‘The language of equality is being lost to public discourse,’  according to a new report from ROTA  a social policy organisation focused on issues that affect Black, Asian and minority ethnic communities

The report, which is being published as a discussion document, has come out of ROTA’s Shaping the Future seminar series which considered some of the main challenges facing London’s minority ethnic children and young people and their families.  It is shocking to discover how many of the findings in this report echo those in the Swan Report (Education for All) of 1985 – stereotyping in many schools is limiting educational opportunities, and  African-Caribbean pupils are almost four times more likely to be permanently excluded from school than the school population as a whole. Indeed, in some local areas where the seminars were held, this disproportion was even more severe.  Little wonder that a number of Black-led organisations (such as Generating Genius, in the photo) have been set up in an an attempt to redress the balance.

Included in the findings were

• Stop and Search, the most visible manifestation of discriminatory practices within the criminal justice system, persistently and disproportionately affects Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic people
• African-Caribbean boys are at risk of more acute racism, often linked to unfairness and a lack of transparency in behaviour management systems in schools and in the criminal justice system.
• Early, negative labelling of Black and minority students has a damaging effect upon educational progress, but social stereotyping and cultural assumptions about Black pupils can be embedded in schools.
• Because of stereotypical associations with ‘gangs’ or ‘danger’ Black male students often feel criminalised and treated with suspicion, leading to ‘overvisibility’ and unwarranted accusations that may lead to exclusion.

ROTA is keen to receive feedback on the report.

The photograph was taken at an award ceremony organised by Generating Genius, an organisation based at University College London that works alongside a wide range of partner schools and universities, with hundreds of high-achieving children and young people from challenging backgrounds where there has been no tradition of entry to higher education.

Tags: education, Race discrimination, School exclusions, Stop and search