ELLIOTT DEARLOVE: 'RACIST'!

LONDON — The mother of a seven-year-old boy was told to sign a school form admitting he was racist after he asked another pupil about the color of his skin.

Elliott Dearlove had asked a five-year-old boy in the playground whether he was "brown because he was from Africa."

His mother, Hayley White, 29, said she received a phone call last month to say her son had been at the center of a "racist incident."

Mother receives summons

She was then summoned to a meeting with Elliott, his teacher and the deputy head of Griffin Primary School in Hull.

Summoned: Hayley White was called to her son Elliot’s school to deal with the "racist incident."

Ms. White, an NHS healthcare assistant, said: "When I arrived at the school and asked Elliott what had happened, he became extremely upset.

 

"He kept saying to me, 'I was just asking a question. I didn’t mean it to be nasty,' and he was extremely distressed by it all."

Zero tolerance on 'racism'

Ms. White claimed she was asked at the meeting to read a copy of the school rules and in particular its zero-tolerance policy on racism.

"I was told I would have to sign a form acknowledging my son had made a racist remark, which would be submitted to the local education authority for further investigation," she said.

"I refused to sign it, and I told the teacher in no way did I agree the comment was racist. My son is inquisitive. He always likes to ask questions, but that doesn’t make him a racist."

 

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In Britain teachers have begun the practice of branding children as racist or homophobic following ordinary playground squabbles.

In 2011 more than 20,000 pupils aged 11 or younger were put on record for so-called hate crimes, such as using the word "gaylord."