Representatives of the NEU’s annual conference supported a proposal that the police call to deal with students “should be the last resort” for schools and teachers. A number of speakers at the conference said that Child Q’s experience – which was sought after by police at her school – was not an isolated case for black students, who were more likely to be influenced by the police under the Safe School Officer. (SSO) policy. A national outcry erupted last month when it was revealed that the 15-year-old had been strip-searched by Met police officers at her school after being falsely accused of possessing cannabis. No cannabis was found. “What happened at Child Q can not be allowed to happen again,” said Carly Slingsby, a teacher at Hackney, the local authority that includes the Child Q school. “We need to close the doors and gates of the school to the police so that our children know that they will not be the next Child Q.” Slingsby said the schools were selected to have SSOs based on the percentage of students in free school meals, absenteeism rates and the number of children with social workers: “These officers have decided on our children before they even set foot. to school .” Louise Lewis, executive member of the NEU and a teacher from Kirklees, said her heart broke when she read about Child Q.’s experiences. “For school staff, the school’s policies and systems for protecting this child have failed in the worst possible way, as have the police. “Unfortunately, this was not an isolated incident by the police, so we need a change now,” Lewis said. “These facts and events are worrying and therefore, as the largest educational association in the UK, it is important that we stand with Child Q and support her drive for change.” Neil Dada, a teacher from Redbridge, told delegates at the Bournemouth conference that the Child Q case “should raise questions about whether police should be in schools at all.” “As shocking as it is, this is not the only example of damage caused by the presence of the police. There are families who are similarly affected and worry that police in schools have a disproportionate impact on black children. “Schools should not be policed and children should not be criminalized. “It only serves to limit their educational and life opportunities, feeding a pipeline from school to prison that unfairly affects the working class and black students.” Kevin Courtney, the union’s co-secretary-general, said: “This must stop and the NEU calls on the police to stop searching for children and to consult the government extensively on the revised Behavior Guidance, which has a front and a child protection center. . In his opening remarks at the conference, NEU President Daniel Kebede said that the Child Q case highlighted “a growing trend in which police are constantly present in schools”, leading to increased criminalization of children. “Some people say I’m wrong and the police can provide a pastoral role, but I do not think that ‘s right. “They humiliated, abused and humiliated Child Q,” Kebede said. Noting that Child Q had no drugs, Kebede said: “I know a place where 11 out of 12 toilets were found to be cocaine positive. It is a place where there is a 24 hour police presence. It is called the Houses of Parliament. Because it is [the Met] “Guys who are looking for a strip and not MPs who are looking for a strip?”
