UK Boy, 7, branded a racist for asking schoolmate: 'Are you brown because you come from Africa?

UK Boy, 7, branded a racist for asking schoolmate: 'Are you brown because you come from Africa?

The mother of a seven-year-old UK boy was told to sign a school form admitting he was racist after he asked another pupil about the colour of his skin.

Elliott Dearlove had asked a five-year-old boy in the playground whether he was ‘brown because he was from Africa’. His mother, Hayley White, 29, said she received a phone call last month to say her son had been at the centre of a ‘racist incident’

Ms White claimed she was asked at the meeting to read a copy of the school rules and in particular its zero-tolerance policy on racism.

‘I was told I would have to sign a form acknowledging my son had made a racist remark which would be submitted to the local education authority for further investigation,’ she said.

Last year, it was revealed that teachers are branding thousands of children racist or homophobic following playground squabbles.

More than 20,000 pupils aged 11 or younger were put on record for so-called hate crimes such as using the word ‘gaylord’.

Daily Mail

More than 20,000 pupils aged 11 or younger branded racist. Apparently the school operates a zero tolerance policy against racism.

Pity it doesn't have a zero tolerance policy against its own stupidity.

So curiosity not only kills cats but also a child's curiosity in his friend.

Pathetic.

I'm reading that correctly, am I not? She was told to sign a document that established her son did something she neither heard or could independently confirm? Is this how things work in the UK?

I'm serious. That is rather scary. It clearly says her signed document was a part of the file being referred for additional investigation and it wasn't just a copy of the rules to say she'd read them. She had to affirm her kid was guilty of a specific offense.

I don't quite get that. What would have happened if she'd put her foot down and refused with no room for discussion on the matter? Could they have done more to her to force that to be done?? I suppose the UK is no worse than America, but it's sure fair to say our systems each abuse their citizens in different ways.

Thank god I'm not in school (in the UK) these days, they would have run out of forms for my parents to sign.

Political correctness at its best.

Developmentally, isn't a child of 7 too young to actually be a racist? Isn't "racist" a bit too, erm, nebulous and un-concrete and emotionally complicated for such a young child to properly be labeled with?

How can a child be racist? Their brain hasn't even fully developed yet. Plus what the boy said wasn't even discriminatory in any way. He wanted to know why some people are darker than others. It is a legitimate question if you are 7.

People should be able to believe what they want, you can't police ideas. Europe seems to go overboard with the hate speech/thought crimes.

Daily Mail...

For some reason I feel that we're not been told the whole story. Maybe this boy has been a victim of bullying? I don't know, but I feel as if this is missing some important information.

I'm from the UK, a very multicultural place in the UK too and have never heard of children been put on a list and branded racist, I'v heard of reports going to OFSTED regarding the pupils behavior towards race, class and what ever - but not listing individuals on some racist list that will stay with them for ever type of thing, I think thats been hyped allot.

Side note - I went to the most racist school in Britain and never heard such reports of racist lists - this is a daily mail hype

Originally posted by jude11
So curiosity not only kills cats but also a child's curiosity in his friend.

Pathetic.

The last Labour government brought in all this PC nonsense. Now schools have a legal duty to follow it.

Still, 20,000 kids under 12 have been branded racists, with that remaining on their records throughout their education.

It's a scandal.

In a statement, Griffin Primary head teacher Janet Adamson said the school had acted ‘in accordance with the council’s guidance for schools on the reporting of racist incidents’.

Vanessa Harvey-Samuel, head of localities and learning at Hull City Council, said: ‘There is a statutory duty to report any incident that is perceived to be racist by the victim or any other person.’

Daily Mail

reply to post by n00bUK


The last labour government brought in these laws and now the schools have to follow them. Madness.

Kids are no longer allowed to be kids. PC starts in kindergarden.

'Racists' aged THREE: Toddlers among thousands of children accused of bigotry after name-calling

Teachers are branding thousands of children racist or homophobic following playground squabbles.

More than 20,000 pupils aged 11 or younger were last year put on record for so-called hate crimes such as using the word ‘gaylord’.

Some of them are even from nursery schools where children are no older than three.

One youngster was accused of being racist for calling a boy ‘broccoli head’ and another was said to be homophobic for telling a teacher ‘this work is gay’.

Two primary school children were reported for homophobia after quarrelling over a rubber and calling each other ‘gay’ and ‘lesbian’.

Schools are forced to report the language to education authorities, which keep a register of incidents.

In total, 34,000 nursery, primary and secondary pupils were effectively classed as bigots because of anti-bullying rules.

Daily Mail

Neither are these records set aside during a child's education

The record can be passed from primaries to secondaries or when a pupil moves between schools.

And if schools are asked for a pupil reference by a future employer or a university, the record could be used as the basis for it, meaning the pettiest of incidents has the potential to blight a child for life.

Daily Mail

Nor is this Daily Mail Hype

Karl Turner, Labour MP for Kingston upon Hull East, last night insisted that the school and Hull City Council had a statutory duty to take racism seriously.

Daily Mail

reply to post by ollncasino


This is insane! Thanks for sharing.

The only reason i said its a hype is because in my school, a racist comment got ignored unless it came from a white/black person towards an asian, asians could go round school calling everybody racist names and nothing happen. I think theres a conspiracy surrounding my old school anyway, thats an upcoming thread for sure.

Two 7/7 bombers from my school - racism was allowed as long as directed towards anybody other than Muslims. Never heard of any list and i went school between labors prime 98-03.

Something similar nearly happened to one of my kids at primary school, some girl took the mick by saying something about his hair being ginger so he said pi55 off blackie. (Meaning her hair) but joy of joys, she was black and kicked up a stink. It was only because my wife and I threatened the school with union lawyers that the school saw sense and dropped the idiotic charges.

My wife is a teacher and made it plain that if we'd lost this fight, this bull5hit charge would stay on his school record forever.

It's utterly stupid, there is real racism that goes un punished because people pursue trumped up rubbish like this.

Originally posted by n00bUK
Two 7/7 bombers from my school - racism was allowed as long as directed towards anybody other than Muslims. Never heard of any list and i went school between labors prime 98-03.

Education providers have a legal duty responsibility to record in writing any racist incident which occurs on the premises, and to report these to their local authority.

The law was brought in in 2001, when the Race Relations Act 1976 was ammended.

The race equality duty

In 2001, the Act (Race Relations Act 1976) was amended to place a statutory duty on public authorities – including schools and further and higher education institutions – to promote race equality (the “race equality duty”).

This general duty means they should have regard to the need to:
a) eliminate unlawful racial discrimination;
b) promote equality of opportunity; and
c) promote good relations between people of different racial groups.

Regulations published under the Act place specific duties on schools and further and higher education institutions in England and Wales to prepare and maintain a race equality policy.

They must also (article 3(3)):
(a) assess the impact of its policies, including its race equality policy, on pupils, staff and parents of different racial groups including, in particular, the impact on attainment levels of such pupils; and
(b) monitor, by reference to their impact on such pupils, staff and parents, the operation of such policies including, in particular, their impact on the attainment levels of such pupils. Reasonable steps should be taken to publish the results of this monitoring annually.

Further and higher education institutions must prepare and maintain a race equality policy. They must also (article 3(4)):
(a) assess the impact of its policies, including its race equality policy, on students and staff of different racial groups; (b) monitor, by reference to those racial groups, the admission and progress of students and the recruitment and career progress of staff; and
(c) include in its written statement of its race equality policy an indication of its arrangements for publishing that statement and the results of its assessment and monitoring under sub-paragraphs (a) and (b).

Reasonable steps should be taken to publish the results of this monitoring annually. Similar specific duties apply to schools and further and higher education in Scotland.

Education providers also have a legal duty responsibility to record in writing any racist incident which occurs on the premises, and to report these to their local authority (England and Wales) or education authority (Scotland) and, where appropriate, to the police.

Centre for Studies on Inclusive Education

reply to post by n00bUK

I went to the most racist school in Britain and never heard such reports of racist lists - this is a daily mail hype

Whilst I agree The Daily Mail is a rag and not to be entirely trusted not everything it prints is a fabrication.

www.yorkshirepost.co.uk...#
www.thisishullandeastriding.co.uk...
www.parentdish.co.uk...

As much as we sometimes want something to be untrue the cold reality is quite different......and we should never let our pre-conceived ideas get in the way of the truth, regardless of how uncomfortable that truth is.

reply to post by ollncasino

The last Labour government brought in all this PC nonsense. Now schools have a legal duty to follow it.

Sorry, but that is not true.
The blight of Policitical Correctness started infecting our education system, and our society as a whole, well before Blair's New Labour were elected.
True, they did allow it to spread like a cancer throughout almost every government department and public body and organisation, but PC is a disease that afflicts all the major parties etc, the LibDems are riddled with it.

Cameron and his amoral government seem intent on letting it continue eroding the very fabric of British society.

Originally posted by RealSpoke
People should be able to believe what they want, you can't police ideas. Europe seems to go overboard with the hate speech/thought crimes.

My fear is that if the PC squad have their way, thought crimes will be a fact of life in the USA in the near future too.

All in the interest of fairness and equality of course.

The sad fact is though, PC advocates are not interested in free thought. They want to force everyone to think like them.

No dissention will be allowed.

reply to post by ollncasino


Pure speculation here of course: But my guess is this child started learning of different cultures and different people. Where they come from, how they look and how they act. The begin to apply it to their surroundings only to have the State step in and say they are wrong. No wonder kids don't learn today. We don't allow them to observe the world -- only accept what is said of the world.

Speculation over.

Originally posted by Freeborn
The blight of Policitical Correctness started infecting our education system, and our society as a whole, well before Blair's New Labour were elected.

True, they did allow it to spread like a cancer throughout almost every government department and public body and organisation, but PC is a disease that afflicts all the major parties etc, the LibDems are riddled with it.

Cameron and his amoral government seem intent on letting it continue eroding the very fabric of British society.

Well, that is true. On the other hand, Labour did bring in the 2001 ammendment to the Race Relations Act 1976 that forced schools to report 'racist' incidents to local authorities.

I do agree, that the UK has been under PC assault for a long time. Still, I don't remember much of it under Thatcher.

Originally posted by AnIntellectualRedneck
Developmentally, isn't a child of 7 too young to actually be a racist? Isn't "racist" a bit too, erm, nebulous and un-concrete and emotionally complicated for such a young child to properly be labeled with?

edit on 12-3-2012 by AnIntellectualRedneck because: (no reason given)

If a kid doesn't know why people have different skin color, there's a good chance he doesn't even know the implications of "race".

Originally posted by boncho

Originally posted by AnIntellectualRedneck
Developmentally, isn't a child of 7 too young to actually be a racist? Isn't "racist" a bit too, erm, nebulous and un-concrete and emotionally complicated for such a young child to properly be labeled with?

edit on 12-3-2012 by AnIntellectualRedneck because: (no reason given)

If a kid doesn't know why people have different skin color, there's a good chance he doesn't even know the implications of "race".

Most children don't. I allow my children to describe people how they see them. Some call it racist. Doesn't bother me. I am allowing my child to learn without placing predefined labels upon groups. If a person is black -- they are black in my child's eyes. Is he wrong? I will instruct him on the terminology, but they (children) should be allowed to explore their world how they see it. Free of us know it all adults.

wow ... those PC guys needs to have their heads examined

How can you make stasi-like lists of children based on their curiosity ?

What are the lists for ?

Educating children to *think* right ?