As students in the UK return to school following a summer of riots, schools are welcoming children with an assembly promoting “respect and tolerance”. The streamed assembly will highlight some of the positive stories of communities coming together in the aftermath of the unrest. The former teacher leading the assembly said she hoped it would help schools have a much-needed “fresh start”. Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson called the riots a “deeply powerful reminder of the importance of education”.
The violence this summer began with the stabbing attack in Southport, in which three children attending a dance class were killed. It spread to towns and cities across England and in Northern Ireland, fuelled by misinformation online, the far-right and anti-immigration sentiment. The “Big Back to School Assembly” will be streamed across the UK from St Nicholas Church of England Primary Academy in Boston, Lincolnshire. The school has pupils from around the world, with about 20 different languages spoken.
As head teacher Fiona Booth said, her staff are used to promoting a sense of “belonging,” but this can be harder to do during the summer holidays. She explained, “The things that have been streamed [on to] children’s mobile devices, [on to] grown-ups’ television screens – we’ve had no control over that. We’ve not been able to temper any of that. We’ve not been able to anchor or bring the calm in that chaos.” Mrs Booth said some children would have family members who may have taken part in the unrest, while others were from households targeted during the violence.
Picture News is the company running the assembly and is providing guidance for teachers dealing with difficult conversations afterwards. It suggests teachers use sticky notes as a good tool to encourage children to express their emotions, stick to facts when leading discussions, tell families what information they are sharing and why, and open discussions in the morning so that children have the rest of the day to ask questions.
Katie Harrison, co-founder of Picture News, said teachers reached out to the company over the summer asking for support on how to talk to children about the riots. In total, 3,447 primary schools had registered for the event and an estimated 550,000 children would see the assembly. Ms Harrison said teachers wanted a “fresh start” at the beginning of term but equally “they didn’t want to ignore some of the events that have happened”. Ms Phillipson added, “These events are a deeply powerful reminder of the importance of education – to help people tell truth from lies, encounter and understand those from different backgrounds, and grow strong and inclusive values.
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