One of the first racist incidents to be reported in the hours following the referendum result involved leaflets found outside a Cambridgeshire school bearing the message “no more Polish vermin”. In the days since there have been many more episodes of hatred and discrimination documented at schools.
The headteacher of the Hartstown Academy in Margate, Kent, which has pupils from 30 different countries attending, has spoken out about the ugly things that are being said to students making them feel “sick and scared”. A secondary school teacher in Manchester has said that pupils at her school, where 75 different languages are spoken, are openly spouting race hate.
Adults of various political hues continue to argue about Brexit, and it is rightly the number one national conversation on the streets, in shops and at bus stops. But it can be easy to forget that children are listening to these conversations, absorbing them and sometimes participating in them. Many don’t understand what’s going on but they have picked up from their parents and other adults that something momentous has happened and that as a result some adults are behaving rather strangely.
Children thrive when they feel secure, and some are now feeling anything but. Those who come from different countries, and not just EU ones, are fearful that they are going to be plucked out of their lessons and their homes and unceremoniously deported. Others are scared that this will happen to their friends, while a small minority have aped their parents and told their classmates from overseas to get out.
Keziah Featherstone, head teacher of Bridge Learning Campus in Bristol, has expressed her concern about the current mood in educational establishments. “There are thousands of children and their families who suddenly feel very unsafe,” she said. “It is not good for the whole school community – it fundamentally rocks it, splits it, turns friends into the ‘other’, which makes them vulnerable.”
It is vital that we talk to children honestly about the referendum and its implications. With both sides campaigning with such negative language and imagery, children will have picked up on this and it is urgent to offer some positive messages. Irrespective of the political tumult raging beyond the school gates, educational establishments should be at the forefront of proactively reinforcing values of belonging, respect and equality – all different, all equal. Schools are ideally placed to provide a safe space for students who are scared and confused to ask any questions they want answers to.
The organisation EqualiTeach produces teaching resources to raise awareness about issues of equality and tackle discrimination. Their programme Universal Values promotes democracy, individual liberty, rule of law, mutual respect and tolerance of those with different faiths and beliefs. There is no better time than now to assert those values.
While the Brexit vote continues to convulse and divide the nation, schools must take the lead in seeking unity, stating firmly that there is no place within their walls or beyond them for hatred of the “other” simply because he or she is different. They must also come down heavily on incidents of racial, religious or other abuse, letting perpetrators – however young – know that this behaviour is unacceptable and will be punished.
These conversations should not just take place between pupils and teachers. Parents and the wider community must be included too. But schools are politically neutral and at times like this they are safe havens.
As the days go by, the recriminations increase. Leave campaigners are accused of having been at best economical with the truth, while the remain campaign stands accused of concentrating on scaremongering ahead of emphasising the positives of EU membership. Children deserve some honest explanations as this unfolds. If we seize this window of opportunity to have open and honest discussions with them about the referendum and its implications, we might be able to avoid the next generation being swept up in the fears and uncertainties that have fuelled the racism and anti-migrant sentiment that came to a head last week.
