Agenda item - Public Involvement

To consider the following matters raised by members of the public:

(a)     Petitions: to receive any petitions received by due date of 21^st February 2022.

(b)     Written Questions: to receive any questions submitted by the due date of 12 noon on 1^st March 2022.

(c)     Deputations: to receive any deputations submitted by the due date of 12 noon on 1^st March 2022.

68a     Petitions

 

68.1    There were no Petitions.

 

68b     Public Questions 

 

68.2    The Chair confirmed one Public Question had been received from Julia Basnett who was unable to attend the meeting.  Councillor O’Quinn had been asked to present the question to the Committee on Ms Basnett’s behalf.

 

68.3    Councillor O’Quinn read out the question as follows:

 

            In relation to educational interventions that the council recommend, does this Committee agree with me that contested political beliefs should not form the basis of Early Years provision?

 

68.4    The Chair responded as follows:

           

The council makes recommendations to schools and early years providers in line with current legislation. All recommendations around educational interventions are research-based and age appropriate – and schools and early years providers draw their own conclusions and decide which to use.

 

68.5    The Chair invited Councillor O’Quinn to ask a supplementary question.

 

68.6    Councillor O’Quinn asked the following supplementary question:

 

I do indeed refer to the council document, Brighton and Hove Antiracist Education Strategy, and its previous iteration which confirmed that the approach to early years provision is based on the contested belief of Critical Race Theory and its offshoots.  By what democratic process did the council choose Critical Race Theory and decide to hire external providers, Amber and Green, to train early years providers?

 

68.7    The Chair responded as follows:

 

There was a Notice of Motion which came to this Committee jointly via the Green and Labour Groups in June 2020.  This Notice of Motion was voted on by all councillors present.  The Conservative Group abstained.  Following this Notice of Motion, a strategy was presented in November 2020 which was highlighted to councillors as one which would be iterative and reports would come back.  Critical Race Theory is a number of theories being presented to staff in training and I want to be clear that it’s staff and not young people that are being presented with these theories.  I note that some reporting in the press suggested otherwise, however I wish to be clear that it is staff receiving this training and councillors were offered an insight into this training last week. 

 

68.8    The Executive Director Families, Children & Learning, was invited to respond to the question regarding the hire of external providers, Amber and Green.  She responded as follows:

 

            I’m not aware that we have procured any providers for early years but I can take that away and come back to you with an update on this.

 

68c     Deputations

 

68.9    The Chair noted there were two deputations, the first from Ms Bola Anike and the second from Ms Catherine Fisher. Ms Anike was not able to attend and her Deputation was presented by Councillor Brown. 

 

68.10  Councillor Brown read out the Deputation as follows:

I feel the need to write this as a British Nigerian resident of Brighton, as a parent, and - not least - as someone who cares deeply about the UK's liberal education system (a system which, I believe, is the hallmark of any democratic society), I'd like to make the following points to this committee.

You may recall that, on November 4^th last year, I wrote to the CYPS committee about a powerful and unifying primary school KS2 video resource which I feel very strongly about. I sent you a link and I hope you had time to watch the video. Naturally, I understand how hard working you all are but, as yet, I have not heard back from any of you. Perhaps today will be the day! It is my hope that the committee will agree to endorse this resource and formally recommend it to the city's primary schools.

Colourblindness is the approach to anti-racist education that informs the content of this KS2 video. This is a universalist approach rooted in the classic liberal tradition of equality before the law. It is an approach that promotes and emphasizes the content of a person’s character over and above the colour of their skin (or any other immutable trait). A commitment to colourblindness is not a denial that racism exists or that there remains important work to be done to reduce and combat discrimination.

I believe that the 'one race, the human race' message of this video resource chimes with our vibrant city today. It is fitting that voices of children from this city and of experts from our university contributed to the production of this video. Colour blindness is my creed and the creed of many parents not just in our city but across the UK and the world. It unites people across racial religious and ethnic divides.

The tendency to propagate so called 'anti-racist' beliefs that centre racial difference over anti-racist beliefs emphasising common humanity is at odds with the values of many black and minority ethnic parents.

Teaching our children that they must focus on things they cannot control over and above things they can is in my view, a recipe for despair. If our schools propagate what many of us regard as an unbalanced and harmful approach to identity and race, then at the very least in the interest of fairness and equality they must ensure the promotion of liberal alternative approaches as well.

I am aware of other black parents who desperately want this unifying approach to how race and anti-racism are taught by this council.

I will email members with full direct quotes but, respecting confidentiality and the public nature of this Deputation I will paraphrase what one mother of an 8 year old said:

"The best way forward is educating our children about how we are all one. Skin colour is not a detriment! We should respect and love one another the same. Let's celebrate the diversity of our one human race!"

This was from a mother whose child had been called cruel names by a classmate at school - names that picked on the colour of that child's skin. But this mother does NOT believe her child's experience to be an indictment on daily life in our amazing city nor on the country as a whole.

I believe as do many other parents I know that an undue partisan and biased focus on skin colour doesn't help us. Let the message be one of unity - we are all humans together, there is so much we have in common. So together let's make a future defined by what unites us rather than what divides us. Thank you.  

 

68.11  The Chair thanked Ms Anike for her Deputation and responded as follows:

 

Thank you for bringing this video, first developed in 2006, to the attention of councillors. Unlike the training being developed by the council for staff, this is a resource aimed at pupils.

 

Before using with pupils, individual schools should review any potential resources to ensure they are line with the values and ethos of their setting and meet the learning and development needs of pupils and students.

 

As a local authority we can review resources to ensure they support the principles and values of the anti-racist education strategy, and are educationally sound, before signposting them for use in schools.

Whilst this particular resource has its strengths, feedback from educators in schools and local authority advisers means there are elements which as a council we would not endorse. Unfortunately, there are parts of this resource which are not considered to support safe practice.

 

For example it includes a re-enactment of a serious racist incident which could be traumatising to pupils in primary schools.

 

The apparent message in the video that racism is only acts of individual unkindness, does not recognise or explain the lived experience of our black and ethnic minority populations who experience different and worse outcomes to their white counterparts in so many areas of life. 

 

Ultimately it is up to schools what they choose to use as resources for pupils, and I believe this video has already been disseminated in the city, but for these reasons the Council will not be signposting schools to this resource.

 

68.12   The Chair invited Ms Alison Ali to present the second Deputaiton on behalf of Ms Catherine Fisher who was unable to attend.

 

68.13   Ms Ali read out the Deputation as follows:

On behalf of parents and carers from across the city, we want to express our support for the anti-racist education strategy currently under development in our city.  We are proud that Brighton and Hove is taking a lead in this important and long-overdue area.   Recent events, whether racist abuse at the Euros, ongoing allegations of racism in the Met police and the racism many of our children witness while online, while out and about, and indeed whilst at school, all illustrate just how needed it is.

We are disappointed at the attacks being made on the strategy, locally and in the national media many of which do not accurately represent the strategy and seem intended to provoke opposition. We have been sorry to see local Councillors sharing inaccurate articles on social media.  And we are saddened that this scaremongering has meant our schools have received abusive messages.  

Brighton and Hove’s anti-racist education strategy is about creating an education system and a society where everyone feels safe and equal. We understand that it has been developed with people affected by racism and addresses the urgent need to tackle issues that have historically led to inequalities for people of colour. 

We agree with the 80% of teachers recently surveyed in a YouGov poll[1] who think that introducing more culturally diverse, representational topics is equally enriching and vital for white as well as ethnic minority students. It is important that all children have the opportunity to learn about black and ethnic minority achievement, giving them a more accurate and rounded world view.

The same survey revealed that 72% of teachers think the government should do more to support teachers in the teaching of cultural diversity in the curriculum.  So, we are pleased that teachers in Brighton and Hove will be getting more support through the anti-racist education strategy.

Some of the opponents to having this strategy argue for the current “colour-blind approach” in schools that seems to advocate ignoring race and racism, making it somehow taboo to talk about difference or acknowledge the diverse histories and experiences of individuals and groups in society and our schools.  

The criticism from some newspapers, politicians and indeed some parents illustrates exactly why we need to get better at talking about race and racism.  We can’t tackle racism by pretending it doesn’t exist.

All moves toward greater equality meet with resistance. This strategy is no different. We urge you to continue to develop and implement the strategy in order that all our children feel valued at school and in society and, are supported to develop the knowledge, understanding and skills they need to thrive in modern multi-cultural Britain and our interconnected world.

68.14  The Chair thanked Ms Fisher for her Deputation and Ms Ali for presenting it, and responded as follows:

Thank you for such positive feedback. I’m really glad that as a group of parents you welcome the work we are doing. Sadly, this work is ever more necessary.

 

We’re very fortunate to live in a thriving, multi-cultural city with the undoubted benefits that brings.

 

Sadly, we also live in a society where racism exists, and we know our young people suffer racism in educational settings.

 

Our safe and well at school survey in 2021 highlighted that 55% of young people have witnessed racism in school.

 

I spoke to a former teacher last week who described to me as leaving his role due to constant racist incidents, including monkey noises being made in the corridor and in his classroom.

 

I thank you for bringing to our attention too, the surveys that highlight teachers want more support in introducing cultural diversity in the curriculum.

 

I don’t have direct experience of racism because I am a white woman from Essex.

 

But my experience is that I was able to not be aware of the colour of my skin, or where I’m from growing up – while peers who were from other ethnic backgrounds were hyper aware of it.

 

They were made to feel aware of it by the actions of others who behaved differently towards them because of the colour of their skin.

 

This is why educating young people about race, its history and its issues is so important. But to achieve this, everyone, including teachers and education staff, must feel be confident and supported in speaking about it.

 

I agree with you wholeheartedly that we can’t tackle racism by pretending it doesn’t exist.

 

We want education settings where every child can learn and thrive, where everyone feels safe and equal and where we all have a strong sense of identity and belonging.

 

68.15  RESOLVED: That the Committee note the Deputations.