Though many schools in Cumbria don’t have any Black, Brown or Minoritised pupils that is changing rapidly and regardless of colour, all children benefit from anti-racism. A young white person here could quite feasibly not meet a Black or Brown person until later life, have only fleeting encounters or gain their understanding through the media alone. How important it is then that they are encouraged and educated to acknowledge and respect Black and Brown people’s contribution to society and indeed Cumbria itself and understand that tackling racism is relevant to them too.
Growing up in Cumbria as Black and Brown young people can be isolating at times. Thankfully our Animated Futures project connected young people who know what it means to grow up here if you aren’t white. This project used animation to help them express themselves and connect with each other; their creativity, passion and real life experiences led to the creation of The Fell We Climb.
The Fell We Climb is a multi award-winning short animated film made using the personal experiences of Black and Brown children here in Cumbria. To support and encourage anti-racism across the county, we have created free educational resources for all schools in the county with the support of CDEC and Grayrigg School. Early access to the film and supporting resources have been offered to every school, alongside the FREE Philosophy For Children (P4C) training in critical enquiry. The training will support teachers to discuss racism, in particular everyday racism in their classrooms in a safe, age-appropriate way. Read about it in detail here in our info pack.
Benefits for Schools:
- Every school will receive free training and be able to develop their P4C and critical enquiry skills.
- The resource will support teachers to have open discussions about real racism in Cumbria.
- The resources will provide opportunities to promote anti-racism across the curriculum, particularly in the humanities, creative arts, Philosophy and ethics
- A clear, supported approach to leading sessions based around the film with additional support offered as a zoom by the Anti Racist Cumbria Education Lead and teachers/headteachers who have already used the resource.
- Consider their own policies in relation to experiences of pupils here in Cumbria.
– Preventative safeguarding for both:
– Children who experience racism by developing more empathy and understanding amongst their white peers. - Enable ALL children to think critically when faced with far right rhetoric via
social media etc.
More than 70 schools have already completed this training, and due to high demand we’re now putting on more sessions in 2025.
