Parents on the Isle of Wight are being asked to say which country their child was born in and what their first language is.
The information is being requested by schools for the Department for Education’s (DfE) School Census.
Not compulsory
Many people may not object to providing this information, but others are less happy about it.
Human rights groups say this data could be used against families by Home Office immigration enforcement and are urging parents to boycott the requests.
Isle of Wight schools not giving option
Providing the information is not compulsory and that should be made clear to parents, groups say.
At least one Isle of Wight school’s request that OnTheWight has had sight of hasn’t explained this.
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The DfE insist the data will not be routinely published and would only be used for research purposes.
A spokesperson for the DfE said,
“These data items will not be passed to the Home Office. They are solely for internal Department for Education use for analysis, statistics and research.”
Liberty: “Chilling effect”
However, policy director of human rights group, Liberty, Bella Sankey, told the Guardian the latest plan risked creating “a chilling effect around school attendance”.
She said,
“Hostile-environment policies are deeply problematic. They outsource immigration enforcement to private citizens and public sector workers whose roles have nothing to do with border control.
“This latest wave of reforms targets sensitive public services like healthcare and education. It is insidious to be targeting the kids and risks making them additionally vulnerable if they are then kept away from school.”
Template for refusal
Against Borders for Children have provided a template that parents can use to refuse the information.
OnTheWight has asked the Isle of Wight council whether all primary schools will be requesting the information and will report back once we have a response.
Update:
A spokesperson from the Isle of Wight council said,
“The Department for Education guidance requests a new data item to record pupil’s country of birth and nationality.
“All schools are now expected to collect/collate this data as part of the regular annual census.
“Full details of the main changes for the 2016 autumn school census are published in the school census guide.”
Article edits
Statement from the IWC received and added on 18th October.
Sources:
Schools Week and The Guardian.
