Annex
Derby Council Letter to Ed Balls MP, Secretary
of State for Children, Schools and Families
As you are aware, there has been significant
recent media attention around the subject of forced marriage and
how schools in Derby have allegedly refused to display related
posters which have been published by the Government's Forced Marriage
Unit. The allegation came from Karma Nirvana during the course
of a Home Affairs Parliamentary Sub-Committee meeting and has
been covered extensively by the local and regional media. I am
also aware the Martin Salter MP has written to you about this,
specifically mentioning Derby. I have since verified the position
with the 13 maintained secondary schools in Derby and thought
it would be useful to share some factual details with you.
The poster referred to has not actually
been sent to schools. Rather, it is available on request from
the Government's Forced Marriage Unit. The Unit tells us that
schools usually become aware of their publications through their
website or by word of mouth. It is not so much a case, therefore,
of schools refusing to display the poster, but not being aware
of the poster's existence. There is also a reference on Teachernet
to FMU guidance but given the large number of websites and other
sources of information that schools need to keep abreast of, I
suspect this is not a completely reliable approach to dissemination,
if the Government expects all schools to address this issue actively
by displaying such posters.
Three of our schools have been directly
approached by Karma Nirvana, being schools with a high proportion
of children and young people of Asian heritage. Of those three,
two have engaged staff from Karma Nirvana to work directly in
their schools as part of the PSHCE programmes around marriage.
Furthermore, one of these is displaying the poster and associated
leaflets.
The third school approached by Karma
Nirvana already has in place a planned scheme of work on marriage
which includes educating children from all backgrounds about the
issues associated with forced marriage. None of the other ten
secondary schools in Derby recalls having been contacted by Karma
Nirvana on the subject. Furthermore, what strongly emerged from
talking to Headteachers was that they are all highly aware and
committed to responsible teaching around the subject of forced
marriage. They did inevitably, however, all resent the allegation
from Karma Nirvana which is a misrepresentation of the true position.
More generally, we are aware that there
is considerable sensitivity around the traditions of arranged
marriage and forced marriage and a subsequent reluctance amongst
many to openly discuss associated issues. We are acutely aware
of this and are working with schools to ensure that young people
receive appropriate messages and advice about where to seek support
and help if they are concerned that they may become victims of
forced marriage.
I hope this clarifies the position for
you and assists you in addressing the issues recently raised with
you and in the media.
March 2008
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