School curriculum ‘designed to install racist notion of British identity'
Britain's biggest teaching union is to claim England's curriculum 'installs a racist notion of British identity'.
Teachers at the National Education Union (NEU) annual conference next month will call for lessons to be based on 'equality and social justice' rather than 'dogma' and push for an 'anti-racism curriculum'.
One motion set to be discussed at the event in Harrogate will claim 'many curriculum areas do not fully represent the histories, perspectives and contributions of diverse groups in our society'.
In the same motion the union will call for a curriculum that is 'culturally reflective' and makes 'all students feel valued and empowered'.
In a second motion, staff will say 'the [current] curriculum is not based on the holistic needs of the child but on narrow, government-imposed dogma … and was designed to install a racist notion of 'British Identity''.
Teachers' criticism of what children are taught comes as the Government-commissioned curriculum and assessment review published its interim report this week.
In it, Prof Becky Francis, who is leading the review, says the curriculum needs to do more to deliver 'equality duties' and ensure that 'all young people feel represented'.
The review cites pupils who claim they have encountered 'negative portrayals' that can be 'disempowering and demotivating'. The review's final report, which will outline what should be taught, will be published in the autumn.
Despite the issues identified by the interim report, students from black and Asian backgrounds outperform white pupils in England's schools.
The NEU, which has nearly 500,000 members, wants to see black history added to the national curriculum.
It points to Wales, where the teaching in schools of 'Black, Asian and minority ethnic histories and experiences' is mandatory and teacher training is being 'decolonised'.
In England, current history lessons, drawn up under Michael Gove in 2013, have been described by some activists as 'a white-washed' version of UK history. Teaching focuses predominantly on British history, key figures and chronology, although topics from world history are included.
Objections have been raised to the requirement for schools to actively promote 'fundamental British values' – democracy, the rule of law, individual liberty, and mutual respect and tolerance. The requirement was introduced as part of the counter-extremism Prevent strategy in 2014.
The National Union of Teachers – which became the NEU – levelled accusations that the concept of 'British values' could lead to 'cultural supremacism'.
Critics last night accused the NEU of declaring war on Britishness.
Chris McGovern, the chairman of the Campaign for Real Education, who advised Mr Gove on the national curriculum for history, said: 'The current national curriculum does not require the teaching of any specific historical figure or event, not even the World Wars or Churchill.
'It does require, however, that either Islamic West African or Central American history be taught. The curriculum is racist only in terms of allowing the promotion of 'white guilt' about 'white privilege'.
'The NEU is guilty of seeking to build an intolerant empire of Wokeism. Their curriculum decolonisation programme is fascistic in its intolerance. They are declaring a racist war on white Britishness.'
Iain Mansfield, head of education at Policy Exchange said: 'The national curriculum is rigorous, knowledge-rich and inclusive, with students having the opportunity to study a diverse range of British and world history, including topics such as slavery and the British Empire.
Polling for Policy Exchange's Portrait of Modern Britain report showed that 72 per cent of people, including a majority of every ethnic group, thought that children raised in Britain should be taught to be proud of Britain and its history.'
The Telegraph has approached the NEU for comment.
In another conference motion, the NEU will accuse Israel of genocide and apartheid in Palestine and call for resources to be used in schools 'to raise awareness about the situation in Palestine'.
Teachers are demanding a ban on companies involved in weapon production being invited into schools and colleges. Companies such as BAE Systems and Leonardo have long-established STEM projects in UK schools and visit schools to give advice on careers, apprenticeships and work experience opportunities.
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