Labour Wants to Take Kids Who Say “yuk” to Food to Court for Racism
Toddlers should be taught about racism and singled out for criticism if they have racist attitudes, a Government-funded advisory group said yesterday.
It told nursery teachers, playgroup leaders and childminders to record and report every racist incident involving children as young as three.
These could include saying ‘Yuk’ about unfamiliar food.
Even babies should not be ignored in the hunt for racism because they can ‘recognise different people in their lives’, a new guide for nurseries and child care centres said.
The instructions for staff in charge of pre-school children in day care have been produced by the National Children’s Bureau, which receives £12million a year, mostly through taxpayer-funded organisations.
The NCB, which describes itself as ‘an umbrella body for the children’s sector’, has long used its resources to campaign on controversial issues, for example in favour of a legal ban on smacking by parents.
It also runs the Sex Education Forum, a campaign for more sex education in schools.
The new 366-page guide, Young Children and Racial Justice, warned that ‘racist incidents among children in early years settings-tend to be around name-calling-casual thoughtless comments, and peer group relationships’.
It said such incidents could include children using words like ‘blackie’, ‘Pakis’, ‘those people’ or ‘they smell’.
Children might also ‘react negatively to a culinary tradition other than their own by saying “yuk”.’
Nursery staff are told: ‘No racist incident should be ignored. When there is a clear racist intent, it is necessary to be specific in condemning the action.’
If children ‘reveal negative attitudes the lack of censure may indicate to the child that there is nothing unacceptable about such attitudes’.
Nurseries are encouraged to report as many racist incidents as possible to local councils.
‘Some people think that if a large number of racist incidents are reported, this will reflect badly on the institution,’ it said. ‘In fact, the opposite is the case.’
The guidance said that anyone who disagrees is racist themselves.
It also suggests cultivating the home languages of new immigrants - despite Government anxiety to promote the learning of English.
It said: ‘English is now viewed as the major language of the world but this is not because it has any innate linguistic advantages - it is because English is the language of power in a world dominated by English-speaking peoples.’
Critics of the race programme for pre- school children labelled it ‘totalitarian’.
Author and researcher on family life Patricia Morgan said: ‘Stepping in to stop severe bullying is one thing, but this is interference in the lives of children. It smacks of totalitarianism.
‘It is regulation of private speech and thought. They intend nursery staff to step into children’s playground squabbles and then report them to the local council as race incidents. Who would ever have thought that the anti-racism crusade would go so far?’
