Nursery workers have been advised to call police and report young children for 'racist incidents' in hate crime guidance issued to early years providers in Wales.
The taxpayer-funded report on 'creating an anti-racist culture' among toddlers advises staff to call 999 and implement lockdown procedures in an emergency.
Nurseries, playgroup leaders and childminders should call 101 for non-emergencies to discuss the incident with an officer and 'take relevant action', the guidance said.
Childcare workers are also encouraged to 'record all details of the incident' and consider any other 'relevant actions' such as informing their local council.
If the incident is not deemed a hate crime, staff can instead discuss what happened with relevant staff, parents or carers and 'if appropriate - the children involved'.
But if the action is 'met with resistance', workers should consider a 'disciplinary route' after seeking advice from the Cwlwm consortium of childcare providers.
It also advises workers to report an incident as 'adult to child'; 'systemic racism'; 'adult to adult' or 'child to child', and whether it is 'heard', 'reported' or 'observed'.
While police reports would normally be for incidents involving adults, it is thought that those relating to children would mostly be dealt with internally by the provider.
Hate crime guidance has been issued to early years providers in Wales (stock photograph)
The report defines 'anti-racism' as 'the active commitment to identify and challenge racism and discrimination at an individual, institutional and systemic level'.
'Affinity bias' is listed as follows: 'When you unconsciously favour children and adults who look like yourself, dress, talk or are from the same social class as yourself.'
It also defines 'white privilege' as 'inherent advantages possessed by a white person on the basis of their race in a society characterised by racial inequality and injustice'.
The guidance was issued by 'Diversity and Anti-Racist Professional Learning' (Darpl), an educational research organisation based at Cardiff Metropolitan University.
The group receives funding from the Welsh Government and was founded in 2021 as part of its 'Anti-Racist Wales Action Plan' aiming for an 'anti-racist nation' by 2030.
Its guidance has been backed by the Labour-run government, which said in its latest action plan update in November 2024 that Darpl was 'supporting a growing number of practitioners to undertake anti-racist work within their practice'.
Children under ten cannot legally break the law in the UK, meaning they cannot be arrested, charged or given a criminal record. However, if they do break the law, they can be given a local child curfew, a child safety order or can be taken into care.
A Welsh Conservatives spokesperson told the Daily Mail: 'We all oppose racism and bad behaviour, but criminalising three-year-olds is not the answer.
'Wales has the worst educational standards in the UK, with one in five children leaving primary school functionally illiterate.
'Yet Welsh Labour seems more interested in policing nursery toddlers than fixing falling standards and worsening behaviour in our schools. Their priorities are completely wrong.'
But a National Day Nurseries Association spokesperson told the Mail: 'The Welsh Government has set out a national Anti-Racist Wales Action Plan which covers a range of areas across society including education and early years.
'We work with partners to support early childhood play, learning and care in settings to ensure they are able to meet all relevant requirements and national guidance.
'The first five years of a child's life are crucial in their personal, social and emotional development. This is about the environments in which our youngest children are growing up and if racist incidents take place it is important that people know how to address them in a suitable way to protect children's wellbeing.
'The guide aims to cover all eventualities which may include issues between adults in or around a setting, not just the actions of children in nurseries.
'Where school aged childcare is also involved, registered providers can have children up to the age of 12 attending. These children may require different approaches from younger ones.
'Not every racist incident would be classed as a crime and professionals in settings are well prepared to have constructive conversations with children about questions and discussions that may come up at nursery. Age-appropriate interventions are key and will be clear in nurseries policies.'
The Mail has also contacted the Welsh Government and Cardiff Metropolitan University for comment.