Funeral inappropriate for pupils, say councils

Tens of thousands of children may not be allowed to watch the Queen Mother's funeral on television because local councils say it might not be "appropriate" for those from ethnic backgrounds.

Town halls have been asked by the Government and Buckingham Palace to encourage heads to suspend lessons so pupils can watch the historic event.

But in London, one in three are refusing to do so. Some say it would be "inappropriate" for children from mixed ethnic and religious backgrounds, others that children would be "too young" to understand and might be upset.

Their stance was greeted with outrage today by education experts. Margaret Morrissey, spokeswoman for the National Confederation of Parent Teacher Associations, called on Education Secretary Estelle Morris to step in and give clear guidance to schools.

While the final decision rests with head teachers and governors, David Hart, general secretary of the National Association of Head Teachers, said some members would not have the confidence to suspend lessons without clear guidance from their town hall. "I am absolutely appalled that local authorities cannot see their way clear to give this," he said.

Of 33 local education authorities contacted by the Evening Standard, four councils - Brent, Ealing, Greenwich and Kingston - believed it "inappropriate" to advise heads, because of their children's diverse backgrounds.

A spokesman from Brent said: "We have the second highest diversity of population in London and some schools might not find it appropriate for the children to watch the funeral."

Ealing council said: "We don't think a blanket approach should be taken because we have to be sensitive to that fact that the children all come from different backgrounds and different cultures." Seven other boroughs are also refusing to pass on the request to allow children to watch the funeral. Barnet said it was not its role to "interfere", that schools might not have enough televisions and that children might be "too young to understand".

Croydon and Hounslow said there was not sufficient time to pass on any advice because schools only returned from their Easter break today. Bromley said it did not want to add to schools' bureaucratic burdens.

A spokesman for the Commission for Racial Equality said: "This will be an historic occasion. We wouldn't see the ethnic mix of pupils as being relevant in any way." Ms Morrissey said the Government was right to encourage ethnic minorities to participate in the country's culture and traditions and the funeral was an important national event.

Former chief schools inspector Chris Woodhead said that the funeral would present an occasion for teachers to address children's questions about death in a sensitive way. He also added that children from ethnic minorities should have the opportunity to participate in an event that was deeply meaningful for the nation.