London primary school asks pupils to dress as slaves for Black History Month
A primary school has apologised after a letter was sent asking pupils to
dress as slaves for an event to mark Black History Month.
Pupils at St Winefride’s Catholic Primary School in Newham, east London, were
told to wear “dirty and worn out” clothes stained with tea or coffee.
The letter also asked the year two class to arrive with “straw hats or fabric
head wraps” for the special assembly.
“It might be an idea to not wash these clothes and stain them with tea or
coffee to look more authentic,” the letter, seen by the Newham
Recorder, said.
The school’s headteacher, Paul Underwood, said the letter had been sent
without the approval of senior staff.
“I apologise on behalf of the school for Friday’s unauthorised letter and the
offence caused,” he said.
One parent questioned whether Jewish children would have been asked to
re-enact the Holocaust.
But others came to the school’s defence. Samantha Peters, who has two
children at the school, said the criticism was “unfair” and praised teachers for
their efforts to remember the “ugliness of slavery”.
A spokeswoman for the school said the stunt was “not in keeping with the
ethos of the school”.
“We deeply regret the offence caused to our pupils and school community,” she
said. “This letter was sent out without the approval of the school’s senior
management team or governors.
“We have written to those who received the letter to apologise and we have
also spoken to the members of staff involved and taken steps to ensure an
incident like this does not happen again.
“We understand the importance of Black History Month and celebrate this by
studying the success and achievements of black role models.”
A primary school has apologised after a letter was sent asking pupils to
dress as slaves for an event to mark Black History Month.
Pupils at St Winefride’s Catholic Primary School in Newham, east London, were
told to wear “dirty and worn out” clothes stained with tea or coffee.
The letter also asked the year two class to arrive with “straw hats or fabric
head wraps” for the special assembly.
“It might be an idea to not wash these clothes and stain them with tea or
coffee to look more authentic,” the letter, seen by the Newham
Recorder, said.
The school’s headteacher, Paul Underwood, said the letter had been sent
without the approval of senior staff.
“I apologise on behalf of the school for Friday’s unauthorised letter and the
offence caused,” he said.
One parent questioned whether Jewish children would have been asked to
re-enact the Holocaust.
But others came to the school’s defence. Samantha Peters, who has two
children at the school, said the criticism was “unfair” and praised teachers for
their efforts to remember the “ugliness of slavery”.
A spokeswoman for the school said the stunt was “not in keeping with the
ethos of the school”.
“We deeply regret the offence caused to our pupils and school community,” she
said. “This letter was sent out without the approval of the school’s senior
management team or governors.
“We have written to those who received the letter to apologise and we have
also spoken to the members of staff involved and taken steps to ensure an
incident like this does not happen again.
“We understand the importance of Black History Month and celebrate this by
studying the success and achievements of black role models.”
Source: The Independent
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