in the news

Articles in the Guardian and Telegraph (20 January 2010) highlight a new website launched on the same day by The Bristol University  Centre for Market and Public Organisation  http://www.measuringdiversity.org.uk/  The website data shows that while ethnic segregation is generally declining or remaining constant in Britain’s schools it remains a significant reality in some cities.

The information in the website and media articles underlines the necessity of continued, thoughtful and creative work by schools on cohesion. The Schools Linking Network (SLN)is an example of such work. It provides a pragmatic and effective response to the need for young people from all areas of the country to experience meeting others of different socio economic and cultural backgrounds.

Professor Simon Burgess, director of Bristol's Centre for Market and Public Organisation, said: "Ethnic segregation in schools is not increasing. In fact, in a lot of cities, it is slowly declining. While there are isolated examples of increasing segregation for some ethnic groups in some places, the overall story is one of lower segregation.

"This seems a positive development. If people's attitudes and views are strongly influenced by their school days, then more ethnically mixed schools can only be a good thing."

However, we cannot and should not manipulate all schools to make them diverse and we cannot force families to move or bus their children to different schools in order to mix. Where there are no opportunities to experience the diversity of Britain within a school, school linking provides fantastic opportunities to bring children, young people, their teachers and their families together to share experiences and develop understanding of diversity and what unites them. School linking also supports other organizations such as museums, galleries and sports providers to get involved and reach out to all communities, to develop inclusive provision across the district.

SLN has extremely positive outcomes and now works in 40 LAs across England. It is also important to note that just having a diverse population in a school does not automatically mean there will be cohesion. Schools with more diverse populations often have to work hard to develop cohesive communities within - what we call 'internal linking'! There are positive examples of this where schools have indeed become more diverse over the past few years and have taken positive action, knowing that sudden or rapid change in the make up of the school can cause divisions or tensions if not managed positively and confidently.

The Department for Children, Schools and Families states “Where you live and go to school are important factors in developing cohesive communities and that is why we have a duty on schools to promote cohesion and to think creatively about how things like twinning, sports, art and entertainment can be used to bring children together and help them understand similarity rather than difference.