Some 300 school staff have completed the Racial Literacy 101 training so far, which endorses critical race theory and white privilege – radical ideologies which have been heavily rebuked for pitting races against one another.

Materials obtained by this newspaper showed teachers are told that “between the ages of three and five, children learn to attach value to skin colour; white at the top of the hierarchy and black at the bottom”.

The Green-led council’s strategy condemned “the widespread view” that young children are “racially innocent”, claiming there is “ample evidence” to the contrary.

The training ‘teaches our kids they are racist’

Brighton is the first British authority to roll out such training, despite protests from parents. 

One parent launched a petition with Don’t Divide Us, a campaign group, which said that the training “teaches our kids they are racist”. The petition attracted 4,500 signatures. 

Two dozen parliamentarians last week asked the EHRC to investigate and provide advice on the council’s legal liability under the 2010 Equality Act and the public sector equality duty, which requires taxpayer-funded bodies to foster good relations between people of different races.

An EHRC spokesman said: “We will consider this letter and respond in due course.”

It comes as Hannah Clare, the deputy leader of Brighton Council overseeing the race strategy, last week claimed on Twitter that “the EHRC is not fit for purpose (and perhaps strategically been made this way)”. 

She was addressing reports that the watchdog met with campaigners who fear transgender activists are eroding the concept of binary biological sex and women’s rights.

‘Extremist dogma’

The 24 MPs and Lords from the common sense group – which includes four members of the Government – also wrote to Mr Zahawi demanding a “crackdown on bad-faith councils funding such sinister programmes”, warning Brighton’s training is “extremist dogma… peddling such cruel myths [which] stymy the life-chances of young children”.

In the wake of the revelations, the group called on the Education Secretary to issue urgent instructions to all local authorities reminding them of their statutory duties. Ministers are set to issue updated guidance on impartiality to schools shortly.

They accused the council of “directly breaching” sections 406 and 407 of the 1996 Education Act, which outlaws the promotion of partisan political views in school teaching and requires a balanced presentation of opposing views to pupils.

“Teacher training of this kind is theoretically nonsensical and practically harmful, and will undoubtedly have a harmful impact on children,” the MPs wrote, led by the former education minister Sir John Hayes.

‘Covert white supremacy’

The programme, sparked by George Floyd’s death, has an annual budget of £100,000 and involves race consultants. Teachers are shown a pyramid diagram containing acts that constitute “covert white supremacy”, including denying the existence of white privilege.

Teachers are also told pupils should not be taught that “race doesn’t mean anything and everyone can work hard and be successful”. They are also given a reading list, including “a 28-day journey for understanding white privilege” and talks by Robin DiAngelo, the American whiteness theorist, on white privilege and white fragility.

Despite a fierce backlash from parents, the authority says “racial literacy training is required for all staff” in schools, and that “key stages two, three and four pupils additionally need specific racial literacy-focused lessons”, ranging from seven to 16-year-olds.

‘Realistic danger this could top over into harassment’

Bryn Harris, the chief legal counsel at the Free Speech Union, said that aside from the training materials being “really quite far off” balanced, “there’s a realistic danger that this could tip over into harassment of individual pupils” – in turn potentially infringing the Equality Act.

“It’s the fact they’re being browbeaten and told how awful they are which is likely to have an impact on [white] students,” he said. “Certainly we’re seeing parents saying their kids are exhausted, defeated, depressed [over activist teaching on racism].”

It comes as the council was this week forced into a climbdown by releasing certain PowerPoint slides from the sessions after a months-long battle with parents and councillors who accused it of secrecy.

A Brighton and Hove City Council spokesman said: “We are proud of our pledge and work to be an anti-racist city and to support school staff to make education settings fairer in line with both government guidance and the law.”

The council added that the training was optional for schools and that it “will respond fully to any enquiries from the EHRC”.