Petition · Department for Education
Justice for ESN Survivors: apologise and fund financial compensation
Closed
814 signatures
What the petition asks
In the 1960s, hundreds of black children were labelled as "educationally subnormal" and wrongly sent to schools for pupils who were deemed to have low intelligence. We want the government to apologise to those affected.
Many of us are suffering from lifelong trauma. Our lives are scarred by physical, mental, racial and emotional abuse. We would like closure so we can move on with our lives and get financial compensation. We think this would help us now because many of us have lost opportunities due to a lack of education in these schools for subnormal children. We feel we are outcasts in British society even though we were born in the UK.
Timeline
| 1 Apr 2025 | Petition opened for signatures |
| 1 Oct 2025 | Closed to new signatures |
Key facts
Signatures
814
Status
Closed
Department
Department for Education
Opened
1 Apr 2025
Closed
1 Oct 2025
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Source: the official petition page. Last checked 2 Aug 2026.