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Original poster

Dd, 17, asked by school if she had Bristish passport

116 replies

Sadusername · 09/10/2016 21:51

DD just let it slip that she was asked to go to the school office to declare whether or not she has a Brisitsh passport. Only young people with foreign names or who "looked" foreign were asked. I am furious. Feels like the beginning of a slippery slope....

OP posts:
gillybeanz · 09/10/2016 22:50

Why do schools need to know?
We had no form, neither did our dd friends. I knew nothing about it until I come on here the other day and saw the threads.

All schools can't be doing it and there are a high percentage of dc from all over the world at her school. Russia, China, Hong Kong, Japan, America, Australia and countries in Europe.

None of these have been asked either.

PaulAnkaTheDog · 09/10/2016 22:50

So your daughter told you only 'foreign looking' students were asked. Did you contact the school? Was your daughter there wheb every single student who was asked came in?

originalmavis · 09/10/2016 22:52

I was asked for my passport only last week by a job agency to prove I could work here. Very ordinary British name.

DS hasn't been asked at school at all.

crashdoll · 09/10/2016 22:54

Is it really true that only foreign "looking" or named children were asked? Hmm That doesn't sound very true nor a very accurate way of working it all out. I have a so-called foreign name but I was born here, moved elsewhere and then came back.

Timetogetup0630 · 09/10/2016 22:55

gillybeanz. are your kids at a private school with that international
intake ? They will already have that data, and are probably exempt from collecting it...

clam · 09/10/2016 22:56

It just seems a bit of a Co-incidence that only students who looked foreign were asked.

Well, I'd bet my house that that's not what actually happened.

And prh47bridge has given a very succinct explanation as to why this information is required by schools.

Piscivorus · 09/10/2016 22:58

That link upthread about the school census says the information has been collected for the last 10 years. Have they changed the way they collect it or could it be that the only thing that has changed is people looking for xenophobia and things to be offended by post-Brexit?

Original poster
Sadusername · 09/10/2016 22:59

Paul, I didn't cock up on census, just didn't 'declare' DD as foreign born which was not a form t was compulsory to fill in No she didn't say only foreign looking students were asked. I asked her who else had been called to the office, she only named students who may not have have been British born, if you were looking at names, faces.

OP posts:
SuburbanRhonda · 09/10/2016 23:00

They did recently offer £50 towards uniform for any students that claimed FRee school meals, as they could then get a pupil premium.

You sound very confused, OP.

Original poster
Sadusername · 09/10/2016 23:01

My DD is 17 and has never been called to office before about her nationality , which is why I have posted here.

OP posts:
YuckYuckEwwww · 09/10/2016 23:02

Have they changed the way they collect it or could it be that the only thing that has changed is people looking for xenophobia and things to be offended by post-Brexit?

yes they have changed it! that's why they have to ask for extra info this year and they didn't have to ask for it before!

Nationality has no bearing on education, it is about politics

Peregrina · 09/10/2016 23:03

The mentioned it's a legal requirement
It can hardly be a legal requirement - not all children will have passports.

For more information:
www.theguardian.com/education/2016/oct/08/boycottschoolcensus-why-parents-are-refusing-to-reveal-their-childs-nationality

BowieFan · 09/10/2016 23:04

Manumission

Sorry, what I meant to say is that our DCs were born in Bulgarian but have British citizenship through being adopted by us. So, strictly, they are British. They have integrated very well and have no trace of accents or anything, seeing as we adopted at birth.

They love being Bulgarian and British but it upset them a bit that they felt like their nationality was in question even though they have British citizenship and British parents (us). DS1 felt like they were saying it's not enough to know you have citizenship, but they have to know the country as well. DS1 and DS2 consider themselves British and, to them, it shouldn't matter that they were born somewhere else when they have lived here all of their lives.

YuckYuckEwwww · 09/10/2016 23:06

Oh ffs... Op, you cocked up on the census front

No.

No she didn't! Parents are NOT obliged to comply with providing the extra info required for this year's census.

The school was WAYYY out of line going over the head of a parent who (within their rights) didn't comply with this extra info by asking the child directly.

Original poster
Sadusername · 09/10/2016 23:07

Rhonda,
I was replying to suggestion that school may have asked for data in order to assess need, school can claim money for students for EFL students. This reminded me that recently I received a letter from school asking parents to declare if they were entitled to free school meals and offering a £50 discount on uniform if they did. Presumably they could then claim pupil premium for school.

OP posts:
YuckYuckEwwww · 09/10/2016 23:08

I suppose a more generous interpretation might be that they were trying to attract some kind of extra funding if they could identify more EFL students.

Nope.
They already collect EFL data, so that's not what the nationality data is for.

The school has a leagal requirement to ask for it
The school has a legal requirement to pass the data on if it has been offered up by the parents
parents are not legally required to provide this year's extra data
Schools have no right to obtain the data through the kids if the parents have decided to (or forgotten to) provide it

Peregrina · 09/10/2016 23:09

schoolsweek.co.uk/school-census-2016-how-should-schools-collect-nationality-data/

“The guidance is clear – there is no requirement for schools to request a child’s passport or birth certificate”

DfE spokesperson, September 2016

tiggytape · 09/10/2016 23:10

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

WinchesterWoman · 09/10/2016 23:12

If you didn't fill in the census that is why she was asked to the office.

YuckYuckEwwww · 09/10/2016 23:12

"NOT to"

EFL has always been collected, nationality, and dual nationality, tells you nothing about EFL.

A kid can be dual british and X national and have never been to X and not speak a word of Xish
Or they can be dual british and X national and speak only Xish
Or they could speak both English and Xish fluently

So tell me again those of you who think this is about need, what "need" does nationality identify?

Considering that EFL data is seperately (and more accurately) collected

YuckYuckEwwww · 09/10/2016 23:16

A child over 16 is able to consent to the processing of their personal data themselves

If the child themselves was so keen to take part in the census they woulda taken the form back themselves then. Or emphasised its importance when handing it over to their parent.
Being called into the office of an authority figure is getting the data by intimidation.

If the family (child included) wanted to take part, they would have taken part.

Does it really sound like the child was told that it was an optional question that she didn't have to answer, or that she could go home and decide if she wanted to take part? Were they asked "do you WANT to take part in the census by telling us your nationality?" Because if that didn't happen, that over 16yr old did not "consent"

That's not what consent means!

WinchesterWoman · 09/10/2016 23:16

Is this a wind up? Parent didn't supply info requested, school requested info from 16 year old pupil.

Shocking scandal brewing there. You should call the Guardian. They find this sort of thing adorbs.

YuckYuckEwwww · 09/10/2016 23:18

Is this a wind up? Parent didn't supply info requested, school requested info from 16 year old pupil

mmmm kinda, more like:
Family didn't take part in optional data collection, school demanded optional data from child anyway..

Peregrina · 09/10/2016 23:20

Shocking scandal indeed: Parent entitled to decline to give information.

ArcheryAnnie · 09/10/2016 23:21

I have sent in a letter to my DS's school withrawing my permission for them to supply central government with any information on DS's birth country or nationality, and they have acknowleged that they will respect my wishes.

I am finding it funny/depressing at all the people here accusing the OP of "drama" and "whinging", and scoffing at the idea that certain pupils are being targeted. This despite plenty of documentation of letters people have got from their schools saying exactly that.

It's almost as if certain posters here are really heavily invested in denying that racism exists. I wonder why that could be?

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