Government backs M.E.N. campaign
THE government has officially backed the M.E.N’s #WeStandTogether campaign bid to get peace studies taught in all schools across the region.
Education Secretary Justine Greening has thrown her weight behind the ‘fantastic’ campaign less than a week after it launched.
The #WeStandTogether campaign aims to build on the huge community strength displayed in the wake of May’s Arena attack, including by teaching children about conflict resolution and tolerance.
Speaking at Conservative conference, Ms Greening – a London MP – said terrorists ‘will never win’ and described Manchester as an ‘amazing’ city.
“I’m really supportive of children in Manchester learning about why it’s so important to tackle hate crime and all of those things that happen in communities that divide them,” she said.
“I’m an MP in another city that’s seen more than it’s fair share of terrorism over the years and I was also involved – obviously leading the Department for Education – working with a lot of the schools that had a lot of children affected by the terrible evening that those kids went through.
“So I think it’s a fantastic initiative. And I think it shows these terrorists that they’ll never win because Manchester is an amazing city and is bouncing back from this atrocity stronger.”
Part of the M.E.N’s campaign seeks to get peace studies on the syllabus of all schools across the region, in conjunction with the Peace Centre in Warrington.
It also has the backing of Greater Manchester Police and the region’s mayor Andy Burnham.
While acknowledging schools have a lot of independence over what they teach, the education secretary urged all headteachers to get on board. “We’re very encouraging of schools to do this,” she said. “Obviously they are autonomous, but all of the teachers I’ve met understand why this is so important and I’ve no doubt that schools in Manchester will want to be involved in this initiative – and actually will probably want to work together to learn from one another what really works in different schools, so they can make the most of the time they’re going to spend with children.” Turn to Pages 22&23 for more on the #WeStandTogether campaign