People in Harmony

Founded with a grant from the National Lotteries Charities Board, The Communities Empowerment Network (CEN) provides advice, counselling, support, representation and training for people experiencing mistreatment and discrimination in education especially exclusion from school. 95% of CEN’s clients are from the black communities.

CEN Management,employment and the services provided reflect this fact.CEN is run by a Management Committee and staffed by workers and assisted by volunteers who are well known in the struggle against racist injustice.

CEN works closely with individual pupils and their parents to bring about successful reintegration into full-time education.

Our unique programme of advocacy training, personal development, volunteerand student placement and partnership case work contributes to a growing network of empowered individuals, families and groups.

More and more schools are characterised by a growing underclass of socially excluded academic failures.

School exclusions affect black children especially those of African-Caribbean origin disproportionately. They are 4-6 times more likely to be excluded from school than their white counterparts for similar behaviour.

Once excluded only 15% of all pupils ever return to full-time education.Up to two thirds of excluded pupils become known to the police and one third end up in court because of involvement in petty crime, vandalism and abuse of alcohol or other drugs.

The long term implications are unemployment, social conflict and alienation whose effects are felt by everybody.

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