Dear Parents / Carers  

It has been an upsetting and shocking few days this week as scenes unfold in the USA following the tragic murder of George Floyd and the subsequent Black Lives Matter protests. There are clearly many factors in place in America that have led to the ferocity of the protests. A pandemic that disproportionately impacts on the BAME community, the economic difficulties the pandemic brings which also disproportionately impact on the BAME community and finally, but most significantly, a political structure and systems that disadvantage people of colour globally.  
 
Our values at Blaise High School drive us to discuss this with our students and families despite the school being currently closed. We share in a mission of Social Justice, this means we are determined to promote a fairer society, one in which everyone has an equal opportunity to determine their own future. I am in no doubt that if our students were with us at school we would have discussed this news story with them, helping them to be informed and reiterating the importance of inclusion, equality and anti-racism. We hope to do this through an additional resource, available to all students through their Google Classroom on Friday 5th June. We encourage all students to follow the resources available, take part in the optional task and follow the sign posted links if they would like further support.    More widely, we take our responsibility for delivering this curriculum very seriously. We use PSHE lessons, lessons in other subjects like Humanities & English, assemblies and school events to cover topics that discuss the existence of white privilege, the concepts of prejudice & discrimination and the importance of inclusion being a right for everyone and not a privilege for a select few. The curriculum we deliver and class discussions we have, carefully attempt to teach this content at an age appropriate level. We are constantly evolving our curriculum as we better understand how to celebrate diversity and inform our student effectively.    We hope that you are able to support your child to engage in the resources provided and that during this difficult time all our families and the wider community is safe and well.  
 
Yours faithfully 
Ms K Brown Headteacher