TELL IT LIKE IT IS – A CHANGE IS GONNA COME

Campaign launch: Saturday 17 June, 11am

Downing Street Thirty years ago, Bernard Coard produced a pamphlet that raised questions about why Black children were underachieving in schools. This led to a movement that challenged racism in the education system and led to changes that benefited all young people.

But three decades on many of us find that it is time to ‘tell it like it is’ again. Today, Black children are 3 times more likely to be excluded from schools than white children. They lag 17 percent behind their white counterparts in attaining GCSEs of A* to C standard.

The decent comprehensive schooling we fought for is being eroded with the introduction of competition between schools, selection, the obsession with testing our children, and a rigid curriculum that does not develop their creativity. The current education bill will only make this situation worse.

That is why we have launched a six-point charter that challenges the government to reverse these attacks and address the real problems. This means tackling racism and inequality, and gearing resources towards high quality education for all.

Thirty years on, it’s time for: High Education For All!

Signatories include of the six point charter include:

Doreen Lawrence, Brian Richardson, Editor of Tell It Like It Is, Paul Mackney, NATFHE General Secretary, Kwame Kwei Armah, actor and author Roger King NUT exective.

What can I do?

1) Join the campaign launch on Saturday 17 June, 11am, Downing Street

2) Sign the six point charter – to do so, email tellit2006@yahoo.co.uk

3) Take the charter around your school/community/college and collect signatures

4) Get copies of the book from Bookmarks, 1 Bloomsbury Street, London, WC1B 3QE, Tel 020 7637 1848, email: mailorder@bookmarks.uk.com. Why not organise a meeting around the book- we can arrange for an author to some and speak.

5) Get in touch with the campaign: Tell It Like It Is Campaign, c/o Natfhe, 27 Britannia Street, London WC1X 9JP. Email: tellit2006@yahoo.co.uk. Telephone 07758712414b or Kerri on 07832 258 747

Our six point charter: We challenge the government to:

1 Bridge the gap between black and white students in educational achievement. Urgently inject resources to meet the needs of students who have English as an additional language. Increase resources for disadvantaged areas. Introduce needs-led funding. This will lead to improvement for all working class students.

2 End the disproportionate exclusion rate for black students, and reduce overall exclusion rates. Introduce more rigorous appeals procedures which empower parents and students.

3 Ensure that every new teacher feels able and competent to respond to the needs of all students.

i. Immediately introduce anti-racism training for prospecttive and current teachers and integrate anti-racist education into the curriculum.

ii. Have a strategy for increasing the number of BME teachers to at least reflect the community.

iii. Every school and college should demonstrate they have an active equal opportunities policy.

4 Take the focus off testing students to allow teachers to develop an enriching curriculum which reflects the backgrounds of all students. Free teachers to teach.

5 Introduce national, legally binding standards for admissions policies to all educational institutions. Give students the right to a well resourced local comprehensive school and college.

6 Urgently implement in full the recommendations of the Stephen Lawrence report and place tackling anti-racism at the heart of social policy.

#Posted 1 June 2006 at 2:40 PM

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