NEWS

2010 UK COMPETITION

Arts & Minds: Celebrating Cultural Diversity in the United Kingdom

Entries are now open for the NASUWT’s 2010 Arts & Minds competition

Arts & Minds is a major annual UK-wide contest that harnesses the skills and talents of children and young people to promote and celebrate cultural diversity.

The competition challenges school pupils to use art and creative writing to explore themes of race, equality and identity. Each year’s competition has a theme and entries with a global dimension would be particularly welcomed this year.

Arts & Minds is open to pupils from primary, secondary and special schools across the UK and entries are judged in two categories: art and creative writing.

Winners will be invited to attend the Arts & Minds awards ceremony on 12 October in London. Previous awards ceremonies have had the support of high-profile politicians, including Ed Balls, former Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families, who presented last year’s overall winner, Oakhill Training Centre in Milton Keynes, with their award. Arts & Minds is supported by Unite Against Fascism, Love Music Hate Racism, SecEd and the Refugee Council.

Teacher Rob McCafferty from Oakhill explained why his students benefited from entering Arts & Minds. He said:

“All the children are really proud to have won the Arts & Minds awards and have really gained a lot by entering it"

Prizes included £1,000 for winning schools, with

vouchers worth up to £100 and high quality art materials for individual pupils.

DOWNLOAD the entry pack at www.nasuwt.org.uk/artsandminds



‘Woefully inadequate’ Smith Review

The NASUWT is deeply disappointed by the outcome of an independent review which failed to recommend that racist and fascists be barred from teaching and governing bodies. The Union is continuing its campaign for BNP members to be barred from working as teachers and serving on school governing bodies, following the outcome of the Smith Review. Maurice Smith, retired Chief Inspector of Schools, was asked by Ed Balls, former Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families, to examine the safeguards in place to protect pupils from racism and fascism in schools following the NASUWT’s BNP campaign. Mr Smith has now reported that he believes the existing measures to protect students from racist teachers are sufficient.

The NASUWT strongly rejects this

assertion and believes the report prepared by Mr Smith is woefully inadequate and focuses only on

16 Teaching Today May 2010

statistics rather than the wider issue of tackling racism and fascism. Chris Keates, General Secretary of the NASUWT, said: “I do believe that Maurice Smith has

squandered a golden opportunity to advance the cause of ensuring good race relations in schools. "The Report identifies some of the

equalities measures that should be in place in schools but fails to provide any evidence about how effective these have been and is complacent about the dangers schools and children face. “The idea that a person who signs up to membership of the BNP can simply leave these beliefs at the school gate and behave as a ‘professional’ when they walk into school is risible. “A principled stand was required. This is a matter of social justice, staff wellbeing and child protection.” The NASUWT will be pressing for the matter to be reconsidered.

BNP: the fight continues

In 2009, the NASUWT stepped up its long-standing campaign against the far right in response to the growing threat being posed by members of these parties in UK schools. Thousands of teachers, headteachers and school governors have signed the NASUWT’s petition against the BNP, demonstrating the profession’s rejection of racism, fascism and all those who hold such views.

This revulsion of the public was further demonstrated by the BNP’s dismal performance at the general and local elections, where they failed to make a breakthrough at Westminster level and saw most of their local councillors lose their seats. The message is clear racists and fascists have no place in public life.

www.nasuwt.org.uk