Welsh childcare workers have been urged to contact police over suspected racist hate incidents involving children
Childcare workers in Wales have been told to call police on children as young as three if they are suspected of “racist” behavior, according to a new official guidance backed by the Labour government.
The document, produced by Diversity and Anti‑Racist Professional Learning (DARPL), an organization that has received over £1.3 million ($1.7 million) from the Welsh government, advises childcare workers to assess whether a child’s behavior could be deemed a “hate crime” and, if so, to call authorities.
The guidance applies to children aged 12 and under, even though the age of criminal responsibility in Wales is ten. Staff are told to record whether the alleged racism is “child to child,”“adult to child,” or “systemic.” Workers are also encouraged to assess their own “white privilege” and audit toys, books, dolls, posters and even snacks to ensure an “anti‑racist stance is visible.”
The guidance is part of the Welsh government’s wider plan to make Wales an “anti-racist nation” by 2030. Other projects under the initiative have included spending £10,000 ($13,500) to “decolonize” Welsh cakes and museums.
The call to report toddlers for “hate crimes” comes amid growing outrage with the British government’s years-long crackdown on free speech. Critics, including US President Donald Trump and billionaire Elon Musk, have accused Prime Minister Keir Starmer of authoritarian overreach, censorship, and establishing a “police state.”
Last year, the Times reported that some 12,000 Brits were being arrested each year for social media posts deemed to be potentially “offensive” or threatening. This has included a number of high-profile arrests such as of comedy writer Graham Linehan for posting gender-critical tweets last year.
Meanwhile, British authorities have continued to release violent criminals over fears of being labelled racist. In February, a public inquiry revealed that mental health workers had released Valdo Calocane, a violent paranoid schizophrenic, over concerns related to the “over-representation of young black males in detention.” In 2023, Calocane went on to stab three people to death and ran down several pedestrians in a stolen vehicle.
Keir Starmer’s approval rating has plummeted to the second lowest in modern British history, with the gap between disapproval and approval exceeding 50 points. The Labour Party has also been losing voters over its continued failure to combat the flow of illegal boat migrants into the UK, address grooming gangs, and deport migrants who commit serious crimes.
