Early years staff have expressed concern at racial incidents. And yet, says Mary Evans, they are in a unique position to be supportive at times of tension and to help children appreciate our diverse society
An American politician famously remarked that truth is the first casualty of war but he could have added that sadly, all too often, tolerance is the first victim at times of tension.
Racist abuse and attacks are increasing against the backdrop of events in Iraq. This time, there is the further threat to community stability with the extremist British National Party fielding candidates in 200 wards at the local elections held today (1 May).
Several local authorities throughout Britain have already found, through their routine monitoring of racist incidents, that there has been an increase this year in attacks on Muslim pupils and on pupils who are believed to be Muslim, according to Sue Shinkfield, Liverpool City Council's senior effectiveness officer for equal opportunities.
While none of the early years organisations or settings contacted by Nursery World reported attacks on their property directly, they registered concerns at reported incidents within their communities.
A nursery school headteacher in Liverpool, who wishes to remain anonymous, says, 'I feel we are on the brink of something with fairly horrendous potential. I think people are feeling fraught. Muslim parents were very angry about the war.' And Dr David Turner, of Swale Against Racism, which monitors racist activity in Kent and is particularly watching reaction to the creation of a centre for asylum seekers in Sittingbourne, says, 'I have noticed an increase in racist abuse on the streets.'
Teaching unions and local education authorities have taken the lead in advising educators on how to cope with the impact of the war and combat Islamophobia.
Ms Shinkfield and her colleagues issued guidance to the heads of all Liverpool's schools including nursery schools. She says, 'We have a particular school in the city where there is a child whose family are from Baghdad and still have relatives there, and some of the staff members and children have family in the armed forces. The school is taking a proactive approach to the situation and supporting the families and staff.'
Early years practitioners with their strong bonds with families and their role as early educators are uniquely placed to be supportive at times of increasing community tension and to help children understand and appreciate our diverse society.
The Canterbury Children's Centre in Bradford played a key role in encouraging people to talk when riots spread to the local estate three years ago. The centre manger, Sharon Hogan, explains, 'One member of our staff was targeted and her home was attacked. Petrol rags were thrown in her garden. It was a very unusual situation because this is one of the few mixed estates in Bradford and people do relate quite well towards each another.
'There is a group call Canterbury Action Together. We called a series of forums for people to talk about what was happening. The local councillors came. Our staff led the meetings because the parents know them and feel comfortable with them.'
The Sheffield Children's Centre has pioneered children's services reflecting social diversity for more than 20 years. On a daily basis, 29 languages are spoken in the centre. Also, half of its staff are men, which has encouraged fathers to become involved.
The centre's chair, Chrissy Meleady explains that its multicultural approach permeates all activities. The children and their families share one another's different festivals, music and drama, as well as playing different traditional games and sports.
She says, 'Through these activities, children and their parents come to understand and know about other faiths and beliefs through everyday experiences and from people to whom it is important rather than through artificial and adult-led exposition.
'What we have done recently is increase the representation in the centre's home corner with some Arabic script and Bedouin tents. There are currently different scripts displayed around the centre.
'We encourage the children to see themselves as a global generation. We have had sporadic episodes of BNP activity in the city. What we do is have open discussions. The children know that they can talk about issues that affect them.'
Dealing with prejudice
Prejudice, or pre-judging others when we don't know all the facts, is common and even more likely in times of crisis when someone we know has been hurt. Bad things happen but when we generalise from one bad event to whole groups of people we add to the risk of conflict. Most parents want their children to be able to overcome prejudice and work towards a more peaceful world.
Set a good example
Children learn from what parents do and say.
- Talk to the children in your setting about your values and why you hold them.
- Show respect for people with different backgrounds, cultures and views from yours.
- Take part in community events that involve different peoples and where you and your children can learn more about other peoples.
- Support or befriend a refugee family.
- Openly defend people who are victims of prejudice in action and conversation.
- Think about your own values and where they come from - what has influenced you to believe the way that you do.
Get information
- If there is a particular group of people for whom prejudice is a problem in your community get correct information about the group from a library or reputable website.
- Find out the similarities and differences between those people and yourselves and the reasons for differences.
- Share this with your children and talk about the positive things that come from learning about different ways of being.
- Let your children know that the huge majority of people in the world, from every cultural background and religion, want a world that is safe, secure, healthy, tolerant and peaceful.
Extracted from War and Children by Pam Linke of the Child and Youth Health and Australian Early Childhood Association. Full text is available on www.aeca.org.au.For more information or related books on this topic, e-mail national@aeca.org.au.
In conflict
The war in Iraq may be over but continuing unrest in the Middle East means that scenes of conflict look set to remain a central feature of television news coverage.
In response, Rashida Baig, a social worker and freelance consultant in anti-oppressive practice, together with Jane Lane, policy director of Early Years Equality (EYE), have written a guide to help early years practitioners consider the impact of terror and war on young lives, to suggest what they might do to alleviate some of the consequences and to share examples of good practice.
They argue, 'As practitioners we have a responsibility to take steps to ensure that we protect all children from both emotional and physical harm and to consider sensitive and creative ways of healing the damage that may have been inflicted on young minds, from whatever source it has come. We need to provide a sanctuary of support, empathy, reassurance and care for them.'
The document, Building bridges for our future, the way forward through times of terror and war, which is to be published shortly by EYE, uses a series of case studies to discuss how settings can address a range of difficult situations and includes references on where to find further information and help.
Further information
- Early Years Equality (EYE) PO Box 28, Wallasey CH45 9NP. Tel/fax: 0151 639 1778, e-mail eyequality@tiscali.co.uk
- Institute of Race Relations tel: 0207 837 0041, www.irr.org.uk
- The National Union of Teachers website is at www.teachers.org.uk.It has published: War in Iraq - the impact on schools
- The NASUWT website is at www.nasuwt.org.uk.It has published Islamophobia - Advice for Schools and Colleges
- The Muslim Council of Britain website is at www.mcb.org.uk
- The Refugee Council website is at: www.refugeecouncil.org.uk
