Early day motion tabled by primary sponsor Kim Johnson (Labour), on Thursday, 27 February 2025, in the House of Commons. It is signed by 28 members in total.

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Educationally subnormal schools in the 1960s and 1970s

That this House acknowledges the historical injustice suffered by Black children who were wrongly classified as educationally subnormal and placed in schooling for those with severely physical and mental disabilities under racist policies; notes the findings of Subnormal: A British Scandal and the exceptional work of educational campaigners starting with Bernard Coard, who have highlighted the lifelong harm caused by this systemic discrimination; further recognises the generational impact on families and communities whose children were denied access to a fair and equal education; notes the fortieth anniversary of the Swann Report entitled Education for All and its recommendations to combat racism in education, and regrets the lack of full implementation of its conclusions and findings; calls on the Government to issue a formal apology to those affected and to ensure their experiences are properly acknowledged; and urges the Government to establish a full public inquiry into this historic educational injustice to ensure accountability, transparency and meaningful policy changes to prevent such discrimination from ever occurring again.

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Secondary information

Type

Early day motion

Reference

865 

Session

2024-26

Other sponsors

Rachael Maskell

Ellie Chowns

Neil Duncan-Jordan

Apsana Begum

Brian Leishman

Subjects

Equality Discrimination Ethnic groups Public inquiries Schools

Link

View this Early day motion on edm.parliament.uk