In My View - Schools and the BNP

In the 21st century, there should be no place for racism, or for the far right's politics of hate, in our schools

The Maurice Smith review was set up to assess what measures are needed to make this a reality. But, by failing to ban the most obvious measure -banning BNP members from working in schools - the review is a missed opportunity.

Membership of the BNP is incompatible with being part of the team delivering education. In fact, the union sees it as incompatible with delivering any public services at all. Our communities are diverse, and multi-racial and public service workers must be able to treat everyone equally.

Schools should be places where children learn values of equality, fairness and inclusion - values that will help create a just and fair society. Allowing BNP members to peddle their message of hate, or the freedom to discriminate against those from ethnic minorities, flies in the face of these principles.

The second missed opportunity of the review was the little attention it paid to the role of support staff. In today's schools, support staff play a significant role in delivering education. They can also have a closer, one-on-one relationship with the pupils they work with. Support staff monitor break-times and areas such as libraries. If left unchecked, support staff who are BNP members could let racist bullying take place.

The review could have also gone one step further, and highlighted the role support staff can play in encouraging community cohesion. Research shows that support staff more closely reflect the community they serve, than teachers. Given the right training, support staff could use this advantage to spread a more inclusive atmosphere in the school and beyond.

Last year UNISON health members voted to keep the BNP out of the NHS. It has already been banned for members of the police and prison officers, for very good reasons. Children deserve to be protected from the influence of the BNP, and UNISON will be pressing for this when the promised review of the guidance set out by Maurice Smith takes place next year.

Dave Prentis, UNISON General Secretary, writing in Nursery World

Leaflets criticising schools full of errors

The British National Party has been accused of hypocrisy for attacking the standards of British education in a leaflet littered with spelling mistakes.

Scores of leaflets, aiming to pick up support for the far-right party in south Essex, were handed out to households in Hockley and Hullbridge. The party writes in the leaflet it wants "a return to traditional methods of education, with stronger discipline in the classroom and an end to trendy teaching methods which have failed our children so badly".

However, the point of the letter came a little unstuck, as it was littered with misspellings - including references to the "Conservetive party", "social servicies" and the "envoironment".

When the letter fell on the door of one retired teacher, he was so incensed he wrote to the party about its hypocrisy. The teacher, who asked not to be named, wrote: "I have corrected the numerous spelling and grammar mistakes I found in the leaflet you posted through my letter box. I am surprised you criticised the trendy teaching methods' of today when the traditional' methods obviously failed you so miserably. Yours faithfully, an elderly member of the teaching profession."

Mark Francois, MP for Rochford and Rayleigh, said the issue highlighted the "ugly" approach of the party. He added: "By the sound of it, the BNP's literary skills are about as rough as its politics. A number of my constituents are rightly concerned about immigration and David Cameron recently made a major speech, arguing controls should be tightened. This is the democratic way to approach this important issue, rather than the ugly message which is peddled by the BNP."

The BNP was contacted for comment, but did not respond.

Echo News