Not in the name of mothers, teachers, and other carers!
No school apartheid!

The nationality, Immigration and Asylum Bill would force traumatised children and families claiming asylum into isolated "Accommodation centres".  Children would be denied the right to go to school with other children.  Parents and schools oppose this segregation.  Our communities must not be divided.

6pm Tuesday 8 October
(allow 15 minutes extra to get through security)
Briefing & lobby House of Lords
Moses Room
Nearest tube, Westminster    Wheelchair accessible

Speakers:
Burbuqe Bakalli Sejdiu, mother of two, Kosovan refugee
Lord Beaumont
Kay Chapman, mother of two
Brigid Jackson-Dooley, Headteacher; Susannah Mellor, EAL teacher Cleves Primary School, Newham
Andy Knowles, Headteacher, Hampstead School, Camden
Anne Luth, Deputy Headteacher, Carlton Nursery School, Brent
Lyn Manton, Headteacher, Kingsgate Primary School, Camden
Caroline Millar, Parent Governor, Morrison School, Liverpool
Marion Rosen, Star Primary School, Newham
Huw Salisbury, Headteacher, South Camden Community School
Richard Solly, Churches Commission for Racial Justice

All Welcome

"This is the most disgusting bit of vote catching I've come across.  I'm not swamped by refugee children.  I'm swamped by government initiatives and bureaucracy.  Segregation children will only fuel racism and deprive English children of the chance to mix with youngsters from different backgrounds."
Andy Knowles

"Our children have survived wars, lost dearest ones, seen massacres.  But lots of schools in this country have refugees from both sides of war zones - where children are so much integrated in their new life, with new class mates, they don't even notice of even know who is from where, or if once their parents were in the same war on different sides!"
Burbuqe Bakalli Sejdiu

"Resources are not the issue, dividing the community is.  Low income taxpayers are encouraged to blame immigrants for our difficulties, yet corruption at every level exempts large corporations from paying taxes which could pay for education, health and other basic needs, and the military budget has just gone up."
Kay Chapman

We want asylum seekers in our schools

The removal of asylum seeking children from schools goes hand in hand with the destruction of multidimensional education. Many parents, students and teachers are angry that the National Curriculum forces schools to prioritise skills for industry and drop fundamental subjects like history and music. Running multi-national, -racial, -lingual, -faith schools demands an anti-racist, multi-ability approach, the kind of creative and caring curriculum that most teachers went into the job to teach. 

From East Glasgow to Newcastle, Liverpool and London, teachers are denouncing National Curriculum suppression and the immigration Bill. They say asylum seeking children are not “swamping” their schools. Rather they have contributed to and enriched them.

What you can do

• Ask your school and local education authority to write and protest to the Lords. Send your letter to the Lords and tell them the community feels strongly about it
• Ask someone from your school to come on 8 October and tell the Lords what it will mean for all children.
• Write to: your local press, educational journals, education editors of all the national daily papers, any school TV or radio programmes. (We can help you to gather names, addresses and emails.)
• Contact teachers associations/trade unions you belong to or know about and ask them to get their branches to write.
• Write to the House of Lords as soon as possible. They have already debated amendments and will be voting on them from 7 October. 

LET THE HOUSE OF LORDS KNOW WHAT YOU THINK!

For the Green Party: 
Lord Beaumont BEAUMONTT@parliament.uk  Fax: 0207 219 5979

For the Lib Dems: 
Lord Dholakia dholakian@parliament.uk  Fax: 7219 2082
Elizabeth Hannah (office) hannae@parliament.uk  

For the Cross Bench (i.e. independent): 
Lord Craig of Radley craigd@parliament.uk  
Julian Dee (office) deej@parliament.uk  Fax: 7219 0670

For Labour: 
Lord Desai m.desai@lse.ac.uk  Fax: 7955 7591
Lord Grocott (government chief whip) Fax: 7219 5979
Lord Williams of Mostyn (Leader of the House) 
psqwilliams@cabinet-office.x.qsi.gov.uk  Fax: 7219 3051

For the Conservatives: 
Baroness Anelay anelayj@parliament.uk  Fax: 7219 4858
Baroness Blatch blatche@parliament.uk  Fax: 7219 1177

We would be glad to talk to mothers, fathers and other carers, governors, teachers and other 
school and nursery staff about this. Sample letters available. Please send us a copy of your letter.

Let us be together!

Co-ordinated by mothers with the support of Legal Action for Women 
kay@crossroadswomen.net  Tel: 0207 482 2496 or 07904 255145

We want asylum seekers in our schools. Excerpts from contributions to the briefing on the eve of the Nationality, Immigration & Asylum Bill debate, House of Lords, 8 October 02

No School Apartheid! Presentation at the Transport & General Workers Union (T&G) fringe meeting at the Labour Party Conference, Blackpool, 1 October 2002.

Sample letter from a school to the Lords

Not in the name of mothers, teachers and other carers! No school apartheid!
Mothers and other parents and carers at Kingsgate Primary School in Camden, London, are circulating the following letter urging their children's school to oppose the government plan to detain children seeking asylum so they can no longer attend school with other children.  We strongly object to this segregation... more on this

Press:
'Heads disgusted at refugee segregation', Times Educational Supplement, 5 July 2002

In defence of asylum Letter published in The Guardian 15 June 2002

All Women Count