OTnews October 2023 | Página 28

Black History Month

Feature

Efforts to redress the imbalance of educational attainment

Dr Blaine Robin share ideas about good practice regarding engagement of children from African and Caribbean heritage across all educational settings in the city of Leeds .

O

pportunities provided by the process of receiving an education can lead to improved prospects in later life in terms of securing a well-paid job , vocation or profession .

Our society is noted for observing strategies that some parents undertake , if wealthy enough , to give their child the best opportunities . This includes moving to neighbourhoods with the best schools . Poorer parents are unable to exercise this choice ( Montacute and Cullinane 2018 ; Pelli 2017 ).

Some children and young people face challenges when it comes to navigating their way through the education system . Research and national data highlights that children from deprived families and communities , Black and mixed heritage are all less likely to do well compared with their peers ( McIntryre et al 2021 ).

In the academic year 2020 to 2021 , children in England of Black African and Caribbean ethnicity ranked sixteenth out of 19 ethnic groups in achieving a pass grade five in GCSE Maths and English . Only the Roma Gypsy and Irish Traveller groups placed behind them ( Gov . uk 2023 ).

School exclusion rates are also disproportionately high among children of African and Caribbean heritage in different parts of the country . These themes exemplify imbalance of educational attainment and are predictors of limited occupational prospects for these young people in adult life .

BSc OT course as social and occupational activism

Accredited occupational therapy courses offer students opportunities to learn about new ideas and constructs . One of those constructs is occupational potential . In simple terms , this is the

Dr Blaine Robin idea that all humans have the capacity to grow , learn and develop ( Wicks 2005 ).

Education is a passport to social and occupational mobility and is the epitome of how all universities in the UK play their role in helping to break down most forms of social inequality . In that sense , education is politicised , as it confronts many of society ’ s chronic problems , including racism , sexism , homophobia , disablism and poverty ( Roberts and Bolton , 2020 ).

Occupational therapy , through the twin discipline of occupational science , is helping to develop a language to express issues of poverty using the construct of occupational deprivation ( Whiteford 2000 ).

Leeds Beckett University ; ahead of its time

One project that makes a difference in the lives of children of African and Caribbean heritage is the UJIMA project ; UJIMA in Swahili means collective work and responsibility ( Fisher 2019 ).

At Leeds Beckett University , it is a high-impact , transformational residential project . Now in its 22nd year , the programme is for Black African and Black Caribbean boys aged 15 to 16 , with high levels of intersectional disadvantage .

It came together with the collaboration of several secondary schools in the city , in partnership with the university . The project is built on evidence and uses inspirational ambassadors and staff to transform educational outcomes and deliver high entry rates into higher education . UJIMA is one of Leeds Beckett University ’ s flagship longitudinal outreach programmes .

The founder of UJIMA is Marina Active , a social entrepreneur from Leeds , who spoke to the boys at this year ’ s project . She gave words of encouragement to the young people saying : ‘ When

28 OTnews October 2023