…..the Holocaust from history lessons for fear of offending Muslim pupils, a Government study has revealed. Also to be dropped is teaching about the 11th century Crusades  where Christinas fought Muslim armies for control of Jerusalem.   

There is a growing fear, particularly in northern schools that Muslims may start expressing anti-Semitic and anti-Israel reactions in class. In addition, teachers may lack subject knowledge resulting in history being taught in a ’shallow way leading to routine and superficial learning’.

 President Eisenhower, when the victims of the death camps were found, said words to this effect:   ‘Get it all on record now, the films, the photos, the names, because somewhere down the track of history someone will get up and say that this never happened’ …. it’s beginning to look as though he was not far from the truth.

It is now more than 60 years since the Second World War ended in Europe and 6million Jews, 20million Russians, 10million Christians and 1,900 Catholic priests suffered humiliation, rape, starvation and massacre.

As Edmund Burke (1729-1797) said ‘All that’s necessary for the forces of evil to win in the world is for enough good men to do nothing’…..it is as true today as when he said it!

I am saying: Tolerance is a gift that is available free of charge to anyone who wants it.  The door must swing both ways;  we tolerate the tenets of other peoples and they are expected to tolerate ours. We should not have to re-write our history to accommodate another’s needs or beliefs; equally they are entitled to their history. Acceptance of our different pasts and tolerance of them is the only way forward.

 We Liberal Democrats are well-named and we do what it says on the can!! If you feel the urge to join us, look to the left of screen to find how to do it.

 …is failing;  fining parents has failed to reduce truancy, new research by the Liberal Democrats has revealed.  Over 35,000 parents have been fined for condoning their children’s absence in the last three years, whilst truancy has increased by the equivalent of over 2 million school days since 2005.

Commenting on the nationwide truancy problem, Liberal Democrat Shadow Children, Schools and Families Secretary, David Laws said:

“The Government’s strategy to tackle truancy is failing. Despite prosecuting more parents, the truancy rate in our schools is continuing to rise.

“These figures further highlight how bizarre it is for a Government that can’t even get a decent attendance level for 15-16 year olds to be expecting all young people up to the age of 18 to be in compulsory education.

“Parents need to take responsibility for their children’s behaviour and they have an obligation to ensure they attend school.

“However, a community-wide approach involving parents, police and local welfare officers would be much more effective than the current top-down measures pursued by ministers.”

 I am happy to tell you that the rate of truancy at The Manor School has dropped and attendance figures have improved slightly. The installation of a new system, Truancy Call, has been most useful in helping to combat truancy and alerting school, parents and carers to the absence of pupils. 

 ….. Nick Clegg , yesterday attacked the Government for failing to tackle inequality in childcare and early years education. In a speech to the 4Children conference in central London, Nick called for the nation’s childcare strategy to be focused on quality and equality of access. He also criticised the Government for failing to plan for the effect on education of large numbers of extra pupils who do not speak English as a first language, calling for a greater emphasis on developing good English skills in the pre-school years.

I support Nick’s comments  - with the influx of immigrants from Eastern Europe the strain on local education delivery is becoming more onerous and we need a definitive strategy in order to address this situation.

..that our local schools are finding it extremely difficult to recruit teaching staff. I am a governor at The Manor School and during the short time I have been in post, I have been  impressed by the school’s attitudes towards the welfare of its pupils and the enthusiasm of the teaching staff. The school has received glowing reports from Ofsted and if you should ever have the opportunity to teach at Manor, please don’t turn it down. The school is situated close to local amenities and a ’stone’s throw’ from world-renowned Sherwood Forest. The cities of Nottingham, Sheffield, Derby and Lincoln are all within easy reach, the ‘natives’ are friendly and Mansfield Woodhouse is a thriving  ‘large village’.

….and get walking. Fewer school-run car journeys means less pollution, less congestion and fewer road deaths. Children walking or cycling to school also get fitter – but the journey must be safe.

Let us all encourage  schemes  such as ‘Safe Routes to School’ with calmed traffic, safe pavements, good lighting and adults on hand to conduct ‘walking buses’. . . This will benefit adults as well as children. Some of our local schools have initiatives in place, so ask your teaching staff for details. If your child’s school doesn’t have any schemes in place, perhaps you could move the idea forward. It’s worth a try!