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

Heads should be able to fire BNP teachers, says David Cameron

Tory leader's attempt to reach out to black voters continues at event in south-east London

The Conservatives would take steps to prevent British National party members becoming teachers, David Cameron said last night. The Tory leader made the pledge at an event in Peckham, south-east London, where he was attempting to reach out to black voters. He said being a member of the BNP and a teacher was "completely incompatible" and headteachers should be given more rights when it came to hiring and firing staff. Ministers last week ruled out banning members of the BNP from the teaching profession.

Cameron, who spent more than an hour taking questions, received the loudest applause of the evening when he said: "Any good headteacher would not have a member of the BNP within a hundred miles of a school. They should be able to fire someone for that reason."

The Tory leader also pledged to stop police using terrorism laws to search people not suspected of terror-related offences. He told those gathered at the Harris Academy that he did not believe people voted on issues that only affected their own race.

"I generally believe in a one-nation Conservative party, a one-nation Britain," he said. But he acknowledged that "for a long time" there were reasons why black people would hold back from supporting the Conservative party.

"Because they would say, 'OK, you stand for one nation. But I don't see other people like me in your party.' If you look at black Britain today, the Conservative party have come a long way," the Tory leader said. He added that the Tories had taken a "huge step" forward.

The event followed an article by Cameron published in the Guardian yesterday in which he pledged to help black people start businesses. One audience member noted that Cameron had ventured into Harriet Harman's constituency in coming to the academy. "No bulletproof vest," the Conservative leader quipped in reference to an occasion when the Labour deputy leader toured Peckham in body armour.

Questions from the floor varied from the NHS and carers to stop-and-search and immigration. Cameron received a warm reception for most of his answers but was heckled by one man at the end.

"You're no Tony Blair, mate," the man shouted.

"I'm glad I'm not," Cameron retorted.

Guardian

Official: it's fine for racists to teach

By refusing to bar BNP members from the classroom, the government is allowing these vile people to spread their hatred

The BNP's march into the mainstream moves forward. Fresh from their top-table seat on the BBC's Question Time (which marked International Women's Day with an all-female audience; it marked last year's Black History Month with an invite to Nick Griffin), party members have now been told that it's OK for them to teach our children.

In a review which will shock many members of the teaching profession, not to mention ethnic-minority parents, Maurice Smith, former chief inspector of schools, concludes: "I do not believe that barring teachers or other members of the wider school workforce from membership of legitimate [sic] organisations which may promote racism is necessary."

He reaches his decision because, in the last seven years, only four teachers, and two governors, have been found to be BNP members, and only nine incidents of teachers making racist remarks or holding racist materials have been uncovered. Banning BNP members would, he says, therefore be a "taking a very large sledgehammer to crack a minuscule nut".

Two things here are breathtaking: one is that a man who held such a senior position in the running of Britain's schools has such a one-dimensional and uninformed view of the issue of racism in our education system. Is he not aware of the underachievement statistics for many of Britain's racial minorities, widely believed to be party fuelled by low teacher expectations? Is he not aware of the massive rates of exclusions and disciplinary procedures against black boys?

Does he really believe that racism is all about making offensive remarks, rather than promoting, openly or covertly, a system of inequality and injustice? If that's the case, then, with people like him in charge, no wonder so little has been achieved in improving these statistics over the years.

He lists a number of bureaucratic "safeguards" to prevent racism in schools, but this is utterly unconvincing. Schools equal-opportunity policies are notoriously ineffective in making real differences, merely satisfying the box-ticking mentality which pervades the education system. And the "duty to promote social cohesion" is equality easy to subvert, the term often being used as a cover for anti-Muslim propaganda.

The second shocking development here is that his recommendations were immediately accepted in full by the schools secretary, Ed Balls. Actually, given that all three parties are crawling over each other to win the votes of the "white working class" – whom they now subconsciously equate with racism and bigotry – it shouldn't be a surprise.

Let's be clear: the BNP is a racist party. It is anti-migrant and defines those of non-white racial origin as permanent second-class citizens, regardless of whether they were born here. It has been forced against its will to admit ethnic-minority members, but that doesn't mean it's suddenly become a party of race equality. In fact, the handful of minority members the party may attract will be fellow Muslim-hating extremists.

So when Ed Balls, in his reply to Smith, begins, "There is no place for racism in schools", he shows himself to be a complete hypocrite by then going on to agree with BNP teachers.

If he's OK with the party in the classroom, then he should be honest at least and say: "Yes, there is a place for racism in schools." And, to black and Asian families in particular: "Yes, parents, when you leave your five-year-old at the school gates, we don't care if you're handing them over to someone who despises your race, despises your faith, and who wants to terrorise you and run you out of the country. As long as they don't say it so anyone can hear."

The complacency, as the BNP gains council seats and could possibly even gain its first MP this year, is staggering.

It is often said that for evil to flourish, all it takes is for good people to do nothing. As the BNP's message of hate moves onwards, it is time for good people to take a stand.

UTV

Maurice Smith review 'missed opportunity' to kick BNP out of schools says UNISON

UNISON, the UK’s largest public sector trade union, today (12 March) said that by failing to ban BNP members from working in schools, the Maurice Smith review* was a ‘missed opportunity’ to kick racism out of education.

The union also criticised the review for its inadequate focus on the wider school workforce. The school of today, said the union, heavily relies on support staff, such as teaching assistants, librarians, learning mentors and home liaison officers, who make up more than 50% of the school workforce. These staff can also play a key role in community cohesion.

Dave Prentis, UNISON General Secretary, said:

“This review is a missed opportunity to kick the BNP’s politics of hate out of our schools. Membership of the BNP is completely incompatible with delivering education to children. Schools should be at the forefront of promoting racial equality, not places where BNP members can spread their message of hate to impressionable young people.

“The review is limited by not properly considering the wider schools workforce. Support staff play a significant role in delivering education to children. Young people at school can have a close, one on one relationship, with support staff. Support staff are also in charge of break times, and places such as libraries, where they could allow racist bullying to take place, if they were members of the BNP.

“Research suggests that support staff more closely reflect the community they serve, compared to teachers. They could therefore play an important role in community cohesion. This review promises a yearly check on the guidance set out. UNISON will be pressing for the full ban on BNP members working in schools to be imposed next year. It is vital that there is no place in our schools for racism.”

* The Maurice Smith Review was set up by the Secretary of State to undertake a full and detailed review of measures to prevent the promotion of racism in schools.

Unison

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

BNP brothers in school web row

Two BNP-supporting brothers have fallen foul of education chiefs after accessing right-wing websites while teaching in schools.

Adam Walker, 38, quit his job as a technology teacher after being suspended and told he faced disciplinary action. He used a computer at Houghton Kepier, a foundation school in Houghton-le- Spring, Tyne and Wear, during working hours to view politically extreme sites.

His brother Mark, 36, a former RAF weapons technician, was suspended from Sunnydale Comprehensive, in Shildon, County Durham, pending an internal probe. Mark, also a technology teacher, was found to have accessed the BNP's website during school hours. The pair stood as BNP candidates in Tony Blair's nearby Sedgefield constituency last month.

Married Mark, who served in the first Gulf War, admitted he had viewed the website.

He said: "I looked at the BNP site but I've no idea why that should be an offence. Teachers often look at sites when they are at school. I am being persecuted because of what I believe in. This wouldn't be an issue if I was standing for Labour or the Tories. I love teaching kids and I'm a very good teacher. I've worked at the school almost eight years and the governors know I'm dedicated and a very hard worker. I've taken the children away on trips and my political beliefs are no way in conflict with my professional role. I don't preach politics at work. I was stunned when I was hauled in before the head teacher.

"She said she'd seen someone with my name standing for the BNP and asked if it was me. When I said it was, they went through my computer records. My suspension is an infringement of my human rights and on my right to freedom of speech. I shouldn't be persecuted for having a certain political view. However, I am prepared to sacrifice my career for what I believe in. I would stand up to machine gun fire to stand for the BNP. I believe in the party."

Mark, from Spennymoor, County Durham, who claims he and his brother are close friends of BNP leader Nick Griffin, was hauled before school bosses a week ago. Meanwhile Adam, a former soldier and karate expert, left his job in February after admitting accessing three right- wing sites and a discussion forum about the BNP.

Adam, also from Spennymoor, claimed: "I got a letter from the school which said I was unfit to teach because of my political views. I admit I did look at a number of sites which could be seen to be right-wing during school time. Maybe I shouldn't have done that. I also spent a lot of time on computers while teaching kids but it was only when they were working on their own computers and I was free to do my own stuff. I spoke to advisers who said the school had a right to get rid of me so I left without a fight. I jumped before I was pushed."

Sunderland City Council refused to comment on Adam Walker's resignation. A spokesman for the council said: "It's inappropriate to comment on internal matters at Houghton Kepier School."

Sue Byrne, head teacher at Sunnydale, said: "I can confirm that a member of staff has been suspended, without prejudice, by the school governing body pending inquiries into allegations of misuse of school equipment."

Sunday Sun (Tyne and Wear)