to wonder if this is really happening? parents are being asked to confirm if their kids are British born.

[someonestolemynick]

A few messages popped up on social media today by parents whose school asked them to confirm if the child in question is foreign born. One friend said this was being done by all schools today.
I don't have kids and am an EU national.
I have been disappointed by the referendum result but have adopted a "Wait and see" approach.
Yesterday's announcements of companies having to list foreign employees coupled with today's rumours is really freaking me out.

Have you been asked today to confirm your child's nationality by their school? Aibu to be fucking terrified?

Oh Jesus, some of you need to read some actual history. Please don't trivialise events in Nazi Germany like that.

This thread is giving me a rash.

Oh Jesus, some of you need to read some actual history. Please don't trivialise events in Nazi Germany like that

But it's much easier to simply pick up a nice, zeitgeisty phrase from the media and keep repeating it, isn't it?

It's a very popular sound bite.

Lorelei76 - wouldn't there be similar concerns that some children in school would be the children of illegals and the government would blame the school for not checking?

Children of 'illegals' () have a right to attend school up to the age of 16. Many undocumented children don't realise there is any issue with their immigration status until they reach this age and try to apply for 6th form / college.

"Oh Jesus, some of you need to read some actual history."

Er, I'm a cultural historian.

There was nothing trivial about what the Nazis did and nor did they begin by gassing people. They began by appealing to the masses....the common man and his fears.
Sound familiar?

I won't be filling in the information. They may as well ask people to wear yellow stars.

And I say that as a white, British born woman.

yep we had this and had to hand it in earlier this week with one day's warning

I didn't fill it in, loads of people at my sons' school haven't returned it. It's not compulsory. And besides, we had to show birth certificates when they enrolled so it's obviously not the school that's asking, it's the DfE. Brexit or not, me and my kids are not going to become a headline for the Daily Mail. They are British, I am British, it doesn't matter where I/they were born or what other passports we hold. I can't see why the Government needs to know this info if the school has already established these credentials. And

why on earth does a school need to have a record of your child's country of birth? What relevance does this have to the school?

The school isn't using the data - its of no relevance to them at all - they're collecting it on behalf of the D of E.

That explains it then holly

Delores i don't think you quite understood 'trivialise'.

Yes, it's the school census! We do it every year.

I have two children who are in full time school (UK) and haven't heard of such a thing.
Definitely haven't been asked here and they're at two different schools!

Ours was put that "if you don't answer we will have to put it down that you refused"
Like non-compliance shall not be tolerated.

I scribbled REFUSED across it, they had also helpfully added some information i had chosen not to tick last time about ethnicity. It makes me uncomfortable and i don't know why it does. I suppose because in the scheme of education it should be irrelevant.

I put it straight in the bin, fcuk right off

I won't be filling in the information. They may as well ask people to wear yellow stars

Are you actually serious? Are you seriously comparing the government requesting children's places of birth (information that you can refuse to give them) with what happened to the Jews in Nazi Germany?

I think I've reached peak mumsnet

I don't see why the DfE needs to know what country children were born in, either. What genuinely useful education-related statistic are they planning to generate from that that they cannot already establish from their numerous other prying questions?

Ours was put that "if you don't answer we will have to put it down that you refused"
Like non-compliance shall not be tolerated.

It is being tolerated. They're stating that refusal to answer will be marked down as a refusal to answer.

If non-compliance was not to to be tolerated there would be a penalty attached. Which there isn't.

What do hyperbole and conscious misconstrual add to the debate?

TheHipho the plight of "undesirables" in 1930s Germany started with voluntary disclosures, so it's fair to consider if that benign similarity is where it ends.

This has nothing to do with the referendum; It's school census time that's all. This information is recorded each year.

We weren't asked and more foreign children at dd school than English.
Maybe it's ok as their parents will be paying in excess of 40k for their dc to live and be educated here.

Yellow stars and deportations may sound ridiculous, but something like more funding being available to schools with more British kids, on the basis that we need to train British workers and not waste money on foreigners, sounds entirely believable and in line with the suggested 'naming and shaming' of companies.

I don't know why they're asking and am too lazy to google but if it's like the normal census they collect different points of information from different censuses - they don't ask the same questions each decade.

So one census may be focussed on the environmental impact a family has (I think the last one was?)

This may be for future historians to track trends and implications or for budgeting future spends - I don't know. I never felt it was because there was a militant environmental movement wanting to ban my car.

I was looking at the local workhouse data from 120 or so years ago, there was someone born in South America, I wondered how they got to this part of Hampshire and what they thought of it. I'm so glad that information was recorded as it was interesting. Maybe in 120 years someone will think similarly of my son's place of birth and why he was at the school he was.

Regardless I do not think the information was for sinister reasons.

Wow, This thread has grown. Sorry for the disappearing act I was at work.

Just to clarify, it wasn't my intention to fear monger (I am genuinely getting uncomfortable with the PM's and her party's rethoric).

I didn't know the context in which parents were asked for this confirmation and wanted to put the social media posts into some sort of context.

I find Nazi comparisons generally problematic, but knowing a little bit about the situation "between the wars" the parallels are there.

I'm still not sure how to feel about this, but a little reassured now.

The escape plan btw. Relates to making sure that if I have to leave the country suddenly, i have a place to stay and funds to get by. I want to stay, if I can.

I think one thing's clear; a lot of people don't trust our government.