Teachers across Britain will be taught to challenge 'whiteness' in schools

The aim of this is to ensure that future teachers are "anti-racist" and be prepared to implement this in the classroom.

Documents claim that encouraging "anti-racist" teacher training will help to maintain a diverse teaching workforce and will help to close the gap between white and non-white students.

Additional concepts such as "meritocracy", "objectivity" and "individualism" should be questioned, according to the guidance.

The documents also state that white student teachers should also be helped to develop and project a "positive white racial identity".

Separate guidance has been developed in Scotland and England, with both documents having been endorsed by the National Education Union and by universities offering teacher training.

The Scottish "anti-racism framework" states that changes to the way in which teachers are taught will "disrupt the centrality of whiteness and enable different ways of seeing, thinking and doing."

LATEST DEVELOPMENTS:

• Libraries BAN books after just one complaint in 'dangerous' censorship move
• Majority of Britons believe teaching children people CAN be non-binary should be allowed in schools, new poll
• Rosie Duffield slams primary school for having pupils pose alongside Pride flag

It aims to tackle racism in education and to create a more diverse teaching workforce.

This process may involve references to colonialism and racism in lessons, and instilling an understanding of the “impact of whiteness”.

This will help teachers project a “white racial identity grounded in reality and allyship” in the classroom, free from “false notions of superiority”.

Similar to Scotland, an anti-racism framework for teacher training was developed for England in 2023.

It states that “teachers working with all age groups” are “crucial to anti-racism work”, and directs tutors to academic literature on how to deal with “whiteness”.

General Secretary of the National Education Union, Daniel Kebede, told GB News: "Teachers play a vital role in delivering a curriculum that challenges discrimination in all its forms.

"The recent, racist rioting on our streets demonstrates more than ever that high-quality initial teacher training courses should address anti-racism so that our teachers are equipped to challenge prejudice where necessary."

A Newcastle University - who funded England's anti-racism framework for teacher training spokesperson, said: "As we saw with the recent public unrest across the UK, racism is pervasive in our society.

"The way that we educate current and future teachers will play an important role in breaking this cycle and the framework was developed to provide practical guidance on this.”