The Rt Hon Kemi Badenoch MP, Minister for Equalities
Government Equalities Office
Sanctuary Buildings
16-20 Great Smith Street
London
SW1P 3BT

Dear Minister,

I am writing on behalf of Don’t Divide Us. We wanted to thank the Commission for Racial and Ethnic Disparities for considering our submission and for their landmark report and its recommendations.

We are pleased to see that the report tackles the issues of the educational disadvantage of all ethnic groups and acknowledges the realities of these at different stages of a student’s life. It does so without resorting to crude assumptions that only non-white pupils are affected by educational disadvantage. The focus on solutions across the board is welcome. There is a need for resources for a more inclusive curriculum that highlights the nuanced telling of the British Empire and how modern Britain has come into being. As the report states, it is important that political neutrality is maintained and that approaches to British history are truthful and balanced.

At DDU we would want to see the following recommendations be followed through by the government:

Recommendation 6: Replicate the factors of educational success for all communities

Invest in meaningful and substantial research to understand and replicate the underlying factors that drive high performing groups’ success.

Recommendation 7: Invest in proven interventions through better-targeted funding
Systematically target disparities in education outcomes between disadvantaged pupils and their peers through funding, considering geographical variation, ethnicity, gender and socio-economic status.

Recommendation 20: Making of modern Britain: teaching an inclusive curriculum
Through independent experts, produce high-quality teaching resources to tell the multiple, nuanced stories of the contributions made by different groups that have made this country the one it is today.

Recommendation 24: Disaggregate the term ‘BAME’
Stop using aggregated and unhelpful terms such as ‘BAME’, to better focus on understanding disparities and outcomes for specific ethnic groups.

Yours Sincerely,

Tarjinder Gill
(on behalf of Don’t Divide Us)