Blatant racism from school - parent won’t do anything

That's awful. I don't see why the mum doesn't have an issue with it?

I think you should speak to niece again and with her consent, pretty much urge the mum to say something. And that niece deserves to be supported against racism.

My DD went to a very mixed school. She’s white with blond hair. One of her teachers always used to get her mixed up with another white, blond haired girl. It happens, stop looking for an opportunity to be offended.

I think it’s dishonest to pretend that we are equally good at recognising the differences between people in all ethnic groups. It doesn’t mean you have a negative belief about that group. It could just mean you’ve had less exposure to them. It’s natural in humans to use mental shortcuts to identify people, like red hair, dark skin, height whatever. My son is half Chinese and in his last class was constantly mixed up with a same-height Caucasian boy with black hair. I don’t think it’s helpful to condemn people who make honest mistakes and I honestly think drawing too much attention to this minor stuff actually creates a bullying, snitching culture that’s really harmful.

the getting names mixed dup thing.....meh

the fake tan thing is outrageous

I used to get mixed up at school with someone who looked like me, very vaguely. It wasn’t racism.

I would definitely raise the fake tan accusation. The teacher sounds dreadful.

I am not so sure about the name mix up - my son looks slightly East Asian, and was friends with a boy from the Philippines. One teacher constantly got their names mixed up. I have no idea why, but I am not sure whether making a complaint would have helped. If a teacher is too lazy to remember a kid's name then highlighting it will go over their heads

This is absolutely vile, especially the "fake tan" part! People are so quick to downplay this sort of thing - for some odd reason, teachers are seen as being "above" racism, as though the qualification process magically filters out racist views. Unfortunately, I don't think you can realistically go over your sister's head and complain. You'll just have to support your niece.

May I ask how old this teacher is ?

My mum is a person of colour and I moved to a very small school in year 5 of primary school (I'm now mid 30's)

My teacher was awful to me, The humiliation she put me through.

Unfortunately I think you can't take any action with school, it would be a massive overstep. You can support your niece though, such as giving her a space to discuss how she feels and how she wants to deal with it, and perhaps challenge her parents about their approach. You can advocate for her in other ways too.

Both incidents are unacceptable. For those saying mixing up names/children is not a problem you need to take into account that this is a racist trope unconcious, lazy, careless or not and reinforces the idea that all black or asian "look the same" which is dehumanising, and that this teacher is seeing colour before she sees them as people or indviduals. There are only two girls who are mixed race in the school - you make damn sure you know which is which. This may happen with two blonde boys, but it happens disproportionately often with people of colour and it is disingenuous to try and deny that.

I am so sorry this happened to her, being mixed has it's own very specific complexeties about how you feel about where you do and don't fit, who and what you are.

Sorry, i misunderstood. Yes mixing up the names of the only two mixed race kids is bad.

You are not being unreasonable but ultimately it is your sister's call

Do I understand correctly that Jenny is the other non-white child?

So the teacher recognises the skin colour enough to mix the names, but not enough to not assume fake tan?

Definitely a reason to complain.

However, I don't see how to phrase the issue with mixing names of the two non-white children mentioning the ism.

I agree with you, OP. But you’re not the parent and it’s not your issue to raise.

Regardless of the girls’ races, they’d still have some valid grounds to complain about a teacher who repeatedly mixes them up. Their teacher is supposed to be teaching them according to their individual educational needs and learning styles, she can’t do this if she can’t tell whether the girl in front of her is Sarah or Jenny. You’ve also said your niece feels the teacher is often “an arse” to her - which is itself unacceptable, but also raises the question of whether the teacher is disciplining Sarah harshly because she has mistaken her for Jenny who has already been given a warning for X behaviour. If that’s the case, that’s unfair treatment. If your sister isn’t willing to see this as a racism issue, maybe she’d be willing to see it as disruption to her DD’s learning which is her concern.

Recently had lunch with Gf who happens to be mixed race. A young waitress asked her where she'd been on holiday. GF replied she hadn't been. young waitress then asked if she'd had a sun bed as her colour was lovely. I kid you not. The young waitress was totally oblivious. Yes it's 2026

This is appalling. Unless a fulsome apology was made re the comments about skin tone, yes the SLT should be hearing about this.

Regarding the name issue, there might be an explanation. Some people can have a real issue with names, and some with faces. I am like that, I’m known for it. However this wouldn’t be restricted to just the only pupils in school from an ethnic minority. IF (and it’s a big ‘if’) this teacher is known for having an issue with names, then fair enough. Otherwise it should be addressed.

If it were my kid I’d be on the warpath. Even if it didn’t achieve much within the school, at least the child would see their feelings being taken seriously and appropriate action being tried.

It’s 2026 no

Yes, you would be very, very wrong. You may be very close to your niece but not as close as her mother is, and you don’t have Parental Responsibility. Whether or not a complaint is made is up to her parents, not you. Mind your own business.

Your sister is the issue here. She is raising a bi-racial child and she needs to do better at understanding her needs, and advocating for her. Racism, when your child has mixed heritage, is not something that you get to ignore or step away from because it isn't affecting you directly. Perhaps she doesn't understand what it's like to be on the receiving end, but she has a duty to educate herself and to protect her child - right now she's letting her down.

This.

I don't think you can make a complaint as the aunt if your sister refuses to (although she should). Supporting your niece to make a complaint makes sense though.

I take it your sister is White and it's your niece's dad who isn't?
Can you enlist dad's relatives (maybe MIL if she gets on well with your sister).
Useless to say this I know but this is why we looked at the ethnic composition of all schools before choosing them for our DD who is mixed (adopted).

She is mixing up two mixed race children.
OP you not being unreasonable to be angry, the teacher is behaving in a racist way.
Sadly I don't think you can do anything if her parents refuse to.
Is your niece able to put her own complaint in? Although I understand that would be difficult and could make life harder for her so I can understand if she didn't feel.able to

I would rather sit on my hands rather than call out every typo I see.

How old is Sarah?
What does Sarah feel about being accused of wearing fake tan ?