to think that the school logo is not very inclusive?

[weakestlink]

We have been looking at all the local primary schools as DS2 may be on the Autistic Spectrum and he may not get all the support he needs at the school we originally chose for him.

We have found a really lovely primary for him which has a really positive attitude to SEN and has a Good Ofsted report as well.

BUT DH is really not keen on the schools logo which appears everywhere, in colour, including on sweatshirts, polo shirts, book bags etc.

The logo is of two parents and a child reading a book. The bodies of the people are in blue/green but the heads (just ovals no features) are all white/pale beige colour. DH is black and says he is a bit about the logo and it would have been better if they had kept the heads the same colours as the bodies (blue & green) rather than putting a white family on the logo.

Is he being over-sensitive? I am white and we live in a mainly white, rural area.

I do always notice that the local Sure Start Newsletter is filled with photos of a wide range of ethnicities so they have obviously made a real effort to do that.

What do you think?

Definitely give him an appropriately coloured felt pen to tailor the design. I do think this is really not the kind of thing he should be worrying about really. have you asked why he finds this a problem? It just seems an odd thing to be worrying about. Perhaps something like the park incident has made him over sensitive.

It does beg the question; if your DH does not want to be a minority...

Why move to an area where the majority are white... why not a multicultral area in that case?

Just because it's never been an issue before is no reason not to take it seriously. Maybe the demographic of the area is changing.

Just to point out, All of you pulling up Claw on that innocent comment are making the same connection.

Are you racist?

Dear God, is he one of these people who actively looks for things to be offended about or is it just this?

No, claw made the connection howlingbitch not us.

I see your point mumbling, maybe getting into the PTA is the best way to go about it.

I think so worral.

Well I don't know about you lot but I'm not white or beige. I'm a sort of mottled pink or purple when it's cold! Should I take offence too? Fgs haven't we got enough problems without people inventing them?

worra he may be...or he may be a good Dad who wants his son to have good role models and a good idea of his place in society. He may be nervous...either way his feelings are valid.

Crosshair, green/blue/beige logos or green/blue/black logos or green/blue/yellow logos, i wouldnt think racist or excluding anyone. My son has a disability and i do not think that his school logo has excluded him, just because there is no sign of disabilities on his school logo.

I'm not accusing claw of being 'a racist' but my mouth did open and said wow when I read her comment.

Probably just didn't put it the best way.

<a class="break-all" href="http://www.google.co.uk/imgres?imgurl=80.94.32.210/images/healthy%2520schools%2520logo_tcm15-12593.jpg&imgrefurl=80.94.32.210/childrenandyoungpeople/schoolsandlearning/TransferringPlaces/transferring.aspx&usg=__P_ZNaXeb86bggouAkY_tAW9fHqU=&h=473&w=473&sz=22&hl=en&start=4&sig2=zJsOGBtHVu6Pb7Au0nnvkQ&zoom=1&tbnid=o_T2h35IvY6XtM:&tbnh=129&tbnw=129&ei=nn1jTq-jAYzG8QOJ2dDrAQ&prev=/search%3Fq%3Dschool%2Blogo%2Bwith%2Bfaces%26um%3D1%26hl%3Den%26sa%3DN%26rlz%3D1T4ACAW_enGB356GB357%26tbm%3Disch&um=1&itbs=1" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">here is a good logo with faces it's only a thumbnail but it's clear....other logos with faces include sillouhettes...I googled them and that was all that came up. Maybe other schools are more careful. Being rural does not mean that they should not think...

I don't think his feelings are valid at all.

If everyone took offence at things like that, there would be no logos at all with people in them for fear of offending the mortally offended.

You only have to see some of the posts here...re the 'yellow = chinese' shocked faces to see that.

I haven't met a single Chinese person who doesn't have a yellow tint to their skin...so why wouldn't people make that connection?

The world's gone bloody mad and some people really need to look up the true meaning of the word 'racist'.

I wouldnt considour them racist either, I just dont think its wrong if people do make that connection. Surely Its something everyone does to some degree in everyday life without giving it any thought what so ever.

I also understood what you ment by your first post and agree with your subsequent posts.

worra you don't get to judge the validity of anyones feelings. Everyones are valid.

A child who does not see any representation of themselves n terms of race will be confused and feel isolated....this is "just a logo" people are saying..but where does it begin? end?

Is it ok if the school has no books with black or Chinese or Asian kids in them? No? Yes? at what point do we say "No...you should be more inclusive."

I love the way you assured us that he "wouldn't make them change (the logo) or anything"....
I'd love to be a fly on the wall for that conversation.

I think claw is getting a bit of a rough ride, I can see what she was trying to say, I just don't think she said it in the right way.

Good job he's not a single parent as well, eh?

I am sure that was just bad phrasing Flogging

Oh my. Your DH is being an absolute idiot. His feelings, also idiotic, are not valid.

Does he usually seek out things to get offended about, or is this a one off?

I think it would be very rude to choose a school and then start expecting them to change perfectly reasonable things to accommodate your husband's delicate sensibilities. So long as no one is being nasty to him or your child on account of their colour, then he really needs to get a grip and sort out his priorities.

I doubt that anyone other than your dh has even noticed this - they were doubtless too busy creating a great school that meets the needs of your child. Does he even have any idea of how hard it is for some parents to find a good school for their dc?

And your child is mixed race, with one white parent. I doubt very much if he is going to feel marginalised by seeing a logo with a 'white' parent, given that he has one (assuming that is what the logo really represents - and I honestly believe your dh is looking for things to feel sensitive about here).

mumbling While that makes sense, in order to have an inclusive logo it'd have to be massive just to account for all possible variations. Probably why so many schools have nonsensical logos I guess. Can't be told off for not being inclusive.

But to be fair BodyofEyore...2 adults helping a child could be seen as any adult....it's not wrong to use two...it doesn't leave single parents out of the picture.

Most of the more modern school logos are designed by children who are at the school. Maybe the child who won the competition in this case drew them like that because they represent themselves and their family?