Birmingham Metropolitan College’s Anti-Racist Journey
February 04, 2026Posted by:
Becoming an anti-racist college has guided a 5-year process of structural, cultural and strategic transformation at BMet. Led by Principal Pat Carvalho and Deputy Principal Anna Jackson, BMet is now recognised as an anti-racist college and an Ambassador-level organisation within the Social Recruitment Advocacy Group (SRAG), among its many other awards. Their social value impact is measurable and embedded in all that they do. We're sharing their journey in support of Race Equality Week in the UK.
What Does It Mean to Be Anti-Racist?
Anti-racist refers to the active process of identifying, challenging, and changing the values, structures, policies, and behaviors that perpetuate systemic racism and racial inequity.
Unlike being “not racist,” which is passive and focused on personal belief, being anti-racist is a deliberate commitment to action - to create conditions that advance racial equity in both outcomes and experiences.
BMet's mission reflects their communities. 70% of the student population come from black and ethnic minority groups, in the youngest major city in Europe - at the 2021 census, nearly 40% of its residents were under the age of 25. Their local authority catchment includes several wards with some of the highest levels of multiple deprivation.
To succeed, the college committed to serving as more than an education provider - it would become an anchor institution, acting as a catalyst for the creation of social and economic impact in the north of the city and beyond.
Supported early by the Black Further Education Leadership Group and its 10-Point Plan, BMet College began to interrogate how institutional practices - from curriculum to recruitment - might unintentionally replicate racial inequity. The result has been a whole-college transformation:
- A full review and redesign of the curriculum, co-created with students, teaching staff and employers.
- Inclusive recruitment policies supported by training, data analysis, and a complete reworking of hiring practices.
- A move away from performance management as reward and compliance measurement, towards a "professional journal" model focused on development.
- The creation of new college values - Belonging, Motivation, Empowerment, Thrive - shaped and lived by staff and students.
- Student Voice surveys have achieved response rates of over 1,300 participants - among the highest nationally for racial justice engagement.
- Investment in trauma-informed teaching, student voice groups, and the Student Commission for Racial Justice.
- Enhanced ability to attract students, partners and crucially, funding.
Anna Jackson describes the turning point: “We realised that when you stop constantly having to push initiatives, and instead see those values show up in business plans, learning walks, curriculum materials - that’s when it’s embedded. That’s when it becomes who you are.”
The shift from initiative to identity is what makes BMet College’s work relevant far beyond further education. Their leadership model is now drawing the attention of organisations across sectors. At Social Recruitment Advocacy Group Summits, Birmingham Metropolitan College's inclusive recruitment redesign, aligned with their anti-racist college goal setting, has drawn the attention of business leaders assessing practical action in their own hiring and culture-building.
When an organisation is intentionally, actively deconstructed and rebuilt around equity, transparency, and belonging, everyone can lead - which resonates deeply with the theme of this year's Race Equality Week, #ChangeNeedsAllOfUs.
As the only college to date to hold a Social Recruitment Advocacy Group Ambassador Charter Mark, and with national leadership roles across the Association of Colleges (AoC), West Midlands Combined Authority, and Birmingham Race Impact Group (BRIG), Pat Carvalho and her team aren’t just participating in the national conversation about race equality - they are shaping it.
Birmingham Metropolitan College’s journey can challenge us all to think differently. This is what is possible when anti-racism is treated as an identity. What does that mean for other institutions - in education, in business, in public life? And what becomes possible when leadership isn’t concentrated, but distributed through a culture of inclusion?
As Race Equality Week invites us to come together to create change, Birmingham Metropolitan College, its leadership and students, remind us that building an anti-racist future is not about an initiative - it's about the willingness to admit what's wrong, take informed action, and never stop learning from each other.
February 04, 2026Posted by:
