Early years providers in Wales have been issued new guidance advising nursery workers to report young children for 'racist incidents' as part of hate crime protocols. The taxpayer-funded report, titled 'creating an anti-racist culture', instructs staff to call 999 and implement lockdown procedures in emergencies involving toddlers.
Guidance Details
Nurseries, playgroup leaders, and childminders are encouraged to call 101 for non-emergencies to discuss incidents with police and 'take relevant action'. Childcare workers must 'record all details of the incident' and consider informing local councils. If an incident is not deemed a hate crime, staff can discuss it with parents or carers and, where appropriate, the children involved. However, if resistance is met, a 'disciplinary route' should be considered after consulting the Cwlwm consortium.
The guidance categorises incidents as 'adult to child', 'systemic racism', 'adult to adult', or 'child to child', and notes whether they are 'heard', 'reported', or 'observed'. While police reports typically involve adults, those concerning children would mostly be handled internally.
Definitions and Backing
The report defines 'anti-racism' as 'the active commitment to identify and challenge racism and discrimination at an individual, institutional and systemic level'. 'Affinity bias' is described as favouring those who look, dress, or talk like oneself, while 'white privilege' refers to 'inherent advantages possessed by a white person on the basis of their race in a society characterised by racial inequality and injustice'.
The guidance was issued by Diversity and Anti-Racist Professional Learning (Darpl), an educational research organisation at Cardiff Metropolitan University. Darpl receives Welsh Government funding and was founded in 2021 as part of the 'Anti-Racist Wales Action Plan', aiming for an 'anti-racist nation' by 2030. The Labour-run government backed the guidance, stating in November 2024 that Darpl supports practitioners in anti-racist work.
Legal Context and Reactions
Children under ten cannot legally break the law in the UK, meaning they cannot be arrested or charged. However, they can receive local child curfews, child safety orders, or be taken into care. A Welsh Conservatives spokesperson criticised the guidance, saying: 'We all oppose racism and bad behaviour, but criminalising three-year-olds is not the answer. Wales has the worst educational standards in the UK, with one in five children leaving primary school functionally illiterate. Yet Welsh Labour seems more interested in policing nursery toddlers than fixing falling standards.'
A National Day Nurseries Association spokesperson defended the guidance: 'The Welsh Government's Anti-Racist Wales Action Plan covers education and early years. The first five years are crucial for personal, social, and emotional development. This guidance ensures people know how to address racist incidents suitably to protect children's wellbeing. It covers all eventualities, including issues between adults. Not every racist incident is a crime, and professionals are prepared for age-appropriate conversations.'
