Commenting on the passing of motion 21 at the National Education
Union’s Annual Conference, which is being held virtually, Kevin
Courtney, Joint General Secretary of the National Education
Union, said:
“Throughout 2020 and 2021, racism and the value of Black lives
has been the subject of persistent and painful news stories, and
the Covid pandemic has laid bare the extent of racial
inequalities in all areas of social policy.
“The NEU will work to support members to raise issues of
discrimination in their workplaces without recrimination.
“Race disparities in education are ongoing and can be seen in the
issues around the retention and progression of Black staff, the
increasing incidents of racial harassment and bullying and the
disproportionality in the exclusion of Black students. The NEU
developed an anti-racism charter to address the demand for change
to the unrepresentative and narrow curriculum from parents and
from the profession. (1) The algorithm used in last year's
assessment fiasco, which advantaged children in private schools
and therefore penalised Black and disadvantaged children,
highlighted the NEU’s longstanding concerns about the unfairness
built into current national policy in education. Racism and
racial inequality is often in addition to the social exclusion,
stress and stigma created for Black families from being trapped
in poverty and low paid jobs.
“The racial disparity in student exclusions is a warning the
country can't ignore. The NEU wants to see the number of student
exclusions reduced by giving schools the tools they need –
smaller classes, a flexible and engaging curriculum, and much
more investment for pastoral systems. We must prevent exclusion
by working with the young people at risk of exclusion, in
multi-agency teams across schools, youth groups, and other
services. This multi-agency co-operation and planning has been
much harder because of local authority cuts.
“In June 2020, the NEU wrote to the Government with five demands
to enable all children and young people to benefit from equitable
education systems and a curriculum which teaches British and
global history in representative and inclusive ways. (2) These
proposals remain relevant and urgent. The Department for
Education needs a strategy on making the teaching profession more
representative and on progression and promotion for Black staff.
Previous administrations have made more headway on ethnicity and
progression in the profession, but robust strategies were
dismantled.
"It is a symptom of poverty and racism that the majority of
students in our Pupil Referral Units are working-class and Black
students. We need to look at the causes of racism and poverty and
educate very proactively against the attitudes and economics that
create racial prejudice and racial profiling – especially at a
time when far-right groups are very actively targeting teenagers
online. Young people want to talk about racism, and their
experiences in and out of school, but these opportunities are not
being provided. Anti-racist work is made harder because of the
packed curriculum, which is over-focused on knowledge at the
expenses of skills, social development and developing self-worth.
“This is not the time for patience but for robust action against
racism, including changes to the curriculum in England and
building a more diverse profession. Racism will not be addressed
without positive action and we need to talk openly and candidly
about racism and the social division and harmful stereotyping it
creates for Black workers and for young Black people.”
ENDS
2021-063-NEU
Note to editors:
(1) https://neu.org.uk/anti-racism-charter
(2) https://neu.org.uk/press-release/racism
