Carmarthen school 'should clamp down on pupil's racist website'

Carmarthenshire council has been criticised for distancing itself from an extreme right-wing website created by a county borough schoolboy.

A 16-year-old GCSE pupil at Queen Elizabeth High School in Carmarthen has been identified as the creator of The Carmarthenshire Front website, which calls for the closure of all mosques and warns of a threat against white men.

Campaigners for racial equality and members of a leading teaching union say the local authority should be working to educate youngsters in order to eradicate racial prejudice. The call comes after both the council and school declined to take action against the pupil.

Rex Phillips, from teaching union NASUWT Wales, said: "Although the school has correctly and swiftly dissociated itself from this racist website, the Carmarthenshire authority is wrong to claim that this is not a school matter. Such complacency is wholly unacceptable."

The website features videos of BNP leader Nick Griffin talking about the "Islamification" of Europe, and describes the dangers facing the "white man" from a "tsunami of immigration".

A member of the senior leadership team at Queen Elizabeth High School said: "We have got no control over what an individual writes in their spare time. We completely and totally dissociate ourselves from anything of this nature."

Meanwhile, a statement from the council added: "Queen Elizabeth High School completely disassociates itself from this website and its contents. This is not a school matter."

However, Taha Idris, director of Swansea Bay Racial Equality Council, said: "Protesters like the Welsh Defence League may influence young, impressionable people so it is vital that we educate our youths."

Chris Keates, General Secretary of NASUWT added: "There is still much more to be done to protect young people from having their attitudes poisoned in this way. Families, schools, communities and government all have a responsibility to combat and challenge these unacceptable views. It is not acceptable for either the school or local authority to claim to have no responsibility in this matter."

However Carmarthenshire Council has defended its stance. Head of improvement and skills Wyn Williams said: "The county council is very active in working with schools and instilling core values and beliefs in our children and young people. Our Children and Young People's Plan promotes a number of key values and beliefs, which are taught in our schools. It clearly states that children and young people should appreciate and respect their own and others' beliefs and attitudes."

This is South Wales

'Decision on BNP member may have sealed the fate of the GTCE' says NASUWT

Commenting on the announcement by Michael Gove, Secretary of State for Education, that the General Teaching Council for England (GTCE) is to be abolished, Chris Keates, General Secretary of the NASUWT, the largest teachers' union, said:

"I have absolutely no doubt that the Secretary of State's decision will be warmly welcomed by teachers across the country. I have frequently said that if the GTCE was abolished tomorrow few would notice and even less would care.

"For years, the NASUWT has been warning the GTCE that it was failing to gain the respect and confidence of the profession or to act appropriately in the public interests. Too much time, energy and resource has been frittered away on pursuing projects and issues which duplicated the work of other bodies and did little or nothing to enhance the status of the profession.

"The GTCE's recently revised Code of Conduct and Practice was largely unworkable. Over 30,000 teachers signed the NASUWT petition for its withdrawal. The NASUWT consistently urged the GTCE to focus on its regulatory function but recently even its ability to exercise that responsibly was thrown into question by its decision not to sanction British National Party (BNP) member, Adam Walker, for racist activity. This may well have sealed its fate.

"At the NASUWT Conference in April this year there was unanimous support for a motion calling for the abolition of the GTCE. The Government appears to be abolishing the body, not its statutory functions. Urgent discussions, therefore, are now needed about how these functions will be discharged properly in future.

"Decisions about a teacher's future career as a result of a disciplinary or competence sanction imposed by employers cannot and must not be left to the determination of individual schools. A robust, clear, fair and transparent procedure is needed."

politics.co.uk

I don't know whats worse - a paedo or a BNP teacher

Tory leader David Cameron's pledge to change the law should he become Prime Minister to ensure that members of the racist British National Party are unable to become teachers, is a vote winner for black parents like myself. The surprise, as the head of the teacher's union the NASUWT told me the other day, is that it was a Tory leader and not a Labour prime minister who took the stand.

It wasn't that hard getting Cameron's vow. All I did was ask him whether he would allow any of his children to be taught by school staff who not only negated their existence, but denied their rights to citizenship. Responding to my question at his 'meet the black folk' hustings in south London recently, the Tory leader took a few moments of rhetoric before realising that he had to make that promise there and then because gathered around him were the great and the good of the black middle-classes.

The black middle-classes are the very people he needs to attract to beat Prime Minister Brown at the polls. And for the middle-classes the issue of who your children are taught by, is of paramount importance.

BNP members are banned from joining the police force, the military and the prison service. The idea that they would be acceptable in schools suggests that we protect prisoner's rights against racists better than we protect school children. All children, white or non-white, need to be protected from racists - in the just the same as they are protected from paedophiles. And I don’t know which is worst a BNP or a paedophile teacher.

Labour don't get it. They don't get why a black parent would take such an extreme view. They don't understand that when you make sacrifices for your children's education that it is demoralising to hear the Labour Education Secretary Ed Balls, capitulate to the recommendation by a former chief inspector of schools that it is okay for the BNP to be teachers. That has lost Labour mine and other black votes. Which black parent is going to vote for a political party which says we'll let racists teach your kids?

Mr Balls, would you allow your children to be taught by someone who negates their very existence and denies their rights to citizenship? We need to know before May 6. And after that we need to make sure that Cameron doesn't back down from his promise if he is the incumbent at 10 Downing Street.

VOICE Online

Campaign to ban BNP from teaching coming to Carlisle

A national campaign to get BNP members banned from working as teachers comes to Carlisle next week

The NASUWT, the largest teachers’ union in the UK which has more than 2,000 members in Cumbria, is joining forces with Carlisle Against Racism to host an open meeting on Wednesday evening. The union’s number two deputy general secretary, Jerry Bartlett, is travelling to Carlisle to be one of two speakers.

The free event is taking place at the University of Cumbria’s Fusehill Street campus from 7pm. Wednesday’s event comes less than two months after Education Secretary Ed Balls ordered a review into the rules against racism in schools. He wants recommendations from the study to determine whether there are suitable safeguards in place “to maintain trust in the teaching profession”.

David Cornwall, national officer for NASUWT and national executive member for Cumbria, said: “It is essential that we keep race hate out of our schools and colleges. We welcome the opportunity to work with Carlisle Against Racism, an organisation that is successfully building a movement to combat racism in the city and surrounding areas.

“We hope that teachers from local schools, students from the university and anyone who opposes racism will come to our event.”

NASUWT general secretary Chris Keates said: “The NASUWT is campaigning vigorously for the teachers’ contract to be amended in line with those of the police, armed forces and prison service to prevent BNP members from working as teachers. We are equally strongly pressing for BNP members to be banned from serving on governing bodies.

“The NASUWT is appealing to all local authorities, governing bodies and the organisations that represent and support them to review their compliance with the provisions of the Race Relations Act 1976.”

The Cumberland News

Balls to investigate BNP presence in schools

There will be an investigation into the extent of BNP involvement in schools, children's secretary Ed Balls told the Labour conference this afternoon.

"I am today asking the former chief inspector of schools, Maurice Smith, to examine the evidence and make recommendations," he told delegates in Brighton. "I want us to be confident that we have all the powers we need to keep racism and BNP activity out of our schools."

The comments open the door to a ban on BNP members working in teaching or sitting on educational boards. That's a policy which teachers' union NASUWT has been recommending for some time now, but with little effect.

Activists have been pointing out that BNP members should be under the same regulations as the police – who ban BNP members from serving – because of the because of the power they have over children.

Talking to politics.co.uk later Mr Balls said he expected the report to be in by the end of the year.

"I'm not going to jump to conclusions," he said. "But I will do whatever it takes."

politics.co.uk

Teachers union 'terrified' of BNP

The National Association of Schoolmasters/Union of Women Teachers (NASUWT) is terrified by the current attempts by the British National Party (BNP) to infiltrate the governing bodies of schools in multi-ethnic communities, its deputy general secretary, Gerry Bartlett, has said.

Mr Bartlett told delegates at this year's Lib Dem conference that the NASUWT remained implacably opposed to the BNP as well as other extremist parties. But he revealed a genuine fear that the BNP has been trying to "secure positions on the governing bodies of schools that serve multi-ethnic communities".

The teacher's union has been campaigning for four years for an amendment to the teachers' contract to prevent those who are members of the BNP and other far-right organisations from being employed as teachers. The proposed contractual change for teachers would mean that membership of a political party such as the BNP would prevent a qualified teacher from being able to take up a post in a school. The NASUWT believes this would bring the teaching profession in line with the prison service and the police force and ensure children and young people are protected from exposure to the views of far right organisations.

In a recent blog post on the Guardian's Chris Keates, general secretary of the NASUWT, said " If racists and fascists have no place in these institutions [the prisons service and police force] then they have no place in schools or indeed any other public service".

Such a change to the conditions of employment for teachers, she argued, would "prevent the role of the teacher from being used as a cloak of respectability for those who engage in such activities".

At last night's fringe meeting Mr Barlett expressed dismay at the lack of support for the union's campaign and proposals.

"We equally don't understand why there isn't greater support for our call to British National party members from being banned from teaching just as they are banned from employment in the prison service and the police force," he added.

inthenews.co.uk

BNP face school run ban

Members of the British National Party (BNP) could be banned from joining school governing bodies after a teachers' union vowed to fight for a change in the law.

Last Wednesday, the National Association of Schoolmasters' Union of Woman Teachers (NASUWT) announced it will seek a judicial review to stop BNP councillors being allowed onto school governing boards. The decision follows news that an unnamed primary school is holding an election this term that could see a BNP councillor become vice-chair of its governing body.

A Kent spokesperson for the union said: "The BNP is a racist and fascist organisation which incites hatred, opposes equality and divides communities. The NASUWT believes that the views of the BNP are incompatible with the ethos of public service and does not believe that the BNP's cynical use of the democratic processes of national and local government should be considered as legitimising their vile agenda."

The union, which represents nearly 250,000 teachers nationwide, has long campaigned for BNP members to be prohibited from working as teachers and is now extending that to include governors.

Kathy Duggan, NASUWT representative for Bromley, Bexley and Greenwich, said: "It's morally reprehensible, politically insane and educationally foolhardy to allow members of the BNP on school governing boards. The BNP openly say that they don't want black people or people who are not indigenous to this country - basically anyone who is not white - to have any part at all in public life. They are despicable. Governors are supposed to represent the whole community. How a BNP member could do that with those sorts of views, I do not know."

John Oakes, head of Dartford Grammar School for Boys, in West Hill, said he agreed entirely with NASUWT's position. He said: "The school would not support, and would be reluctant to tolerate, any member of the school community, including the governing body, who displays bigotry or prejudice. The ethos of the school, full endorsed by the whole school community, is one of internationalism and respect, attaching great value to diversity and differences."

In a statement, NASUWT say that the appointment of a BNP councillor to a governing board would conflict with Section 71 of the Race Relations Act 1976. The Act states that public bodies, including governing bodies, must eliminate 'unlawful racial discrimination and promote equality of opportunity and good relations between persons of different racial groups'.

Brian Chadwick, North Kent secretary for the National Union of Teachers (NUT), said: "Although we are not taking any action, the NUT takes a similar view to NASUWT. I don't need to spell out why we would not condone a BNP member joining a school governing body. They have as much right to expression as anybody, but that does not mean that they should be given a platform for their fundamentally racist views."

Former BNP member Mr Coleman, from Wilmington, who preferred not to disclose his first name, said: "The BNP is a totally legal political party. I don't see why any member of the party should be banned from doing any job. Members of any political party know that they have to leave politics at the door and get on with the job in hand."

The 25-year-old added: "And anyway, I'm not a racist."

John Stuart, of The Glen in Bromley, said: "The BNP is a democratic party like any other and we are supposed to have freedom of speech in this country so I think this is outrageous.

Gravesend Reporter

BNP beg: Show us how to kill

The BNP has tried to hire a martial arts expert to train its members in deadly close combat fighting

The far-right party approached former US Navy Seal Tim Larkin to teach “ultimate violence” – including how to kill with a single punch. Larkin – who uses the slogan “Fight to kill, fight to survive” – spurned the offer after learning of the BNP’s racist politics.

Anti-fascist campaigners Searchlight have blasted the party’s approach. A spokesman said: “The BNP claim to be a legitimate political party but what legitimate political organisation requires the services of a man who can kill with one punch? This shows the BNP’s policies of division and hate are as strong as ever.”

Larkin, who has been touring Britain this month, said: “While multiculturalism and uncontrolled immigration has indeed changed the nature of street crime in the UK to now involve more sharp-edged weapons, my training is for everyone. All Britons need it.”

His spokesman added: “Tim didn’t think private training with the BNP was appropriate considering their politics. He doesn’t want to be seen in that light. BNP members are welcome individually but not as an organisation.”

In another blow for the BNP, the Trade Union Congress in Liverpool yesterday called for a ban on its members working in schools, hospitals and other public services. BNP members are already banned from the police and Prison Service.

Julian Chapman, president of teachers’ union NASUWT said: “The policies of the BNP run completely counter to the values and ethos of public services which are about tolerance, inclusion, social justice and community cohesion.”

Nick Kusak, of the Professional Footballers’ Association, added: “We cannot allow the extremists and the right to seize the initiative and take us back to the Dark Ages.”

Star

BNP may be barred from school governing bodies

Teaching union plans landmark case if school elects BNP councillor as vice-chair of governors

British National party councillors could be barred from serving as school governors if a landmark case planned by a teaching union goes ahead. The Nasuwt union, which represents a quarter of a million teachers, is poised to spend up to £20,000 on a judicial review if BNP councillors are elected on to school governing bodies. In judicial reviews, a judge considers the lawfulness of a decision or action of a public body. The Nasuwt review could start as early as this month.

The union says a primary school in the East Midlands is holding an election this term that could see a BNP councillor become vice-chair of its governing body. Nasuwt would not disclose the name of the school or its location. The union's lawyers say there is "strong potential for success" if they attempt to overturn a decision to elect a BNP councillor on to a governing body, under the Race Relations Act 1976.

Section 71 of the act imposes a legal duty on governing bodies to carry out their duties with "due regard to the need to eliminate unlawful racial discrimination and promote equality of opportunity and good relations between persons of different racial groups".

Chris Keates, the union's general secretary, said: "The BNP stands on a ticket that breaches the Race Relations Act. We believe that the values and ethos of public service are directly opposite to the views of BNP members. There is therefore an inescapable logic: how can people who hold BNP views hold a public service like being a member of a school governing body without compromising the school? Fascists have used the democratic process to get in control before. We shouldn't be standing by and letting this happen."

Keates has written to the heads of children's services at all local authorities in the UK and to the National Governors' Association to warn them that they may be failing in their duties "if it can be shown that any of the governing body or council's functions or a particular council policy has played a role" in the appointment of a BNP councillor.

She has also written to the schools minister, Vernon Coaker, to ask if he "could give serious and urgent consideration to issuing advice to local authorities and governing bodies of all schools encouraging them to review their compliance with the Race Relations Act provisions in this context, and to offer appropriate advice to avoid the appointment of members of the BNP to any governing body function".

Keates said: "If we hear of a case of a BNP councillor elected to a governing body, and this is not overturned by a council, we will take this to judicial review."

School governors set the strategic direction of a school and oversee any changes to its policies, including those on equal opportunities and the hiring of staff. Keates said: "The BNP stands for racial intolerance and community fragmentation. All right-minded people would want to make a stand on this."

But Judith Bennett, a former chair of the National Governors' Association who has been a school governor for 15 years, speaking in a personal capacity, said: "No one person on a governing body can make a decision about a school alone, except in an emergency. I don't think a BNP councillor on a governing body would necessarily pose a threat, because any decision about the school is voted on. It is a concern that they might be trying to advance racist views, but I wouldn't be in favour of an outright ban."

In May, Stoke council's Labour group prevented the BNP from placing three of its councillors on the governing body of an 80% Asian school.

Earlier this month, an ex-BNP member, Matthew Single, was fined £200 after he admitted leaking the names and details of thousands of party members online. Police officers, teachers, church figures and lawyers were among those revealed to be BNP members.

In June, the Guardian revealed that the government was investigating a possible ban on British National party members working as teachers in schools. The issue was being "actively looked at", a source close to Ed Balls, the education secretary, said. A spokesman for the Department for Children, Schools and Families said today that the issue "remains under constant scrutiny, but there have not been developments as yet".

The General Teaching Council for England, which registers teachers to work in state schools, has rejected appeals to ban BNP members. Lawyers warned the GTC it could be accused of discriminating against members of the far-right party if it refused to register them.

Police and prison officers are not allowed to be members of the BNP, but there is no ban on teachers being members of the party. They must, however, not allow their beliefs to compromise their professional conduct.

Guardian

Ed Balls considers ban on BNP teachers

The government is investigating a possible ban on British National party members working as teachers in schools in a move that could challenge the legitimacy of the far-right party.

A source close to the schools secretary, Ed Balls, said there had been several meetings on the issue with teaching unions which are lobbying for a change in teachers' contracts to prevent them from working if they are members of far-right groups including the BNP. The issue was being "actively looked at", the source said.

It comes after it emerged that the General Teaching Council for England (GTC), which registers teachers to work in state schools, had rejected appeals to ban BNP members. Lawyers warned the council it could be accused of discriminating against members of the far-right party if it refused to register them.

Five members of the council's own governing body wrote to the Guardian on Saturday to appeal for a national debate on the issue. They claimed the GTC was "hiding" behind legal advice to avoid banning the BNP from registering as teachers.

Chris Keates, the general secretary of the NASUWT teaching union, confirmed she had held several discussions with Balls about the possibility of a ban and had called for a change to teachers' contracts to prevent BNP members from teaching.

The source close to Balls said the issue was being re-examined in the light of the election to the European parliament of two BNP members, including party leader Nick Griffin, who has been convicted of inciting racial hatred.

The GTC was advised by lawyers that it would be discriminatory to ban members of a lawful political party. It was also told that if it declared any views on the BNP, it could be accused of lacking impartiality in any subsequent disciplinary hearings involving teachers in the far-right party.

A BNP membership list leaked last year included the names of 15 teachers, four nurses and one prison officer as well as 17 former police officers and 16 members of the armed forces. Members of the BNP, National Front and Combat 18 are banned from joining the police or becoming prison officers.

In the letter to the Guardian, the five GTC members argued that legislation required everyone working in schools to "promote good race relations and community cohesion", which would be incompatible with some views held by the BNP. The party supports voluntary repatriation of non-white citizens.

Guardian

Teachers' body won't stop BNP working in schools

• General Teaching Council accused of failing to act
• Party members banned from police and prisons

The General Teaching Council for England is today accused by members of its governing body of failing to act to prevent British National party members from teaching in schools.

The GTCE has refused to write a clause into its new code for teachers barring BNP members from working in state schools. This was after receiving legal advice that to do so could "prejudice" teachers who are members of the far-right party.

In a letter to the Guardian today, five members of the governing body of the GTCE – which registers teachers to work in state schools in England and conducts disciplinary hearings – call for an urgent public debate. "We believe that being a member of the BNP is fundamentally inconsistent with the ethos of schools in this country," they write.

They say the election of two BNP candidates to the European parliament, including the party's leader, Nick Griffin, who has a conviction for inciting racial hatred, has made the issue even more urgent.

Members of the BNP, the National Front and Combat 18 are barred from working in the police force or prison service. The Church of England is considering a similar measure. Teaching leaders called for the government to rewrite teachers' contracts, banning BNP members from schools, saying failure to do so was allowing "creeping legitimisation" of the party.

The GTCE is due to debate its new code next month. A draft version said "respect, equality, diversity and inclusion" were among eight "core values" that should be shared by all in the teaching profession.

It also included the ruling that teachers "maintain standards of behaviour, both inside and outside school". But the GTCE refused to include a clause banning BNP membership. In a statement, the GTCE said it was advised it could not bar members of a "lawful" political party. Any council member who expressed a view against the BNP could be accused of discrimination, prejudicing the case.

"As a regulatory body, we cannot regulate against the beliefs of professionals, only their actions and conduct," it said. Any council member who expressed anti-BNP views could not adjudicate in hearings involving BNP members and might compromise the council's impartiality.

The letter to the Guardian reads: "The new code should clearly state that BNP members will not be eligible for registration as teachers by the GTC ... If it is possible for other professions to resolve the legal difficulties, then it should be possible for the GTC." The authors argue that legislation requires everyone working in schools to "promote good race relations and community cohesion".

Kirit Modi, a former teacher, deputy of education at Islington council, north London, and now an education consultant, is one of the signatories. He said: "We have been told we can't discuss this matter because it will cause legal difficulties. We haven't been able to debate this within the GTC and that's why we are calling for a wider debate."

A list of BNP members leaked last year included 15 teachers, four nurses, a prison officer, 17 former police officers and 16 members of the armed forces.

Chris Keates, general secretary of the NASUWT teaching union, said BNP members should be banned across the public sector. "If BNP members are too racist or fascist to be in the police then they are too racist or fascist to work with children.

"It would be easy for someone in the BNP, holding the views they do, to discriminate against pupils. It would be easy for a BNP member to exclude pupils from black or minority ethnic groups by simply not giving them equal attention and that would be very hard to detect," she said. "I can understand the GTC may be in a difficulty of prohibiting somebody through a code of conduct. But I don't think the GTC is powerless. They could be campaigning to change teachers' contracts."

The union has lobbied successive secretary of states for education to tackle the issue in teachers' contracts.

Guardian