BNP Teachers
Dear Sir or Madam,
By letter of 30 September 2009, The Secretary of State Ed Balls appointed Maurice Smith to enquire into the "promotion of racism in schools". Part of the review is aimed at determining whether members of the British National Party (BNP) should be allowed to work as teachers or in the wider school workforce.
At present there are a number of measures and safeguards in place in place to protect children and young people in schools from racially motivated discrimination and the promotion of political doctrines that advocate discrimination and promote racist views. These are:
• The requirement on schools to have equal opportunity policies
• The duty upon schools to promote racial equality
• Their duty to promote community cohesion
• The duty on governing bodies, headteachers and local authorities to forbid the teaching of partisan political activities in schools
• The powers of the GTC (England) regarding suitability of registration and where teacher conduct could bring the profession into disrepute
I would like you to provide me with evidence of how effective these measures are including whether they are sufficient to maintain trust in the profession and protect children and young people.
Please provide the following information under the Freedom of Information Act 2000.
1) What evidence is there that schools’ equal opportunity policies are effective in combating racism?
2) What are schools in your area doing to promote racial equality and promote community cohesion? Examples of measures deemed to be good practice and recognised as being successful would be useful.
3) Can you provide me with any evidence that the measures listed above have been effective (if this has not already been done)?
4) Are further measures required to either maintain trust in the teaching profession or protect children and young people?
Yours sincerely
Mark Walker
Solidarity Trade Union
www.solidaritytradeunion.org
I write to acknowledge receipt of your Freedom of Information request which
has been given the reference number R002147.
Your request has been forwarded to the Freedom of Information Act contact
officer for Lifelong Learning, David Bridge, to process and this officer
will be in contact with you.
Regards,
Lavinia Stockham
Democratic Services/Gwasanethau Democrataidd
Flintshire County Council/Cyngor Sir y Fflint
Tel/Ffôn: (01352) 702304
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Opinions advice, conclusions and other information in this
message that do not relate to the official business of
Flintshire County Council shall be understood as neither
given nor endorsed by it or on its behalf, and consequently
Flintshire County Council shall bear no responsibility
whatsoever in respect thereof.
Deellir na fydd unrhyw safbwyntiau, na chynghorion, na
chasgliadau nac unrhyw wybodaeth arall yn y neges hon,
nad ydynt yn berthnasol i waith swyddogol
Cyngor Sir y Fflint, yn cael eu cynnig na'u cadarnhau ganddo
nac ar ei ran, ac felly ni fydd Cyngor Sir y Fflint yn derbyn
unrhyw gyfrifoldeb am y rhannau hynny o'r neges.
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Mr Mark Walker Eich Cyf/Your Ref
Ein Cyf/Our Ref R002147
Dyddiad/Date 18/01/2010
Gofynner am/Ask for David Bridge
Rhif Union/Direct Dial 01352 702178
Dear Mr Walker
Thank you for your request for information in response I may provide the
following information.
Work to protect children and young people in schools from racially
motivated discrimination and the promotion of political
doctrines that advocate discrimination and promote racist views is very
important and is ongoing in our schools.
However, your information request was couched in terms of the English
governance framework, and not the Welsh one. Ed Balls is the Secretary of
State for Children, Schools and Families in England. GTC (England) is the
professional body for teaching in England. Different individuals, bodies
and responsibilities apply in the devolved administration of Wales.
If You have any queries or require any clarification please do not
hesitate to contact me.
If you believe the Council has not dealt with your request properly the
enclosed complaints procedure provides a way for your request to be
reconsidered by a Senior Officer not previously involved in processing
your request.
Any person may apply to the Information Commissioner pursuant to Section
50 of the Act for a decision whether in any specified respect a request
for information that person has made has not been dealt with in accordance
with the requirements of the Act. The Information Commissioner's office
is at Wycliffe House, Water Lane, Wilmslow, Cheshire SK9 5AF.
The contents of this communication and the enclosed documents are subject
to copyright protection. It has been sent to you for your information and
you may use it for any non-commercial research you may be doing. Its
contents can also be used for the purposes of news reporting. Any other
re-use, for example commercial publication or publication on a website,
requires the permission of this Council. If you wish to re-use this
information please contact us, letting us know how you wish to re-use it
and what the intended audience will be so that we can consider your
request. This information should be sent to: The Records Manager,
Flintshire County Council, County Hall, Mold, Flintshire CH7 6NB, or
[email address]
Yours sincerely
David Bridge
Freedom of Information Act Contact Officer/ Swyddog Cyswllt y Ddeddf
Rhyddid Gwybodaeth
Data Protection Officer/Swyddog Diogelu Data
Directorate of Lifelong Learning/Cyfardwyddiaeth Dysgu Gydol Oes
Flintshire County Council/Cyngor Sir y Fflint
FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT
COMPLAINTS PROCEDURE
This procedure is exclusively for dealing with complaints in relation to
the operation of the Freedom of Information Act within the Council.
Where you are dissatisfied with the way that any request for information
has been dealt with and you have been unable to obtain satisfaction
through discussion with the Officer dealing with the matter then you are
encouraged to use this procedure.
1. Your complaint should be made in writing addressed to the
Information Act Complaints Officer, County Secretary's Department, County
Hall, Mold or by e-mail to [Flintshire Council request email] giving full details of
the complaint.
2. A written acknowledgement will be sent and the complaint
referred to a Directorate Information Act Complaints Officer to
investigate and review the original response to your request and respond
in writing within 14 working days. This person should not have been
involved in the processing of your original application which is the
subject of your complaint and will be a Senior Officer.
3. If you indicate that you are not satisfied with the response
pursuant to the preceding paragraph, the complaint will be considered by
the Assistant County Secretary who will investigate, review and respond
within 14 working days.
4. Where your complaint is a complex one (for example involving the
applicability of a qualified exemption) it may not be possible to deal
with it within the above timescales. In such a situation a progress
report will be sent within the above timescales.
5. Where the Assistant County Secretary has been involved in making
decisions in relation to your original application your complaint will be
considered by another Senior Officer within the County Secretary's
Department within the above timescales.
6. If you remain dissatisfied after the above procedure you may
wish to make an application to the Information Commissioner under Section
50 of the Freedom of Information Act that the Council has not dealt with
your request for information properly. The Information Commissioner's
office is at: Wycliffe House, Water Lane, Wilmslow, Cheshire SK9 5AF.
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Opinions advice, conclusions and other information in this
message that do not relate to the official business of
Flintshire County Council shall be understood as neither
given nor endorsed by it or on its behalf, and consequently
Flintshire County Council shall bear no responsibility
whatsoever in respect thereof.
Deellir na fydd unrhyw safbwyntiau, na chynghorion, na
chasgliadau nac unrhyw wybodaeth arall yn y neges hon,
nad ydynt yn berthnasol i waith swyddogol
Cyngor Sir y Fflint, yn cael eu cynnig na'u cadarnhau ganddo
nac ar ei ran, ac felly ni fydd Cyngor Sir y Fflint yn derbyn
unrhyw gyfrifoldeb am y rhannau hynny o'r neges.
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