A school in Lincolnshire has been criticised for its lack of diversity, and was denied an ‘outstanding’ report in a recent OFSTED inspection as a result.
The majority of pupils at Middle Rasen primary school are white and British and Ofsted found many have very little exposure to and knowledge of the cultural diversity that exists in the UK.
The ruling comes as a result of ‘controversial’ new rules that requires schools to actively promote British values such as tolerance, democracy and mutual respect, introduced after a scandal involving Muslim extremists trying to infiltrate a school in Birmingham occurred.
“In terms of cultural development, all schools must teach pupils about fundamental British values including mutual respect and tolerance of those with different faiths and beliefs,” OFSTED stated. “That way they will be prepared for the future wherever they go.”
Despite the criticisms, the school, which received the second highest Ofsted rating appears to welcome the challenge of diversifying its pupils and has said that it will be looking for ways to help its pupils to interact with other cultures.
“We all know Lincolnshire is predominantly white, so for us to actually have that first-hand experience we’ve really got to think about how we are going to make it happen,” head teacher Melonie Bruton told the BBC. “One idea at the moment is to make a link with an inner-city school.”
Although the school has said that it will do is best to address the problem, parents hit back at OFSTED describing their penalisation as ‘bizarre’.
In addition, Chris McGovern from the Campaign for Real Education, a right wing pressure group which pushes for ‘higher standards and more parental choice in state education’ also criticised OFSTED saying that the school should not have been penalised.
“The problem is that this school is the first casualty of a new government policy which requires schools to actively promote understanding of minority points of view,” he told BBC News.
“We are all in favour of tolerance and minority points of view, but if you are in Lincolnshire in the middle of the countryside it’s very difficult to have face-to-face interaction with minority groups.”
The school was also marked down for the lack of opportunity for both students and pupils to progress in their work.
