A GROUP of friends has pledged to help promote diversity at home and in schools by launching a new T-shirt competition.

Mum-of-two Siane Grazette wants to encourage children to learn more about diversity because she says there is a lack of black history in the national curriculum.

She decided, along with friends, to organise a competition where children can educate themselves and be creative.

Siane, from Upper Stratton, said: “We want to run a competition for the school kids of Swindon and want them to design a T-shirt to show what diversity means to them.

“This will hopefully start conversations with friends and family.

“ It will also bring a sense of school to the kids while they’re still at home waiting for schools to reopen.

“A few of us are involved with the protests which are going on at the moment and I’ve been in schools and there isn’t a lot about diversity.

“I wasn’t even taught about black history when I was in school in Swindon. We weren’t taught about gay and trans either.”

The winners of the competition will get their designs made into T-shirts.

The 39-year-old added: “It needs to start somewhere. A lot of people are very ignorant, due to a lack of education. We just want to do something to help.”

The group first planned to design its own T-shirts and sell them to raise money for books about diversity.

Siane said: “But we thought that if we’ve had the children designing a T-shirt, it’ll start of a whole conversation, with the children asking questions. It is more interactive. The teachers and the parents can also get involved.

“We think at this time, it is really important to have this conversation.”

She added: “Because of the current situation, we don’t know what’s the best time to start this project. We want as many people involved as possible.

“Obviously, children are behind with their education because of Covid-19. So, if we wait until they are back at school, I don’t know if they’ll be able to take part.”

To take part email sianegrazette@yahoo.com.

Hundreds of people in Swindon have signed a petition calling for MPs to change the curriculum to include Britain’s role in colonisation and the transatlantic slave trade.

A campaign group of sixth formers said the Government is denying their generation the tools to “dismantle systemic racism” by not mandating teaching about the empire in schools.

The petition on Parliament’s website, created by Esmie Jikiemi-Pearson, has amassed 234,000 signatures in its first week.