1 in 4 councils pushing schools to teach ‘ biased’ race theories
ONE in four councils is promoting ‘highly contentious’ race theories in schools, a major report warns today.
Town halls are using controversial terms including ‘white privilege’ and ‘unconscious bias’ in teacher training materials, research has found.
One of the packages claims that children as young as three understand differences between people’s backgrounds and tells staff: ‘You can never start talking about race and racism too early.’
Another suggests using a diagram called the ‘white supremacy pyramid’ to teach pupils how bigotry can fuel everything from belittling jokes to mass murder.
Yet many parents do not believe their children should be taught that Britain is structurally racist, while the majority think schools should teach in a non-partisan way, according to polling revealed in the study by Don’t Divide Us (DDU).
Alka Sehgal Cuthbert, chief executive of the campaign group, said: ‘The new anti-racism – which asserts that Britain is a systematically racist society which automatically discriminates against racial minorities – is being legitimised in schools through the reframing of equality policies by councils. This approach suppresses the distinction between facts, opinions, and beliefs and is in direct conflict with the wishes of parents.’
Tony Sewell, who led last year’s landmark government inquiry into racism that was castigated by the Left, added: ‘As I found as chair of the Commission for Ethnic and Racial Disparities, and as this work underlines, it is increasingly apparent that a single, contentious interpretation of anti-racism has taken hold across many of our country’s institutions. Uncovering the ideological drift in schools is of vital importance both for creating a more balanced discussion on race, and for protecting the integrity of education itself.’
DDU began investigating after learning that Brighton & Hove City Council was recommending pupils as young as five be taught that they are either racists or victims.
Researchers wrote to 171 local authorities in England and Wales asking for copies of anti-racism literature from teacher training materials and school curriculums.
Of those that responded to the Freedom of Information requests, DDU classified 18 councils as ‘biased’ (23 per cent), 26 ‘at risk’ (33.3 per cent) and the remaining 34 ‘unbiased’ (43.5 per cent).
The majority of those deemed biased were Labour-controlled.
Portsmouth was branded ‘extremely biased’, with teachers told: ‘Children as young as three recognise race and racial differences.’
However, polling commissioned by DDU suggests that such lessons are opposed by many parents.
A survey of 8,337 adults by YouGov – of whom 1,376 were parents of school-age children – found that 69 per cent believe schools should teach in a non-partisan way, while 38 per cent do not think pupils should be taught that Britain is structurally racist.
‘Uncovering ideological drift’