Child refugees who fled war shocked to be taught Russian in UK
Ukrainian child refugees who have fled Putin’s war are shocked to be taught Russian in British primary school
- When the issue was raised, the response was that they wanted to be ‘inclusive’
Ukrainian refugees who fled to Britain after Putin’s invasion of their country were horrified to discover their children are being taught Russian at primary school as part of a language project.
One mother, who asked not to be named, said she was shocked that her child had been given Russian teaching materials at Brunswick Primary School in Brighton as part of a seven-week long ‘Russian Language Half-Term’.
When the issue was raised with staff, the response was that they wanted to be ‘inclusive.’
‘There are around 30 children at the school who came from Ukraine,’ she told MailOnline.
‘There are so many languages in the world and they have to pick Russian, right now?
One mother, who asked not to be named, said she was shocked that her child had been given Russian teaching materials at Brunswick Primary School in Brighton
When the issue was raised with staff, the response was that they wanted to be ‘inclusive’
‘We couldn’t believe it. We came to the UK to get away from Russia’s invasion, and part of Putin’s conflict with Ukraine is about language – they have different names for places like Kyiv, for example, because they think we’re part of Russia.
‘There is definitely a risk of upsetting the children with this, especially the older ones. At least I think they should have asked us before they did it.’
The theme is part of a long-running series of featured languages – including Ukrainian – and the mother added she had nothing against the Russian language.
‘It is just that with so many Ukrainian children here in special circumstances I think it was insensitive to do this at the moment. It doesn’t feel very ‘inclusive’ for our children.
‘Many of their fathers are risking their lives fighting the Russians, partly over the right to use our own language.
‘Even those Ukrainians who speak Russian are dropping it in favour of Ukrainian after what has happened in the last sixteen months.’
Another Ukrainian mum said she had encountered other ‘woke’ aspects of teaching at the school, which is run by ‘woke’ Brighton & Hove Council.
The city came second in the UK in a ‘Woke Index’ compiled by Bankrate recently, based on a number of factors.
The mum added: ‘My child came home and told me that they had learned there are 100 genders, which certainly surprised me!
‘I want them to be educated in the basics, not this kind of woke stuff which they can discover when they are older.’
In 2021 Brighton and Hove adopted controversial guidance on transgenderism contained in ‘Trans Inclusion Schools Toolkit Version 4’ which suggests the use of scripts for pupils claiming to be the opposite sex, with phrases such as ‘I have always been a boy/girl’.
It also urges the provision of ‘floor to ceiling’ gender neutral toilets in schools, along with single sex toilets.
Other councils have ditched similar transgender guidance amid concerns over its legality.
A spokesperson for Brunswick Primary School said:
‘We have a number of both Ukrainian and Russian pupils at our school.
‘We want to create a sense of belonging where all our pupils feel equally valued.
‘We had a focus on the Ukrainian language earlier this year. With this in mind we felt it was appropriate to have a focus on Russian language as well.
‘This is part of a rolling programme focusing on different languages and cultures in our school community.
‘We are of course appalled by the Russian invasion and aware of the terrible problems facing the Ukraine.
‘But our job is to help very young children make the best possible start with their education.
‘And we believe this means treating all our children and their cultural backgrounds with equal respect.’
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