Is the education system discriminating against black pupils?

A thinktank has claimed that a two-tier education system unfairly discriminates against black, working-class children

A report by the Institute of Race Relations (IRR), which focuses on London, has found that government responses to moral panics over serious youth violence has led to black pupils disproportionately being sent to pupil referral units (PRU) and alternative provision (AP). The IRR report suggests that young black Caribbean boys are nearly four times more likely to be permanently excluded from school, and twice as likely to receive a fixed-period exclusion, than the rest of the school population. Further to this, the report suggests that there is a ‘PRU-to-prison’ pipeline –  in 2017-18 89% of children in detention had been excluded from school.

As a consequence of the disparity in exclusions, the report suggests that a two-tier education system – with ‘deserving’ and aspirational students in the academy sector and ‘undeserving’ and alienated kids in the PRU and AP sectors – has emerged. London’s proportion of pupils in PRUs and AP is double the national rate, and the paper suggests that the capital is leading this educational two-tier system trend. The report’s author, Jessica Perera, an IRR researcher, explains this idea further, stating that the two-tier state education system comprises “academies for the aspirational and pupil referral units for the defiant and apathetic.”

Perera argues that the ‘underserving’ are not just anomalies in a system that encourages learning and race-class inclusivity; they represent a system that has been purpose-built to segregate. “Amidst the Black Lives Matter protests we have seen increased demands to decolonise the curriculum,” she said. “At the same time, the coronavirus pandemic has exposed a system which fails working-class students.

“This paper reminds us that those who have been continually failed are found in PRUs, and AP, and that their segregation is a damning indictment of a planned education malaise, which has been designed and deployed on a specific section of society with a history of resistance and rebellion.”

Monocultural national curriculum?

Studies have shown that academies are more likely to permanently exclude pupils and, as the prevalence of academies continues to grow, Perera questions whether rising exclusions are “about removing a section of the urban multiracial working class which poses a threat to incoming gentrifying students”.

She also argues that black working-class boys have been let down by the ‘monocultural’ national curriculum, which replaced attempts – particularly in the capital – at progressive, multicultural education.

However, a government spokesperson said, “We know some groups of children are more likely to be excluded than others, and we expect teachers to look at how to address underlying causes of disruptive behaviour in order to avoid excluding, where possible, while also keeping schools safe and disciplined for all.

“The school curriculum is already broad and ambitious, teaching pupils about different cultures with significant historic figures from black and ethnic minority communities, underpinned by the need for mutual respect and understanding.”

After a year that brought racial inequality and tensions to the forefront, now more than ever, it is absolutely imperative that these issues are addressed and changes made to ensure that racial equality in schools is achieved.