Sheffield headteacher writes to parents urging them to educate their children on how to be anti-racist

The education professional said the school had a ‘huge responsibility’ to educate students on white privilege and white supremacy during lockdown.

It comes after thousands of people have demonstrated in the United States and the UK following the murder of George Floyd – a black man who died in police custody.

The Sheffield teacher, who has asked to remain anonymous, has written to parents and carers asking them to show solidarity with the Black Lives Matter movement and educate their children.

In the open letter, he said: “As a school, in a predominantly white area, we have a huge responsibility to ensure that children of all races recognise the existence of white privilege and white supremacy.

“The terrible situation in America can be turned into a positive if it becomes the catalyst for an honest and open conversation with your children.”

Parents were encouraged to watch motivational talks on decolonising the curriculum, deconstructing racism and the relevance of police brutality articles on why police in the UK.

He said: "The opportunity for school to educate is significantly reduced at the moment, therefore it felt the right time to try and support parents in being able to have some of those conversations at home.

"But in order to have those conversations, parents themselves may need to do some reading, some research into what the issues are around racial inequality across the globe.

"It's about how we as a predominately white demographic, we have a key role to play in helping to reduce those inequalities.”

Care-givers were advised to challenge all forms of racism and help their children access books and programmes by people from different ethnic backgrounds.

"The next generation has to be better than the current generation, along with parents, schools play a key role in shaping children's views of the world and views of the people around them,” he added.

The headteacher said they are committed to decolonising the curriculum in their own school.

"It's a case of doing better and trying to learn from the times when you think you haven't got it spot on.

“So the experiences we give children are as rich and diverse as they can be to reflect life in modern Britain.”

He concluded: “It is not ok to just say you don’t see colour, it is not ok to aim to just not be racist. You must be, and our children must be, anti-racist.”

Firth Park councillor and cabinet member for education and skills Abtisam Mohamed welcomed the ‘brave’ letter and hoped it would inspire other education professionals to have challenging conversations about race.

She said: "I thought it was really powerful and brave to send out.

"It's one of those subjects where it can attract discomfort and the way in which it's been approached head on is something to be celebrated.”

Ms Mohamed urged education professionals to reflect on how they can include more diverse teaching methods.

"There's a lot more schools in Sheffield could do in terms of looking at their curriculum and addressing diversity issues.

"What we teach is really important and that comes down to the curriculum but how we teach it is equally important.”