Blackpool FC Community Trust hosted our annual Anti-Discrimination event in partnership with Show Racism the Red Card, Blackpool FC and the Premier League Primary Stars programme.
On Tuesday 10th October the full day event held at Bloomfield Road, welcomed 110 pupils consisting of Prefects, Head Boys and Girl, Antibullying Ambassadors, Sports Teams and members of School Council, from 14 local schools. The group took part in the three educational workshops in the morning, covering Racism, Hate Crime and Anti-Discrimination in sport, with the aspiration that the pupils would share the messages and learning from the day to their peers in school assembly. The topic content was designed to engage upper key stage 2 and key stage 3 pupils and challenged preconceptions while respecting thought and opinions of the young people.
Aims of the workshops;
Hate Crime Workshop
To help young people prepare to play an active role as citizens in an increasingly multi-cultural society and to enable young people to develop good relationships and respect the differences between people, regardless of their ethnicity, faith, culture or nationality.
Racism
To educate young people about the causes and consequences of racism and to explore the various forms racism can take. Empower young people to challenge racism in the communities in which they live, providing them with relevant knowledge and information to enable them to do this.
Anti-Discrimination
Pupils took part in a group discussion about discrimination in society and sport, with resent high-profile news articles and campaigns shared. The group were then tasked with designing a poster with an antidiscrimination message, with a winning design selected from the days pieces of works provided. The winning designers will have their poster electronically redesigned and professionally printed before being displayed around the Football Club and sent out to all local schools to share the message of unity and equality.
The group then broke for lunch which allowed the children the opportunity to sit on the balcony with their sandwiches, while posing for photos, discussing all things Blackpool FC and watching the Ground staff meticulously cut razor sharp lines into the grass.
The afternoon session started with the Show Racism the Red Card team introducing their special guests and presenting the schools with a group task. Pupils were offered several scenarios based around discrimination and racism that have occurred in schools or in the community. They were asked to find ways to confront, challenge and remove discriminatory behaviour and create a safe environment for their peers. Pupils were joined by Blackpool FC Sports College students who acted as mentors and advisers to ensure fair discussion relevant to the topic. A number schools were then selected to present their ideas to the panel and Show Racism the Red Card team and gain feedback. Some of the ideas presented included delivering antidiscrimination assemblies, inviting different faith groups into school, creating Antidiscrimination Ambassadors, opening dialogue over the internet with partner schools from other countries and being the difference with your actions.
Marc Joseph, Head of Early Years and Primary Programmes said:
The Show Racism the Red Card team have been amazing in delivering a full day of education on what can be sensitive subject to address. To see the team use scenarios to open conversations around discrimination and discuss tools needed to challenge discriminatory behaviour is great. The pupils demonstrated learning throughout the day and some of the ideas shared in the focus groups will not only benefit them, their friends, their school but also their community, which is what these events are all about.
Simon Smith, Primary Physical Education Manager said:
Having 110 pupils attend this event speaks volumes. We all know that discussing racism and discrimination isn’t easy, but the representatives from the school showed maturity, compassion and respect to each other’s opinions. Its fantastic to know these pupils are going back to school to share their knowledge with their classmates because it means the conversations doesn’t end when the children leave the stadium.
A teacher from Roseacre Primary Academy
The children engaged well in all the sessions, and spoke about the event on the journey home. They contributed to the discussions and really thought hard about the final breakout and how to share the messages of the day to the rest of school. Â The content was very well put together and presented well in an informative and inclusive way. Â The plan is to put together an assembly based on what the children learnt at the SRTRC event. This will take place after half term. Roseacre always welcomes the support of the Trust and working will alongside you.
Black History Month
As part of this year’s Black History Month in October we hosted our annual Show Racism the Red Card Event for Blackpool primary schools.
The event was a huge success, with lots of learning taking place throughout the three educational workshops. During one of the workshops pupils were asked to work in small groups to create an eye-catching poster to advise people what they should do should they witness any type of discrimination. Of the 50 entries provided we selected one winning piece of work that was shared with our Community Trust media team and transformed into a professional poster that will be displayed around the stadium and send out to all primary and secondary schools.
Congratulations to Charlie, Ayden and Oliver from Stanley Primary School on creating the winning poster. The boys were fortunate to have their winning design presented to them, along with a BFC goody bag, by Blackpool FC first team players Marvin Ekpiteta and CJ Hamilton in front of their peers in a special assembly organised by the school.
