By Babette Brown, co-ordinator of Persona Doll Training, Mary Dickins, All Together Training and Consultancy, and Jane Lane, advocate worker for racial equality in the early years
We welcome Anne O'Connor's article raising issues of racism (Special report, 8 February) resulting from 'Celebrity Big Brother'. Discussion has focused on individuals and insufficient attention has been paid to exactly what racism is and its implications for children, families and society.
In his response to the programme, education secretary Alan Johnson omitted the importance of working with children long before they go to school on exactly the concerns that Anne raises. Unless children are provided with positive information about differences between people, evidence shows that they may be learning to be racially prejudiced, reflecting and perpetuating the racism in society.
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