Hardeep Kaur has been recognized by her colleagues for heightening racial awareness and inclusion at her school.
The General Teaching Council for Scotland (GTC Scotland) awarded the Portobello High School biology teacher with the 2023 Saroj Lal Award for a Pioneering Spirit in Equality and Diversity.
Among the many contributions to school culture, she wrote and delivered staff training with a focus on microaggressions and the importance of pronouncing the names of black and minority ethnic (BAME) learners correctly.
She also supported her students in a campaign to create a safe, anonymous way to report racist incidents.
Their "Standing Together" campaign involved placing posters around the school with QR codes. These codes allow students to discreetly report racist incidents as they happen.
She then helped her school to establish guidance on how to handle racist incidents.
Rather than creating a culture of punishment, her guidance focused on educating the community and repairing relationships.
Hardeep said that she had long resisted being seen as a token person of colour in her workplace. But a racist incident in 2019 motivated her to take a more active role for the benefit of her students and colleagues.
