'My daughter was distressed at school - something needs to change'

A community leader has spoken of the distress felt by her and her daughter amid their own experiences of racist abuse at school in Liverpool. Cllr Mirna Juarez told a packed Liverpool Town Hall how as an eight-year-old she was told to “go back to where I came from” and her own daughter has now faced similar discrimination during her own education.

The revelation came as a new report has outlined how a third of young people in the city do not believe Liverpool’s schools deal with issues of racism well enough. Among black students, the figure increases to 50%.

The startling data came to light as city councillors gathered to discuss how education is being delivered across Liverpool. Cllr Liam Robinson, leader of Liverpool Council, said it was “completely unacceptable” that children did not feel adequately supported.

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Cllr Juarez, independent member for Much Woolton and Hunts Cross, said: “I have had experiences of racism as an eight-year-old immigrant in this country. Going to my junior school on Dovedale Road was at times a concern for me.

“I was often shouted at by other children to go back to where I came from and this taught me to stay away from those with those kinds of beliefs. Now, fast forward 36 years, sadly my daughter also experienced racism in her school in Woolton.

“She experiences name calling, this caused her quite a lot of distress. We believe as a family more can be done.”

Cllr Juarez said some people have a “superficial, surface level perception” of racism owing to the predominantly white make up of the city. She added: “People do not understand the deeper levels of racism and racist name calling and bias or how it can make people of different backgrounds feel.”

A survey led by The University of Oxford in 2023 with more than 15,000 city students found how on average a third of them do not believe that their school deals with issues of racism well. Among students who identify as Black, this figure jumps up to over 50%.

Dr Rachel Boyle, Dean of Education at Leeds Beckett University, works with the local authority on its anti-racism partnership and addressed the Town Hall. She said: "We’re a city built on the heritage of rich diversity and inclusion.

“We have the oldest black community in the country along with Bristol and that’s something the city is incredibly proud of and we see that reflected in the Maritime Museum. We have the oldest Chinese community in Europe and we therefore have a duty for the children and young people who engage with education in this city to see themselves reflected in the curriculum but also reflected in their teaching staff.”

The percentage of Black and Minority Ethnic teachers in the city (2.7%) is lower than England Core Cities average (3.3%) and the national average (3.2%). Responding to Cllr Juarez’ concerns, Cllr Robinson said: “Mirna, I was really sorry to hear about yours and your family’s experiences and I think that really highlights all of the work we’ve got to keep doing on inclusion.

“You have our commitment as an administration that we will all work together on that issue.” On the findings of the University of Oxford report, Cllr Robinson was unequivocal in his reflection.

He said: “It’s completely unacceptable we have a situation where a third of young people say we don’t deal with racism not nearly well enough and the fact that goes up to 50% for those children who identify as black, that’s completely unacceptable. It’s really important when we think about the fact a third of all kids going through schools at the moment identify as non-white British.

“As our city becomes more diverse, we’ve got to make sure our schools become more inclusive.”