Blatant racism from school - parent won’t do anything

Why is she lying? What reason would she have to need to come here and make stuff up?

My kid is bi-racial. At infant school they were given yellow paint to do their face for a self-portrait. Orange for their hair and green for their eyes... We weren't impressed. Even less impressed when the same colours were used on a computer.

The school did have a word with the teacher and were highly embarrassed that the teacher has done this. It's unacceptable in this day and age.

Yeah I get what you mean in that it’s not clear cut, but the thing is you don’t need to “prove it” beyond reasonable doubt the way you would in a criminal court of law. What she has experienced is sufficient for a complaint to be made and the teacher to at least be spoken to.

I know from experience that if you are in a workplace for example, and you complain about being confused with another POC by the same person that made a comment about you wearing fake tan it would - or at least could - be taken seriously as it shows a pattern.

I won’t go into details but something vaguely similar happens to me as an adult and I did raise a grievance which was ultimately upheld and the employee was spoken to.

Schools have to log all incidents relating to possible racism that children have said , even if innocent or unintended racism so that teachers comments should be logged too .This is intended to educate and stop it happening again .

I was at school with Twins. One was tall, dark with brown eyes one was short, blond with blue eyes. People still called them by eachothers names

You need a new calendar 📆 😄

That’s so rude I would email headteacher then teaching standards. Her mother probably doesn’t want to make a fuss as she will likely be seem as the difficult paper.
I think even a newspaper article about the fake tan thing is appropriate, ridiculous teacher

I think this is what people are saying though. The mix up thing is not really provable, although because of the fake tan thing I don't doubt the teacher is racist. The teacher is indeed a twat

And the fake ta comment ? Oh come on!! The teachers a twat!

I'm guessing that PP is saying the teacher might have thought that it was a white girl using fake tan?

If that's the case though then fake tan has come a long way since I used it back in my 20s!

Your sister is teaching her DD to take this crao! She is also saying to her DD that she is not and will not advocate for her!
How old is your niece ?

And how many at your daughters school are mixed race girls that use fake tan?

As a mixed race woman myself, one of the joys of being mixed race, is the fact I DON’T need to use fake tan.

The teacher and the fake tan, that’s not on and is racist.

Getting kids names mixed up is not. If I’ve been introduced to two kids Fred and Tom together, I’ll know them as Fred and Tom and always get them mixed up. Nothing to do with race. Teachers have hundreds of names to learn.

OP put your concerns in writing to the school governors.
State the facts of what happened calmly , keep emotions out of it. Ensure your letter is professional ( use AI to help you draft this it really helps with “tone”)
Ask for a response in writing about how institutional racism is being tackled.
Racist incidents have to reported by schools.
Wishing you well x

If the teacher genuinely thought it was fake tan then it’s not racism, is it? The teacher may have just glanced around the classroom and seen what she thought was makeup of sorts. My 13 year old daughter is at an all girls school and the amount of fake tan and other stuff some of the girls use is extreme.

How old is your niece? You can support her in making a formal complaint herself. I submitted a written complaint about a teacher when I was at school and they took it seriously.

The fake tan comment is ridiculous! If it was a genuine mistake, the teacher should have sincerely apologised to your niece.

The mixing up names, im a teacher and i have some students i muddle who look absolutely nothing alike and theres no logical reason for it. The class laugh at it even though im embarrassed and apologise everytime!

You are not the legal guardian of your niece, therefore under data protection the school will only speak to her parents, not you. I am in total agreement that what was said to your niece is disgusting, there is no excuse. Tbh, l am gobsmacked that any offensive language should come out of a teachers mouth, they should know better..

Did we Go "back from the future"??? I thought we were 2026 🤪😘

Are there any diverse schools in the area? Would moving her be an option? At the very least I would really lay into the school to be honest and maybe try and teach them micro aggressions aren’t ok. I wouldn’t say you’re overstepping as her aunt. My children are half Indian. It was so important for me to send them to a diverse school. There were two options, the predominantly white and predominantly Asian school. I went with the latter, I felt they were safer there. It’s also the better performing school thankfully. Yes this shouldn’t be a thing in 2026 but it still is and since I met my partner my eyes have been opened. I can’t change peoples prejudices I can only teach my children where these prejudices stem from and try and protect them. Keep being a good aunt, they are vital to young girls! Good luck, I really hope it all works out for your niece

This brought back memories. I'm 40 this year but I remember being 11 and starting secondary school and a dinner lady came up to and asked me why I wore fake tan every day. I told her I was mixed race and she said I know someone in your situation. I wasn't upset and found her stupidity rather amusing. I don't think there was any malice in it. She was just a bit thick.

It doesn’t matter if the teacher mixes other students names up, they’re consistently mixing up the only two mixed race students in the school and not making any effort to correct themselves. Ignorance at that level IS racism.

I don't think you can really complain yourself, but the school ought to have suspended that teacher with a view to sacking them.

Teachers often muddle names up, for me it's never been with any malicious intent, just struggling with so many classes. Xx