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£230m schools plan can cut segregation
Reporter: KAREN DOHERTY
Date online: 15 July 2009
OLDHAM’S £230 million secondary school rebuilding programme is a unique opportunity to tackle segregation, according to a community cohesion think-tank.
But all local communities must be fully consulted and involved in developing new schools.
These are among the findings of a new report “Building Community Cohesion in Britain” which focused on 13 areas, including Oldham.
Written by the the Institute of Community Cohesion (iCoCo), it named Oldham among the most segregated areas of the country.
It warned of “white flight” from schools and said: “Many of the schools and colleges in the areas we have studied are segregated to a greater or lesser extent and the evidence available to us at a local level suggested that this was generally worsening over recent years.
“This reflects in part residential segregation, but it reflects also parental choice, despite the fact that most people we spoke to in focus groups wanted their children to have a mixed education.
“Parental choice tended to push people to what they saw as the safe option, where children with similar backgrounds went.
“Parents make similar decisions so that their child can attend a single-sex school, or a faith school.”
The report praised Oldham’s award-winning peacemaker project for “bringing together young people from segregated secondary schools to work together to overcome prejudice.”
And it pointed to the Government’s Building Schools for the Future Programme, adding: “BSF provides in many areas a unique opportunity to tackle segregation and local groups need to ensure that principles of community cohesion underpin local plans; and that all local communities are fully consulted and involved in the process of developing new schools.”
Oldham’s BSF plans will see all of its secondary schools rebuilt or refurbished by 2015 and includes replacing five schools with three academies run by sponsors. One aim of Oldham’s aims is to create schools that have a better social, ethnic and religious mixture.
However, a council report admits the task of bringing schools together has raised concerns about community tensions. It adds: “The BSF programme has been identified as a potentially significant risk for the council.”
Nick Johnson, author of the iCoCo report, said: “Oldham has acknowledged the problem and is doing something about it.
“We can’t say it has all the answers, but it is trying to learn what the answers might be. In that sense, Oldham is to be applauded.”
However, Councillor Kay Knox, Cabinet member for children, young people and families insisted that community cohesion was not the main aim of BSF.
She said: “The main driver is about getting all our schools to a 21st century standard. It is about raising attainment.”
Comments
Integration in education? Just look at Oldham 6th from college. All mixing(?) together in classes but when they leave, they collect into their own cultures and never the twain doth meet, not even pakistani and Bangladeshi cultures with the same religion. Two very different ways of living won't be forced together
yet more politicians rose tinted dreams, what are the likely consequences if this doesn't work? I bet that hasn't even been thought of!
‘White flight’ ....... Ethnic cleansing of the Christians & whites why don’t they tell the truth, my mother and father were forced out of their house by usual methods excepted by the administration of positive racism ombc. The children don’t even speak English when they are born here, a very sad picture of over 50yrs of zero progress by a race that refuses to integrate.
Of course there will be whie flight because the so called ethnic minority want it all their way.
You cannot force intergration,which is what the council is trying to do by closing grange and then moving the school a couple of miles down the road to royton,which in fact will ruin both communities,schools are for communities and they should be in the heart of the communities,typical politicians claiming to listen to all but really listening to nobody but themselves.
OMBC are clutching at straws and trying to find any way possible to justify their idiotic academies!
the teachers dont want them, the local residents and general public dont want them and i can only guess that these segragated communities wont want them either! the majority have failed to intergrate over the last half a century! what makes you think this will help?
"Nick Johnson, author of the iCoCo report, said: “Oldham has acknowledged the problem and is doing something about it.........."
Sorry but Oldhan did not have a problem 25yrs ago.What changed..................
Many years ago Hazel Blares said community cohesion was the main aim of BSF
I would like to know why rich and poor are not forced to mix?
The rich are not forced to have their houses in the middle of council estates.
Why are races forced to mix when they clearly do not want to?
I hope the cuts happen as I do not want Grange school in Royton. This will not be integration, but will mean hundreds of Asians travelling to Royton and back everday causing problems in the town. REBIULD GRANGE ON its current site.
Have Your Say
So when Tony Blair came to power with the NuLabour project the sound bite then was “Education, Education, Education. Now it looks like the buzz word are “Integration, Integration, Integration and the Lib Dems seem to flip flop on giving any real answer. One thing is for sure the bill for this social engineering programme will leave the taxpayers paying for many years.
By Husting @ 15/07/2009 16:21:56