Robin Richardson

'Fundamental British Values' – origins, controversy, ways forward: A symposium

... At a time when the UK government is sending bombers to the Middle East, we had a weekend to think what the “fundamental British values of democracy” might actually be. Are British values different from French or Swedish ones? How can governors really ascertain the level of our activity in promoting these values, whatever they might be? Can we look at values without seeing how these are translated into action? And should we really promote an unquestioning adherence to the rule of law?

The Equality Act and the Pupil Premium Grant – tensions, synergy and convergence

A slightly shorter version of this article appeared in Race Equality Teaching, volume 31 number 1, autumn 2012. It starts by quoting some documentation issued by a primary school in England in autumn 2012 about its use of the pupil premium grant (PPG). It then recalls the PPG’s political and legal background and notes that so far very little official guidance has been issued about how the grant should be used.

Equality Priorities and Equality Objectives – the Equality Act 2010, a cautious welcome

‘I will just make one short observation,’ said the Conservative peer Lord Tebbit, rising to his feet to intervene in a House of Lords debate on the evening of 26 January 2010. The general topic under discussion was the Equality Bill; the specific topic was the strand in the Bill known as religion or belief. ‘It seems,’ he continued. ‘from what has been said from the Benches opposite and from the noble Lord, Lord Lester, that we have a choice tonight – whether we walk in fear of the law of the Lord or in fear of the law of Brussels. I know which way I am going.’