white peers at the start of school, but fall behind afterwards. Black children are more likely to be punished in schools, and more severely so. They are more likely to be put in lower sets and more likely to be categorised as having special educational needs.  Diversity in teaching: Many of the problems faced by Black and ethnic minority schoolchildren in the UK could be helped by a more diverse teaching workforce. Research has shown that teachers in the UK feel they have not had sufficient diversity training, or do not feel qualified to teach in diverse areas. However, newly qualified teachers from other parts of the UK travel to London where there are lots of jobs going. Many of these will not have had experience of communicating with a diverse range of people in their personal lives, and may not have received sufficient diversity training during their teacher training. Having a diverse range of teachers means that the teaching workforce has a good intellectual and emotional understanding of the children they are teaching. It is also important that children see people in authority that look like them, that come from their cultural background. There is also a problem in the UK with an ethnic imbalance in governing bodies. These bodies have a distinct influence over the working of the school and it is wrong that they are not more representative of the school population. Empowering parents is important but not if it means only empowering a certain section of parents – the loudest, most educated and middle-class parents.  Parent-teacher relations: One of the main purposes of the LSBC annual conference (attended by approximately 2,000 parents, children and educators every year) is to help parents to engage in their child’s education and school. For many parents, the UK education system is a closed book. Either they are newly arrived in this country and have not been through the system themselves, or they have had a negative experience in the UK education system. Helping parents to take more control over their child’s education means the child has clear goals and support in their education. Communication with schools is vital, as is understanding the system to best help the child. Policy and legislative framework: