Racial and Cultural Awareness in Education on the Isle of Man

For stakeholder views with a view to updating the school curriculum in light of representations from the minorities community and others. We were keen to hear the views of the wider IOM public with regards to how matters of race are addressed within the School curricula. The responses would help to shape our work in this area with schools and wider agencies, as directed by COMIN in July 2020.

No of Responses: 609

Of those responses 43.8% were parents/carers, 39.6% were pupils, and 16.6% were other interested parties

• 71% of respondents said the correct age that should children begin to learn about racial awareness/discrimination, and the lives of ethnic minority peoples was either between 4 – 7 years old or that they should learn about these issues at all ages.
• 65% of respondents said they had personally witnessed or experienced racism on the Isle of Man sometimes, fairly regularly or regularly.
• When asked whether they believed the Island's population welcomes racial diversity and acceptance of other beliefs/cultures, 33% of respondents agreed and 43% disagreed.
• In response to the question ‘In your opinion, should the Island adapt its school curriculum guidance with regards to ethnic minority people, their history, culture and customs?’ 63.5% respondents said we should. Only 10.6% said no.
• When asked to respond to the statement - My learning experience of ethnic minority people and their history/culture in school is limited. 59% of respondents agreed and only 10% disagreed
• When asked how important is to see minorities speakers/visitors come into schools and contribute to wider learning experiences, 62% of respondents felt this was very important or extremely important.
• There were many detailed suggestions submitted to the question How could the Island's Education Service go about enhancing understanding of ethnic minorities people and their history, culture and customs?

‘Enhancing education in respect of race, culture and ethnicity on the Isle of Man’ is an agreed DESC priority, with a terms of reference and project charter.

The Ethnic Minority Peoples Curriculum working group meets formally once a month, with the following workstreams

• Consideration of the responses and suggestions for enhancing the curriculum in respect of race culture and ethnicity on the Island
• Promoting and supporting the work of POC IOM with schools and the community
• Collecting and co-constructing curriculum ideas for different key phases of education
• Creating and sharing opportunities for school engagement in these areas with Manx National Heritage, the One World Centre and Culture Vannin.

The EMPC group now have a draft set of curriculum resources for all phases of education. This has been created in partnership with Manx based agencies and with the collaboration of Hackney Borough Council.

The group includes representation from the Education Service (DESC and School teachers), People of Colour (POC) IOM, the Hardy Commission, Manx National Heritage, the One World Centre and Culture Vannin.