Phillipson not addressing issues facing black children in education, Abbott says

Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson has failed to address concerns surrounding black children’s experience of education, Diane Abbott has said.

The MP said “colour blindness” when it comes to education is “rampant”, with ministers preferring to focus on the disadvantages faced by white working-class pupils.

During a debate on Black History Month, she urged the Government to prevent millions of black and ethnic minority children “being failed”.

Ms Abbott, the longest-serving female MP who holds the title Mother of the House, currently sits as an independent MP for Hackney North and Stoke Newington.

She had the Labour whip withdrawn after repeating remarks she had previously made suggesting black people face more overt racism than other groups, including Jewish people.

Speaking in the Commons, Ms Abbott said: “If we wish seriously to address the life chances of this generation of black and minority ethnic children, we really do have to address issues in relation to education.

“But, to my knowledge, none of the four past secretaries of state for education, or even my colleague the current Secretary of State for Education, have ever mentioned black children and education.

“They prefer instead to speak solely of the disadvantages of white working-class pupils.

“To give another example of this rampant colour blindness when it comes to education, the Children’s Wellbeing Schools Bill currently going through Parliament makes no mention of race.

“This year’s children’s wellbeing and safeguarding practice reviews says there is a significant silence in talking about race and racism in child safeguarding.

“I have worked for many years on issues in relation to black children in education and I plead with ministers to start to address this issue, because we’re talking about millions of children who are being failed by the system.”

Ms Abbott pointed to a quote by the former director general of the prison service Martin Mary, who said “on the day you exclude a child from school, you might as well give them a date and time to turn up at prison”.

She later intervened on minister Taiwo Owatemi, and said: “The entire House is concerned about the educational outcomes of working class children in general.

“But does she accept that if we only ever talk about white working class children, black parents and black communities may believe that their children are being ignored?”

Ms Owatemi said: “The Government is looking at how to address educational outcomes for all groups.”

Labour former minister Dawn Butler warned of racism “from an apartheid era and from slavery”.

The Brent East MP read out abusive messages she had received, telling Parliament she had been told to “pipe down, monkey” and “deport yourself”.

“They haven’t even upgraded their racism. It’s just old, pathetic, annoying, but it is scary,” Ms Butler said.

She also suggested changing the wording in the honours system, by replacing “empire” with “excellence”.

Warinder Juss, Labour MP for Wolverhampton West, told MPs: “Only last week I put up a photograph of me, having been out door knocking, speaking to constituents, and somebody decided to put up a post saying ‘another foreigner representing Wolverhampton’.

“It shocked me, even though, having grown up, I used to be racially attacked, physically attacked, growing up, because of the fact that I wore a turban, because of the colour of my skin. But even a comment like that shocked me, because I wasn’t expecting to hear it in the present times.”