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This Black History Month, at the National Children's Bureau we have been reflecting on how organisations can use evidence to move from good intentions to meaningful action on anti-racism.
Improving outcomes for Black children, young people, families and communities requires us to understand the different experiences and barriers that they may face. At the National Children’s Bureau, through conversations, surveys and feedback with colleagues across the organisation, we recognised the value of bringing together evidence, research, and frameworks about Black and Global Majority communities to inform our work.
We researched, developed and created ‘diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) dossiers’ that bring together evidence, policy developments, research findings and practical insights on intersections between race, ethnicity and several key areas, including:
- education
- youth justice
- healthcare
- special educational needs and disabilities (SEND).
They are designed as an accessible starting point to help colleagues to deepen their understanding of key topics and consider implications for their work. However, there is so much more ground to cover, and we plan to grow the collection over time.
Each dossier contains topline statistics, a referenced summary of key research and how it connects to Black and Global Majority communities, and longer reads, to give the research some context. These pieces are more in depth and go all the way from history right through to current day realities, creating a broader way to understand the social, historical and political context surrounding the topic, shedding light on why certain issues are still prevalent today. There is also a bibliography with a full list of sources at the end.
The dossiers do more than present data. They help colleagues understand the wider context behind inequalities and factors that can shape experiences and outcomes for Black and Global Majority children, young people and families today.
These resources are now being used at the planning stage of projects at NCB, helping teams consider equity implications from the beginning rather than retrospectively. They have informed discussions about stakeholder engagement, research design, communications approaches and the questions we ask when developing new work.
One example of this is our contribution to Department for Education Inclusion Bases guidance for schools and local authorities earlier this year. The dossiers strengthened our approach to race, intersectionality and SEND in our project that contributed to the guidance. Stronger subject knowledge enabled us to have conversations with project partners and stakeholders from the very beginning, informed how we designed the approach, the representation in our advisory group, and themes for the literature review. The dossiers helped us become a critical friend with the Department for Education and wider partners in the guidance drafting and review phase.
Evidence alone does not create change, and there is still a long way to go. However, having accessible, evidence-based resources can give colleagues greater confidence to engage with complex findings and issues. Being grounded in research and lived experience can help with asking better questions, challenging assumptions and working towards ensuring that the needs, experiences and voices of Black and Global Majority children and young people are better understood and reflected in the work.
Related reading
- Lessons learned? Investigating the inequalities faced by Black and Global Majority children and young people in need of mental health support
- Understanding identity and race allows us to provide more equitable social care practice
- Disabled children and the Equality Act 2010: What teachers need to know and what schools need to do
- Delivering person-centred care for the UK's culturally diverse communities