Scotland must own up to it's contribution to the slave trade. It also has a duty to ensure that the public are aware of it's part in the colonisation of countries around the world.

The four statues: Drake, Blake, Nelson and even a nameless white man as a ‘representation’ of Imperialist. Racist. Power. All have strong roots in the slave trade. Down with honouring white supremacy and people who subjugated nations and enslaved people! Deptford Town Hall opened in 1905 as the town centre, but since it was taken over by Goldsmiths in the late 1990s, it’s no longer open to the local community. Not only are community members denied access to the building, but we must also endure glorified emblems of slavery on the front of the building. The four statues are of: Sir Francis Drake (c. 1540 – 1596), a pioneer of the slave trade making at least three royally sponsored trips to West Africa to kidnap Africans and sell them. Elizabeth I awarded Drake a knighthood in 1581. Robert Blake (1598 – 1657), an admiral who served under Oliver Cromwell throughout the English Civil War. He fought the Dutch to secure the (slave) trade triangle between the Caribbean, West Africa and England. Cromwell was responsible for trafficking the first waves of enslaved people to and from the Caribbean; installing the plantation system in Jamaica; and the massacres in Drogheda (1649). Horatio Nelson (1758 – 1805), was a naval flag officer whose leadership was during the Napoleonic Wars (1803 – 1815). Nelson spent a large part of his career in the Caribbean and developed an affinity with the slave owners there, using his influence against the abolitionist movement in Britain. The fourth statue, understood to be a ‘representative’ figure, rather than a specific person, from the period when the building was constructed. It shows a modern admiral, with sextant and binoculars. Deptford was strongly connected with the transatlantic slave trade, with many ships built, fitted and repaired in the local docks before heading out to Africa. Olaudah Equiano was initially trafficked to Deptford; he fought to become a freedman and was one of the key figures in the abolitionist movement. Here is a man we want to remember. Original text and text that is on the placards here: https://www.gold.ac.uk/about/history/dth-statues/

A comprehensive understanding of Britain's own influence in colonial rule should be at the epicentre of the social understanding of current and essential issues such as racism. Britain’s role in colonialism and the effects this continually has globally, as well as upholding white privilege and institutionalised racism, are subjects that, if taught to teenagers, would do so much for deconstructing racism in our current society and in British culture as we know it. This is especially important in an area like Burghfield Common, where over 93% of the population is white. Although this is a subject that should be taught in schools across the UK, the homogeneous population in Burghfield Common and the surrounding areas means that it is particularly important that this issue is taught at The Willink School. We would like nothing better than ensuring that future generations of Willink pupils have a whole, comprehensive education at the school.

Not understanding mental health and why you feel a certain way can have a huge affect later on in life as people will bottle up their feelings without dealing with them. This can lead to people having severe mental health issues which could have been avoided if they understood their feelings better. Some statistics that demonstrate this are: 9% of men and 5% of women have no one to rely on for emotional support, 50% of men and 40% of women feel uncomfortable talking about emotion and 52% of men and 42% of women are uncomfortable opening up.

The no detriment policy has been implemented because of the pandemic and yet it will not apply to this assignment, despite the fact that we are studying a third year module in our second year and trying to learn through an online platform. The TLAN sessions include a lot less time than we would have had in 'normal circumstances.' They lack structure and do not provide enough support to fully understand the units and therefore the content required for the assignment. By setting the deadline for the assignment a day after the policy ends, UWE is not supporting it's students to attain the highest grade they are capable of achieving, ironic for a module about teaching and learning. Sign this petition if you feel that the grade for this assignment should not be counted towards your final degree, which can only happen by changing the deadline so it is within the no detriment policy.

The word 'potential' creates the idea of expectation, and a feeling of failiure, as this expectation is an unreachable goal. No teacher ever writes 'fullfilled potential'. This is very damaging for many children, as it contributes to the very common belief of 'not being good enough', that so prominently found in adulthood. Help us get rid of this toxic word once and for all. For the children.

This is important as children develop , learn and internalise reading and sets of values from books they study at these ages. Following the outrageous killing of George Ffoyd in the US , institutional and personal racism has been shown in the light to be the dangerous and destructive hatred that it is. Education is the way many hearts and minds can be nurtured and made aware of these dangers and that justice comes must always prevail before peace - a pint t among others that this great text clearly demonstrates

How a child looks is important to them, especially during the teenage years. Some children are already very distressed by the new uniform they are expected to wear and this may negatively impact on their self image and mental health. It will make them stand out when outside of school in the surrounding town, in a way that the current uniform does not.

The delays in decision making mean that teachers are in the dark about how best to proceed with the new exam course.

Racism is a stain on humanity and must be eradicated. Many feel the main starting point in doing so is through education and learning. In light of George Floyd’s death and Black Lives Matter protests across the globe, I have been considering how we as a society can move forward and challenge racism, how I can teach my children about Black History and it occurred to me that I did not learn enough about Black History when I was at school, especially Scotland’s role in the slave trade. Having left school ten years ago, I have reached out to younger peers and colleagues who are still at school or have left school more recently to gather their views and, sadly, the consensus is that Black History is still not well represented in schools.

In light of recent events where we as a global community have witnessed innocent black lives taken in acts of racial discrimination, we have to ask ourselves why the response of many people is still to discriminate. It is the responsibility of the educational system to highlight the history of British colonisation and involvement in the Transatlantic Slave Trade to understand how and why racial prejudice, divisions and unequal opportunities exist for black people in Scotland and Britain. It seems that a lack of understanding of the importance of the Black Lives Matter movement comes down to a lack of education, and we cannot let this be a failing of our educational system, nor let it feed into peoples ignorance. The police brutality demonstrated in recent events unveils a universal racist system that does not afford black people the same privilege as that of white people and an understanding of this must be achieved through education. This is as much relevant in the UK as structural racism has been evident in Grenfell, disproportionate deaths related to COVID19 and the tragic incident involving Mark Duggan, to name a few.

Because black lives matter and the UK’s eyes need to be opened