whole culture change to support schools to respond more effectively and, more importantly, to help young people and children feel safer and feel confident that their schools will take incidents of racism seriously and something will be done about it.

“There is a real need for a comprehensive approach to dealing with this, rather than at the moment where we have pockets of excellent practice but other schools are really struggling.”

A key differential unexplored by the report is the extent to which racist expressions by children reflect their family, economic and neighbourhood backgrounds or how much those expressions arise from peer pressure and their wish to fit in with their friendship groups.

Absent those voices and that information, tackling the root causes of racism relies on the Welsh Government doing much the same as it is now, but harder and more thoroughly. Changing hearts and minds away from reflexive or learned racism will need much more.

News

Court ruling to decide fate of nearly 3,000 arrested under terror laws

Published

5 hours ago

February 12, 2026

Tom Sinclair

Peaceful sign-holders face uncertainty as judges weigh legality of Palestine Action ban

A HIGH-stakes court ruling due on Friday (Feb 13) could determine whether nearly three thousand people arrested for holding protest signs were unlawfully treated as terror suspects.

Judges at the Royal Courts of Justice are expected to deliver a long-awaited Judicial Review decision into the Government’s decision to proscribe Palestine Action, a direct-action group campaigning against arms companies linked to Israel.

Campaigners say 2,787 people were arrested across the UK for peacefully displaying placards reading: “I oppose genocide. I support Palestine Action.”

They argue those arrests – made under terrorism legislation – represent one of the most sweeping crackdowns on non-violent protest in modern British history.

Supporters from Defend Our Juries and its “Lift The Ban” campaign say they will again hold signs outside the court from 10:00am, even if that risks further arrests.

If the ban is ruled unlawful, lawyers say hundreds of pending prosecutions could collapse.

If upheld, more demonstrators could face criminal charges.

A spokesperson for the group said: “The public knows the difference between protest and terrorism. Peaceful people holding signs should never have been treated as extremists.”

***Protestors in Cardigan in 2025 (Pic: File)***

Largest civil disobedience campaign

Organisers describe the protests as the largest UK-wide campaign of non-violent civil disobedience in recent years, with silent vigils held in towns and cities across England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland.

They claim counter-terrorism resources have been diverted away from genuine threats to process peaceful demonstrators instead.

Police morale has also been affected, they say, with officers placed in the position of arresting people engaged in silent protest.

Government under pressure

The proscription was introduced by Home Secretary Yvette Cooper, who argued the group’s actions crossed the line into criminality.

But critics allege the decision followed lobbying from arms manufacturers and pro-Israel interests, a claim ministers deny.

A recent Channel 4 News documentary examined meetings between ministers and industry representatives, raising further political questions.

Prime Minister Keir Starmer has also faced scrutiny over the Government’s stance after campaign actions targeted property linked to him in Scotland.

Rights concerns

Human rights organisations say the case could set an important precedent for the future of protest laws.

Amnesty International UK warned the ban marked “a substantial departure” from how protest movements are normally handled, while Liberty argued counter-terror powers were historically intended for groups using violence against people.

United Nations experts have also raised concerns that criminalising peaceful assembly risks putting the UK “out of step” with other democracies.

Legal battle

The Judicial Review challenge, brought by Palestine Action co-founder Huda Ammori, was granted four grounds, including whether the ban breaches rights to freedom of expression and assembly and whether ministers failed to follow proper consultation procedures.

Parts of the Government’s defence were heard in secret under a closed material procedure, a move criticised by civil liberties lawyers.

Campaigners have described the court hearing as a test of whether protest can still be treated as a democratic right.

What happens next?

The ruling, expected mid-morning, could immediately reshape ongoing cases.

If the judges strike down the proscription, arrests and charges linked solely to sign-holding protests may be deemed unlawful.

If they uphold it, campaigners say they will continue demonstrating regardless.

One organiser said: “Whatever the decision, people of conscience will keep standing up. Holding a sign is not terrorism.”

The outcome is likely to be closely watched not only by those arrested, but by campaigners, police forces and civil liberties groups across the UK.

Health

NHS workers to receive 3.3% pay rise – union says award ‘timely but not enough’

Published

5 hours ago

February 12, 2026

Tom Sinclair

HEALTH staff across Wales and the rest of the UK are set to receive a 3.3 per cent pay rise from April after the Government accepted the latest recommendations from the independent review body – but unions say the increase still falls short after years of falling real-terms wages.

The decision follows months of pressure from unions representing nurses, paramedics, porters and other frontline staff, many of whom have taken industrial action in recent years amid rising workloads and the cost-of-living crisis.

The Health Secretary has confirmed that ministers will implement the headline award recommended by the NHS Pay Review Body for workers in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, meaning most staff covered by the Agenda for Change contract will see their salaries rise at the start of the new financial year.

Union leaders say the timing is welcome – but the figure itself does not go far enough.

Responding to the announcement, GMB Trade Union said the increase marks the first time in several years that NHS staff will receive their pay award on schedule, avoiding the delays that have previously left workers waiting months for back pay.

Rachel Harrison, national secretary for the union, said: “GMB welcomes the efforts made to ensure NHS workers will receive their pay increase when it is due, in April.

“The first time this will have happened in years.

“But this award is just not enough to make up for more than a decade of pay cuts under the Tories. NHS workers deserve more and GMB will fight for that at the long overdue Agenda for Change structural talks we have now been promised.

“GMB reps will now meet to discuss the pay award and determine next steps.”

Years of pressure

Health unions argue that although pay has risen in cash terms, inflation and years of below-inflation settlements have left many National Health Service workers worse off than they were a decade ago.

Since 2010, a combination of pay freezes, capped rises and soaring living costs has eroded real-terms earnings, with some estimates suggesting experienced staff are thousands of pounds a year worse off compared to pre-austerity levels.

Recruitment and retention remain major concerns across Welsh hospitals and ambulance services, with health boards continuing to rely on agency staff to plug gaps.

Union representatives say pay remains one of the biggest factors pushing experienced workers to leave the profession.

Impact in Wales

For NHS staff in west Wales, including Pembrokeshire and Carmarthenshire, the award will be felt from April payslips, covering a wide range of roles from healthcare assistants and cleaners to nurses, paramedics and administrative teams.

While some will welcome the certainty of an on-time rise, local staff have previously told The Herald that rising energy bills, fuel costs and housing pressures mean even modest increases are quickly swallowed up.

GMB said it will now consult workplace representatives on whether further action is needed and will push for wider reforms during upcoming structural talks on pay bands and career progression.

The union added that “timely” must not be confused with “sufficient”.

For many on the frontline, the question is no longer just when pay rises arrive – but whether they are enough to keep the health service staffed at all.

News

Angle RNLI launches twice in busy start to week

Published

6 hours ago

February 12, 2026

Tom Sinclair

Teenagers rescued from rocks as late-night tide trap sparks call-out

ANGLE lifeboat crew have responded to two emergency shouts this week, including a late-night rescue of three teenagers cut off by the tide.

Volunteers from RNLI Angle Lifeboat Station were first tasked at 6:23pm on Tuesday (Feb 10) to assist in the search for a missing surfer at Broughton Bay, on the Gower.

With Burry Port Lifeboat Station inshore lifeboats also responding and other all-weather lifeboats in the area unavailable, Angle’s crew began mustering for immediate launch.

However, the shout was cancelled before the lifeboat launched after the surfer was located safe and well.

Just two days earlier, at 11:24pm on Monday (Feb 8), the crew had launched to reports of three teenagers stranded between Hakin Point and Conduit Beach after becoming cut off by the incoming tide.

The lifeboat quickly located the group on rocks made slippery and hazardous by heavy rain. Unable to climb to safety, the teenagers were stranded as the tide rose around them.

The crew deployed the station’s inflatable Y-boat, allowing rescuers to reach the casualties and transfer them safely back to the all-weather lifeboat.

They were then brought a short distance into the marina and handed into the care of family members, alongside HM Coastguard Dale Coastguard Rescue Team and police.

With no further assistance required, the crew stood down and the lifeboat was refuelled and made ready for service again by 1:00am.

RNLI volunteers are reminding the public to check tide times and sea conditions before heading onto the coast, particularly during the winter months when weather and visibility can deteriorate quickly.