On 6th October, Blackpool FC Community Trust (BFCCT) hosted our annual anti-discrimination event for schools, in partnership with Show Racism the Red Card, Blackpool FC and the Premier League Primary Stars programme.
The full-day event welcomed approximately 110 children from 11 Blackpool primary, secondary, and SEND schools to Bloomfield Road. The attendees participated in three education workshops in the morning covering themes such as hate crime, racism, and allyship.
Through a combination of engaging activities, group discussions, and self-reflection, the workshops aimed to create a supportive and inclusive learning environment where children could develop the knowledge, skills, and attitudes needed to challenge racism and promote equality and inclusion in their communities. By fostering understanding, and allyship from an early age, the workshops empowered children to become agents of positive change in their schools and beyond.
The tutors used videos and stories to demonstrate scenarios which helped to highlight the importance of challenging preconceptions and welcoming differences. The groups of school ambassadors and school council members took information throughout the day to support them in relaying learning back to their respective schools.
Aims of the workshops:
Hate Crime Workshop
- Help young people prepare to play an active role as citizens in an increasingly multicultural society.
- Enable young people to develop good relationships and respect the differences between people, regardless of their ethnicity, faith, culture or nationality.
Racism
- Educate young people about the causes and consequences of racism.
- Explore the various forms racism can take.
- Empower young people to challenge racism in their communities.
- Provide relevant knowledge and information to enable them to do this.
Allyship
- Understand what allyship means
- Understand why allyship is important
- Describe what allyship means
They then had the opportunity to design a shirt to show the unity and allyship between team, club, and supporters, create an acrostic poem, and design a poster with an allyship or antidiscrimination message. The winning design will have their entry electronically redesigned and professionally printed before being displayed around the Football Club, match day programme, and sent to all local schools to share the message of unity and equality.
The afternoon session began with a Q&A reflection on the morning’s findings. This then moved to a conversation focused on the importance of being an upstander and not a bystander, to help confront discrimination and show solidarity and support for those who are victims.
This led into our special guest Q&A panel with Blackpool FC first team player Ashley Fletcher. The children used this opportunity to share their learning from the day with the player and question them on how they would deal with discrimination or racist abuse, or to share anything he might have experienced throughout his playing career. Being able to learn about his past and experiences he has faced was a real wow moment for the many Blackpool fans in attendance. After the Q&A, Ashley stayed to sign memorabilia, take photos and chat with the children before they headed back to school.
Marc, Head of Early Years and Primary Programmes at BFCCT said,
“Events like Show Racism the Red Card are important today, and unfortunately the topics covered are still relevant. Richard Offiong who delivered part of the programme displayed a real connection with the pupils and you could see that his passion was reflected in the learning taking place. The main reason for hate and discrimination is due to prejudices and uneducated views, and we hope the work put in to deliver this programme has a positive effect on the actions of those attending and their peers.”
“Ashley Fletcher was an excellent guest speaker and really connected with the students. Many thanks to the football club for enabling this to happen.”
