TEMPLATE EMAIL - WRITE TO THE SECRETARY OF STATE FOR EDUCATIONAL REFORM

Credit to @theblackcurriculum / https://www.theblackcurriculum.com 

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You can send the below email to:  gavin.williamson.mp@parliament.uk

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Please note: you will receive an automatic response stating that, if you are contacting Gavin Williamson in his capacity as Secretary of State and not as a constituent, you should resubmit your email via the Department for Education's online contact form which can be found here. 

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Please also submit the enquiry via the form (you can use the 'question' and 'something else' category). We believe it is still important to have emailed as the more attention we can bring to this, the better. 

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Gavin Williamson, Secretary of State for Education

Subject: Make Black histories mandatory in the national curriculum

Dear Secretary of State for Education,

As a supporter of The Black Curriculum, I am dismayed by the events of the last few weeks which have disproportionately affected Black people in the UK - exacerbated by Covid19, and the subsequent lack of response by those in authority. Thousands of us, the British voting public are grief stricken and concerned about the existing status-quo in the UK, which disregards the lives and contributions of Black British people. We would like to bring to your attention some of the structural inequalities in the UK, especially pertaining to education and the national curriculum. 

As you are aware, the national curriculum excludes Black histories throughout, and omits the vast contributions Black people have made to the UK. As a result, young people who learn from the national curriculum are not given a full or accurate version of British history, which limits their opportunities and futures in an increasingly diverse landscape. Despite numerous calls over the years to reform the national curriculum to incorporate Black histories, these requests have been denied. Learning Black history should not be a choice but should be mandatory. Our curriculum should not be reinforcing the message that a sizeable part of the British population are not valued. 

Black people have been in Britain since Roman times, have contributed to and shaped the foundation of our society. Therefore, we are asking you to specifically include Black histories on the national curriculum from KS1 - KS4 and to include Black British histories across different subject areas, including History, Citizenship, English and PSHE. By doing so, you can invest in the lives and opportunities of all young people across the UK to become fully rounded citizens and create a better, fairer society. This is in line with the DfE Strategy’s first principle as highlighted in 2015-2020 World-class Education and Care:

                        “Our first principle is to ensure each policy puts children and

                        young people first. We must not let anything detract from

                        improving the lives and opportunities of those who rely on the

                        education and children social care systems.” – p.11, DfE strategy 2015-2020 

Further, I am asking that you address the incredibly urgent issue of the underrepresentation of BAME teachers in UK schools. In 2018, 85.9% of all teachers in state-funded schools in England were White British (out of those whose ethnicity was known), while only 78.5% of the working age population was White British at the time of the 2011 Census. Further, 92.9% of headteachers were White British. By not making a concerted effort to address these disparities, we are depriving our younger generations of the valuable perspective and insight from a range of backgrounds. We are also depriving BAME students of role models within their learning environments. I urge you to please take positive action to improve this situation, such as implementing new initiatives to encourage and support more BAME individuals to enter the profession.

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The Black Curriculum is demanding that you work with them to adequately incorporate Black British history into the national curriculum and to fulfil your goals of British education truly being able to help the government’s “commitments to social justice and economic growth.”

Will you meet with the leaders of the Black Curriculum? They are ready and waiting for your response.  

With thanks,

[Insert name]