CFAB Jamaican Heritage Guide User Guide

: August 20, 2024
: CFAB

Table of Contents

Introduction to the history and culture of families of Jamaican heritage
INTRODUCTION
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
References
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CFAB Jamaican Heritage Guide User Guide

Introduction to the history and culture of families of Jamaican heritage

FOREWORD
The Jamaican diaspora in the UK has a rich history and plays a significant role in the cultural, social, and economic fabric of the country. Many Jamaican families have settled in the UK, contributing to various sectors such as education, healthcare, arts, and business. As such, the Jamaican High Commission is proud to support the publication of this Guide, which should assist with raising awareness and increase the understanding of families with Jamaican heritage residing in the UK.

Jamaica’s relationship with the UK dates back centuries. Our history is punctuated with instances where we turned adversity into opportunity, and inspired hope amidst despair. While acknowledging the complexities of our past, we have forged a path towards a future of collaboration and cooperation. Today, our bond extends far beyond the historical context, encompassing a wide range of areas such as trade, education, culture, diplomacy – and family.

Culturally, Jamaica’s influence on the UK is undeniable. From reggae music to our vibrant cuisine, Jamaican culture has permeated British society, enriching it with diversity and creativity. Our artists, musicians, and athletes have captivated audiences worldwide, showcasing the talent and resilience of the Jamaican people. We celebrate the cultural exchange between our nations, recognizing the power of art and culture in fostering unity and understanding.

Diplomatically, Jamaica and the UK have collaborated on numerous global issues, standing side by side in pursuit of peace, security, and development. Our shared membership in international organizations such as the Commonwealth and the United Nations has provided a platform for dialogue and cooperation. Together, we have addressed challenges such as climate change, poverty alleviation, and human rights, working towards a more just and equitable world.

As we look to the future, Jamaica remains committed to strengthening our relationship with the UK. We recognize the importance of maintaining open lines of communication, fostering dialogue, and addressing any challenges that may arise. Our partnership is built on trust, respect, and a shared vision for a prosperous future. Children are the wellspring of our future. We must collaborate to support families of Jamaican heritage in the UK. This Guide will, undoubtedly, prove useful in supporting stronger families and better outcomes for our children.

We are proud of the achievements that Jamaica and the UK have made together and remain committed to further enhancing support to the Jamaican diaspora. The Jamaican Diaspora represents an important stakeholder of the Government of Jamaica which continues to contribute greatly to sustainable development. We therefore welcome this opportunity to enhance the understanding of the unique characteristics of Jamaican culture and families in the UK. Let us continue to build bridges, celebrate our shared values, and work towards a future of mutual prosperity.

Deputy High Commissioner Laird Grant

INTRODUCTION

Children and Families Across Borders (CFAB)
CFAB is the only UK charity with an international children’s social work team and the only UK member of the International Social Service (ISS) network. We advise over 90% of UK local authorities through our advice line and train hundreds of social workers every year. Working with partners in 130 countries, we are experts in social work in an international context, cross-border child protection cases, care proceedings requiring cross-border cooperation and overseas placements.

The Cultural Family Life Library
CFAB has initiated this project because serious case reviews have highlighted that social work professionals sometimes require further support and training to work with families whose culture or religion differs from their own. Culture-specific training can help inform practice and avoid the risk of inadvertently enabling situations that put some children at risk. Some professionals also feel they lack the tools or confidence to build on cultural strengths, or to question specific cultural practices, potentially hindering better outcomes for children. This guide is intended for social workers supporting families in the UK. This guide may also be of interest to education, health and legal professionals, supporting children and families from different communities. This introductory guide is intended as a starting point, and we would welcome any further interviewees who would like to share their experiences, especially those who have experience of the care system as a service user. Please email info@cfab.org.uk if you are interested.

An introduction to working with families with heritage from Jamaica
Jamaican culture has been described as a wonderful melting pot of influences from across the world, which represent its diverse communities and history. This is exemplified by the national motto: “Out of Many, One People”. This introductory guide contains information to help build an understanding of the cultural context within which a family of Jamaican heritage may be operating. However, not everything in this guide will be applicable to all families. No culture is homogeneous, and culture can be influenced by regional, age, gender, class and other factors.
Furthermore, there are differences between culture in country of origin versus diaspora communities in UK. There are also differences in generational attitudes, for example between first generation immigrants to the UK versus third generation, which are also highlighted throughout.

Cultural Capability in Social Work
Cultural capability in social work has many different names – cultural competence, cultural humility, cultural sensitivity – all of which have been the centre of an ongoing debate. Setting semantics aside, approaching a family in a culturally open and inquisitive way can be the key to building trust. Understanding the cultural factors influencing family life can help social workers to understand the rationale behind parenting decisions, as well as spotting any potential safeguarding risks.

The Victoria Climbie Inquiry, Lord Laming, (2003).
Local child safeguarding practice review: David, Venal, Berkshire West Safeguarding Children Partnership (2025).
Serious case review: overview report: Anna, Clarke, Children’s Safeguarding Assurance Partnership Blackburn with Darwen Blackpool Lancashire, (2022).
Safeguarding children from Black. Asian and minoritized ethnic communities, NSPCC Learning, (2022).
Ethics Alive! Cultural Competence, Awareness, Sensitivity, Humility, and Responsiveness: What’s the Difference?, Barsky, The New Social Worker.
Indeed, trying to understand how families work – such as trying to understand how the family operates and exploring any religious/faith beliefs or cultural traditions – is a key legal duty for social workers.

Furthermore, specific tools, such as Life Story Work, could be useful to help children from diverse backgrounds, recognizing the importance of their heritage and family story, to bolster pride in their identity.

When working outside one’s own cultural knowledge it may be helpful to engage in reflective cultural supervision or ask another professional to act as a ‘critical friend’. This may help challenge any unconscious biases, assumptions or stereotypes that may be held and ensures that a child’s behaviour or situation is not being viewed differently because of their ethnic group.

Learning more about a family’s culture can help a social worker understand the lived experiences of the child and family members. Through a better understanding of cultural norms in a family or community, a social worker can better understand what barriers need to be overcome to engage in honest communication, thus improving the ability to safeguard a child.

The difference in the social worker’s approach, addressing issues in a culturally sensitive way that builds trust with the family or addressing issues in a way that alienates the family, could be the difference between the family making the necessary positive changes or a child being removed to foster care. CFAB social worker.

Working Together to Safeguard Children, HM Government, (2018), p26.
The Children Act 1989.
Safeguarding children from Black, Asian and minoritized ethnic communities, NSPCC Learning, (2022).
lid.
Ibid.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

This introductory guide would have been impossible to produce without the expert knowledge
shared from across the British Jamaican and Jamaican communities. Further expert knowledge on
cultural capability within social work was shared generously by many social workers. We would
like to thank all those who were generous with their time, knowledge, and wisdom. Special thanks
to:
Acting High Commissioner Laird Grant, Minister Counsellor Taylor and Mr. Robertson of the Jamaican High Commission to the United Kingdom.

Sharon McPherson of Families in Harmony.

Dr Warren Thompson and Nellissia Pryce of the Jamaican Child Protection and Family Services Agency.

Gloria Jackson-Delisser of Newham Children’s Services.

Carolyn Housman, Nathalie Scott, Peter Richardson, Fiona Robinson, Jillian Fitzgerald, Jill

Alindayu, Michael Nwoye, Maria Brul and Karen Fermor of Children and Families Across Borders.

Melinda Cassel and Clea Barry of Cafcass.

Paulette Gibson of Bexley Children’s Services.

Sam Moffatt of Cumberland Children’s Services.

Denise McLean, Chair of the Black Workers Support Group (Southern region) for CoramBAAF.

Clare Seth and Ann Horne of CoramBAAF.

The Kinship Care Alliance – Race Equalities Sub-Group.

The Kinship Care Alliance.

The Civil Service Fast Stream, who seconded a Fast Streamer to manage the project.

Giles Anderton and Natalie Taylor, who advised on digital delivery.

Section One: developing a basic understanding of the history, culture and family structure

What is culture?
Cultural norms are the standards and the expectations that we all live by. They are the shared understandings and rules that guide behaviour of people within social groups. Cultural norms are learned and reinforced from ‘parents, friends, teachers and others while growing up in a society’. This guide looks at Jamaican culture through a British lens, to help identify where cultural norms may differ. When highlighting certain behaviours, the intention is not to denote them as out of the ordinary, indeed they are quite commonplace and ordinary in their own culture context. This is to try to help social workers understand how different cultural norms may be influencing parenting decisions and family life. Furthermore, the relevance of Jamaican culture to a British family of Jamaican descent will vary according to several factors, such as, when their family came to the UK, from which parish of Jamaica they emigrated, and whether they have continuing links to Jamaica.

Short history of Jamaica and the United Kingdom (UK)
The indigenous people of Jamaica are thought to be the Taíno – an agrarian community found across parts of South America and the Caribbean. The Taíno people are traditionally thought to have been entirely wiped out from Jamaica by disease, violence, and forced labour brought by Spanish colonists after Columbus ‘discovered’ the New World in 1492. It is said that the Spanish began transporting enslaved people from Africa for labour because of the demise of the Taíno.
However, more recent revelations suggest that some Taíno married Africans who had escaped slavery, and that their ancestors still live on the south coast of Jamaica.

In the 17th century Jamaica was invaded by Great Britain, ending Spanish colonial occupation.
Jamaica continued to be a sugar growing island with the economy depending on enslaved persons brought from West Africa. Slaves were legally emancipated in 1838. The nation achieved independence from the UK in 1962.

Concurrently, they changed their national motto from ‘Indus torque serviette une’ which means ‘the Indians twain shall serve one Lord’ to ‘Out of Many, One People

Left: 6th August 1962, Children gather round Norman Manley, founder of the Jamaican People’s National Party, as he makes his way to the cathedral for Jamaica’s Independence Day celebrations. (Photo credit: George Foreston/Fox Photos/Getty Images)

Cultural Norms, Sieck, Global Cognition, (2021).
Ibid.
The Tainos Jamaica’s Original People, Jamaica timeline, The Fiwi Roots Project, (2020).
‘I am not extinct’ – Jamaican Taino proudly declares ancestry, Williams, Jamaica Gleaner, (2014).
Windrush Champions and Pioneers, Osborne et al, Windrush Foundation, p4, (2023).
Jamaica Accepts Motto ‘Out Of Many, One People’, Freeman-Haskin, Travel Noire, (2019).
After the Second World War, Britain’s economy was suffering from labour shortages and so the government invited citizens from the British Empire to settle in the UK. The British Nationality Act 1948 created one nationality for citizens of the UK and its colonies, including Jamaica, and made it the right of all citizens to settle in the UK. The largest recruiters of Jamaican nationals were British Rail, the National Health Service and London Transport. In June 1948, the ship HMT Empire Windrush was the first to arrive in Britain, with 492 Jamaicans on board who were invited to work in the UK. Many Jamaicans felt they were coming to the ‘mother country… in the hope of finding acceptance and inclusion as full British citizens’. After the Empire Windrush, other ships and eventually British Overseas Airways brought thousands of Jamaicans to the UK between the 1940s and 1970s.

The Commonwealth Immigration Acts 1962 and 1968, removed the universal right of all citizens from the UK and colonies, including most Jamaicans, to live in the UK. The Immigration Act 1971 gave Jamaicans who had already moved to Britain Indefinite Leave to Remain.

During this period, some Caribbean children were left behind when their parents emigrated to the UK and United States of America – often joining them later when the parents were settled. A Jamaican academic, Dr Crawford-Brown, coined the term ‘barrel children’ to describe these children as they received food and clothing from their parents in barrels to support them whilst they were cared for by other relatives or friends.

Research is ongoing into the intergenerational trauma that could be present in families who have been separated and have faced marginalization due to migration.

Religion and spirituality
Religion and spirituality are a keystone of Jamaican culture and Christianity is the dominant religion. Indeed, many Jamaicans may not only ‘respect biblical stories’ but it can be what gives meaning to their ‘social and political lives’. The most popular Christian denominations are the Church of God, Seventh Day Adventists and Pentecostals – all forms of Evangelical Christianity. The key beliefs of Evangelical Christianity or Evangelical Protestantism are ‘the preaching of the gospel of Jesus Christ, personal conversion experiences, Scripture as the sole basis for faith, and active evangelism (the winning of personal commitments to Christ)’

How Caribbean migrants helped to rebuild Britain, McDowell, The British Library, (2018).
Ibid.
Reaching for the promised land: the role of culture, issues of leadership and social stratification within British Caribbean Christianity, Morrison, University of Birmingham, p312, (2012).
Windrush Champions and Pioneers, Osborne et al, Windrush Foundation, p5, (2023).
Windrush: learning about history, learning from history, Harvey, Free Movement, (2020).
Ibid.
Who Will Save Our Children: The plight of the Jamaican child in the nineties, Crawford-Brown, University of the West Indies, (1999).
Interview with Jamaican social worker on 26/04/2023.
Census of Population & Housing, Statistical Institute of Jamaica, p80, (2011).
Reaching for the promised land: the role of culture, issues of leadership and social stratification within British Caribbean Christianity, Morrison, University of Birmingham, abstract, (2012).
Ibid, p80.
The Evangelical Church, Melton, Encyclopedia Britannica, (2023).
As Evangelical Christians may believe ‘scripture as the sole basis for faith’ or that the Bible is to be read literally, this may mean traditional perceptions of family structures, such as, the man as the head of the family and the permanence of marriage. Religion and faith can also be a great source of strength for a family, both in the actual teachings but also in the community network of support.

Jamaica is also the birthplace of Rastafarianism, which is a religion started on the island in the 1920s. Rastafarianism is not only a religion but also a political movement, which combines pan African consciousness, Christian beliefs, and mysticism. They believe that people of African descent around the world, but especially in the Americas, are the exiles of Babylon (drawing on the Old Testament). They believe that slavery, economic injustice, and racial oppression have been tests by Jah (Rasta name for God). Rastas further believe that their deliverance will be the return to Africa (which they call Zion) and in particular Ethiopia, as the home of all Africans and the ‘seat of Jah’. As of the 2011 Census there are 29,026 Rastafarians in Jamaica, with 25,325 identifying as male. The influence of the Old Testament means that some Rasta’s hold patriarchal views about the role of women in both the family and wider society.

Celebration
As Christianity is the most popular religion in Jamaica, the holidays of Easter and Christmas are widely celebrated. Unlike in the UK, Easter is a big, widely celebrated holiday akin to Christmas.
Jamaican carnival starts during early springtime and is an important celebration of Jamaica’s vibrant culture and history. The carnival includes parades, parties and fetes uniting Jamaicans ‘musically, culturally and socially’. British Jamaicans have been pivotal in the development of Notting Hill Carnival in London (which is usually run on the last weekend in August) and is Europe’s largest carnival. Notting Hill Carnival was started in 1966 as a positive response to combat racial tensions which were high in the area. Furthermore, the Jamaican diaspora has ensured that the Jamaican presence is celebrated at carnivals not just in London but across the UK including Leeds, Manchester, Birmingham, Nottingham and Butetown (Cardiff).

Left: a picture from the early history of Noting Hill Image Credit: Carnival Village Trust Carnival in London.

Rastafari, McAlister, Encyclopedia Britannica, (2023).
Ibid.
To note: Rastafari, Rastafarians, or Rastas is used interchangeably.
Census of Population & Housing, Statistical Institute of Jamaica, p80, (2011).
Rastafari, McAlister, Encyclopedia Britannica, (2023).
A History of Carnival in Jamaica, Bacchus, Carnival Instincts, (2015).
Noting Hill Carnival History, Carnival Village Trust, (accessed 2023).
There are also holidays that celebrate Jamaica’s history, and which highlight the enduring cultural impact of British colonialism. Accompany Maroon Festival is in celebration of the Maroons’ victory over British colonists in 1731 on 6th September. Emancipation Day is celebrated on 1st August and commemorates the British signing of the Emancipation Declaration that abolished slavery in its colonies in 1838. Independence Day on 6th August marks the island’s independence from the UK. A questionnaire run by the International Organization for Migration, in 2007, suggests that around 10% of British Jamaicans continue to celebrate Independence Day.
Social workers should be mindful of this colonial history when relationship- building, and consider how it may impact upon power dynamics and intergenerational trauma.

Furthermore, research has suggested that even after Independence in Jamaica, English cultural values and ‘Englishness’ were often held in higher esteem and respect over Jamaican cultural values. As a result, Jamaicans who came to the UK were sometimes described by some as ‘more British than the British themselves’. Some from the British Jamaican community argue that this is ‘internalised oppression’ and a damaging legacy of colonialism. If independence from Britain and some British culture can be key part of Jamaican national identity, having a British social worker question how they are raising their children could be especially sensitive, particularly if the social worker is not conscious of the power dynamics that could be in play.

When a Jamaican person dies their family may hold a Nine Night for them. A Nine Night is separate to the funeral itself and is a celebration of the person’s life that takes place nine days after death. The community comes together to share food, music, and stories. It is a distinctly Jamaican tradition with African roots. Depending on the family, it may be a more somber event with prayers and bible readings or a party with lots of music.

Food
Jamaican cuisine is known for its ‘bold and vibrant’ flavors, which celebrate the country’s ‘rich cultural heritage’. An emphasis on sharing home cooked food can be a central part of Jamaican family life. Holidays, such as Christmas, are often celebrated through sharing food with a large network of friends and family. Having an awareness of common foods as a non-Jamaican social worker could be a great way to build a connection with a family and show interest in Jamaican culture

Jamaican Holidays, A Jamaican Experience, (2018).
Jamaicans in the UK Mapping Exercise, International Organization for Migration, p41, (2007).
Reaching for the promised land: the role of culture, issues of leadership and social stratification within British Caribbean Christianity, Morrison, University of Birmingham, p312, (2012).
Ibid, p1.
Ibid, p262.
What is the nine night tradition?, Hylton, Marie Curie, (2022).
Ibid
Ibid
The Richness of Jamaican Cuisine, Chloe, Moments Log, (2023).
Focus group with social workers on 22/05/2023.
Some widely shared and celebrated dishes include:

Ackee and salt-fish is considered the national dish of Jamaica.
The dish ‘pays testimony to the country’s tempestuous history and multiracial roots’. The Ackee fruit is of West African origin and was probably brought to the island on slave ships in the mid 1700s. Salt-fish became a staple of the Jamaican diet on the sugar plantations by the mid-17th century because it was high in protein, cheap, and easy to store. Today, the dish has many additions from Jamaica’s multi-cultural society and has been said to ‘perfectly encapsulate a country whose motto is: Out of many, one people’. For the British Jamaican community sourcing Ackee may be difficult and canned Ackee is often used.

Image credit: Brendan Sainsbury

Plantain, a staple fruit in Jamaican cuisine, is used in both savoury and sweet dishes. Fried plantains are often treated like a vegetable and served as a side dish to a main meal or as a snack.

Image credit: Winsome Murphy

Rice and peas is a popular Jamaican dish eaten for both lunch and dinner. On Sundays, rice and peas is the dish many Jamaican families will eat, similar in tradition to a roast dinner for English families. Traditionally, the dish is made with long-grain rice, red kidney beans (the peas), coconut milk, Scotch bonnet pepper (type of chilli pepper), pimento, garlic, thyme, spring onions and salt.

Image credit: Jamaican Foods and Recipes

There are many other famous Jamaican dishes that are often shared at family and social events, such as Jerk Chicken, Curry Goat and Oxtail with butter beans.

Even though Jamaican cuisine features many meat-based dishes, there is also a notable history of veganism in Jamaica which developed with Rastafarianism in the 1920s and 1930s. The Nyabinghi Mansion of Rastafari, which is one of the oldest Rastafarian denominations, dictates that followers should only eat food grown in the earth around them (often referred to as ‘Ital’) – this is commonly interpreted as a vegan plant-based diet. There is also a growing vegan movement amongst some young British Caribbean people.

Ibid.
Ibid.
The Richness of Jamaican Cuisine, Chloe, Moments Log, (2023).
Jamaican rice and peas recipe, Lesa, Jamaican Foods and Recipes, (2023).
Ital: the vegan Rasta movement, Varley, BBC. (2016).
Ibid.
Genealogy in Jamaica
The Jamaican Census suggests that most Jamaicans can trace their ethnic origin to sub-Saharan Africa (92%). There are many West African cultural influences on Jamaican culture, such as foods like Ackee and Plantain or Akan words in the Jamaican Patois (which is explored below).
Jamaicans of non-African descent (8%) may be of Chinese, East Indian or European ethnic origin.
There is also a community of people of Syrian and Lebanese descent in Jamaica. They were primarily Christians fleeing religious persecution by the Ottoman Empire, in Syria and Lebanon in the late 19th and early 20th century

Family structure
Kinship care can play a fundamental role in family life in the British Jamaican community. Wide and supportive networks, that incorporate wider family and friends, can be the norm. Data from the 2011 census confirms that Black Caribbean children are the most likely ethnic group to be in kinship care. One in 37 Black children were in kinship care, compared to one in 83 White children.
It is thought that there are many informal kinship carers receiving no support from children’s social services. There may be a belief in British Jamaican families that it is important for children to be raised by ‘their blood’ (family members in the community). In Jamaica, there are often different approaches to kinship care in rural versus urban communities.

Families headed by matriarchal figures, such as mothers and grandmothers, can be common in Jamaica and in the British Jamaican community. Indeed, over 45% of families in Jamaica are solely female headed.

As with any family, social workers should build on the strength of strong kinship networks when considering placement options for a child who cannot be cared for by a parent. Placements within the family or community network have a plethora of benefits, considering the child’s social attachments and identity.

Same-sex marriages are not legal in Jamaica. The Offences Against the Person Act 1864 which criminalises buggery is still law in Jamaica and many Jamaicans hold very socially conservative views about homosexuality. A 2016 report published by J-Flag (Jamaica Forum of Lesbians, AllSexuals and Gays) found that approximately 88 per cent of survey respondents felt that male homosexuality was immoral.

Census of Population & Housing. Statistical Institute of Jamaica p72. (2011).
Ibid, page 72
How the Lebanese and Syrians came to Jamaica, Jamicans.com, (2019).
To note:
Two decades of UK research on kinship care: an overview, Hunt, Family Rights Group, p18, (2010).
Interview with Kinship Carer on 21/06/2023.
Ibid.
Situation Analysis of Jamaican Children – 2018.pdf (unicef.org) (47)
Freedom House, Freedom in the World 2018 – Jamaica, 27 August 2018, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/5b8d24bfa.html [accessed 21 August 2023]

Communication
English and Jamaican Patois are the main languages spoken in Jamaica. Jamaican Patois is an English-based creole language, meaning its lexicon is primarily based on English, with the majority of non-English words coming from the Akan language of West Africa.

Many Jamaicans have said they talk in an animated and passionate way, a mannerism which may lead to miscommunication between those of Jamaican heritage and professionals in the UK.
Viewed through a British lens, a Jamaican way of speaking has sometimes been misinterpreted as aggressive.

I know one kinship carer who spoke in an animated way to the children whilst being observed by a social worker. The carer was later told by the social worker they were shouting at the children, but it was just a cultural misunderstanding.
British kinship carer of Jamaican descent

Perception of childhood
In Jamaican culture, children are taught to be respectful towards elders. This may mean that they are less likely to be included in adult conversations. Jamaican parents may be surprised by, even concerned about, the liberties typically afforded a child in the UK, including giving children agency over their life decisions from the age of 12 or 13.

When working with a Jamaican family in a culturally sensitive way, it may be useful to consider that parents may not expect the child to have decision- making power in the process. If there is a need to speak to a child alone, it may be helpful to consult the parent first so as to not alienate or undermine them in their capacity as parents. Working with families to understand their cultural norms and how to work safely within these norms is important. Interventions, therefore, should be undertaken in accordance with Article 5 of the Convention on the Rights of the Child which outlines, in particular the states obligations to respect the responsibilities, rights and duties of parents to provide, in a manner consistent with the evolving capacities of the child, appropriate direction and guidance in the exercise by the child of the rights recognised in the CRC.

Note: this misinterpretation was raised in every interview with British Jamaicans.
Interview with social worker who has practised in UK and Jamaica on 19/07/2023.
Interview with a CFAB social worker.
When I first moved to the UK, my 16-yearold son received a letter from his GP stating that he could receive a vaccine without parental consent. I immediately sent my son back to Jamaica. Jamaican children do not become adults, or take decisions for themselves, until they become 18 years of age.
Jamaican parent

Forms of chastisement
Jamaican parents are often focused on raising responsible and conscientious adults. For British Jamaicans, physical punishment was more common for older generations and was ‘what good parenting looked like’ to raise responsible adults. There can still be pressure from older family members or internal pressure to maintain traditional culture and to physically chastise a child.
There can be a large gap in views on physical chastisement between first- generation British Jamaicans and third generations. A social worker may want to explore this gap in a culturally sensitive way, building on the desire to parent effectively whilst ensuring no harm comes to children.

Although physical chastisement of children is still common in Jamaica, this is slowly changing, and it is an area of political debate. Currently physical chastisement is seen more in rural than urban communities. Legally, corporal punishment of children in the home is lawful under common law which gives the right to inflict ‘reasonable and moderate’ physical punishment.

The Jamaican Government has shown commitment to protecting children rights, in line with the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, by introducing a number of Acts that ban corporal punishment in child care settings and by becoming a Pathfinder country with the Global Partnership to End Violence Against Children in 2016.

Perception of social services
Older generation or first-generation British Jamaicans are potentially much more distrustful of social services. This may stem from the racism that they have historically encountered and a lack of cultural understanding. They may see any state-associated organization as oppressive.
However, third or fourth generation British Jamaican’s may be more open to social service.

Interview with Kinship Carer on 21/06/2023.
Ibid.
Ibid
Interview with social worker who has practised in UK and Jamaica on 19/07/2023.
Corporal punishment of children in Jamaica: Briefing for the Universal Periodic Review, (May 2020).
Interview with Kinship Carer on 21/06/2023.
Interview with social worker who has practised in UK and Jamaica on 19/07/2023.
Ibid.
Ibid.
Furthermore, family issues in Jamaica are more likely to be solved within the community rather than by social services. In Jamaica, social workers may only become involved if a child is at serious risk; there are fewer formal systems, such as family conferences and long-term formal monitoring. This might mean additional work is needed when supporting a Jamaican family in the UK, to make sure they fully understand the role of the social worker and of the child protection process in order to build trust and engender confidence.

Experiences of British Jamaican community
Understanding the wider experiences of British Jamaicans could help explain the context in which a family are operating and the external pressures they may be facing.

Racism faced in the UK
Sam King, a Windrush pioneer of Jamaican origin recalled in his 1998 autobiography, ‘the host nation saw the influx [of migrants] as an imposition and became hostile’. During the 1940s, 1950s and 1960s, people of Jamaican birth or descent were often barred from jobs, health care, and access to housing. In response to this and other acts of racism, the Race Relations Act 1968 made it illegal to refuse employment, public services or housing on the basis of a person’s race or national origins. The murder of a young man of Jamaican heritage, Stephen Lawrence, in 1993, was a watershed moment highlighting continuing racism in the UK. Not only was his murder racially motivated but the subpar police response highlighted that the police were ‘institutionally racist’. This created deep hurt and distrust of the police, and potentially other public services, amongst the British Jamaican community.

There is currently an overrepresentation of Black Caribbean people in the school exclusion, penal and mental health system. For example, data shows that after Gypsy, Roma and Irish Traveller children, Black Caribbean and Mixed White and Black Caribbean children were the most likely to be excluded from school – 7.41% and 8.5% compared to 4.25% for all children. Furthermore, the Black Caribbean ethnic group has the highest rate of detention under the Mental Health Act out of all ethnic groups – 281 detentions per 100,000 people compared to 69 per 100,000 for White British people. It is extremely difficult to draw conclusions from this sort of data about causation and consequences, for example, there is huge overlap between poverty and overrepresentation in the school exclusions and penal system. However, when working with families of Jamaican heritage, it is worth reflecting on the myriad of external pressures that could exist for a British Jamaican family, especially on Black boys and men.

Ibid.
Climbing up the rough side of the mountain, King, (1998) cited in Windrush Champions and Pioneers, Osborne et al, Windrush Foundation, p50, (2023).
Interview with Iva Williams, Mukena, Bristol Post, (2020).
The Stephen Lawrence Inquiry, Sir William Macpherson, Home Office, p41 -57, (1999).
Ibid, p31.
School suspensions by ethnicity, Department for Education, (2023).
Note: the data suggests a positive trend for Black children as school suspension rates have halved between 2006/7 and 2020/1.
Detentions under the Mental Health Act, GOV.UK, May 2023.
Interview with Kinship Carer on 21/06/2023
Many times, racial discrimination comes into play for Black men. Black males can be perceived as a threat, which means that simple interactions with the State can become blown up.
Jamaican man living in the UK

The Windrush Scandal
The Windrush Scandal began in 2018 when some members of the Windrush Generation were wrongly detained, deported and denied their legal rights by the Home Office. Part of the Home Office’s ‘hostile environment’ policy was to demand proof from individuals of their right to live in the UK. As the Windrush Generation had a legal right to come to the UK at the time, they were not given any documentation upon entry, nor following the changes to immigration laws in the 1970s. Furthermore, a whistle-blower revealed that any documentation of peoples arrivals, such as landing card slips, appear to have been destroyed by the Home Office during an office move in 2010. This is critical because the Immigration Act 1971 gave Jamaicans who had already moved to Britain indefinite leave to remain but the destruction of landing card slips destroyed the evidence that they had arrived before 1971. Some people lost their jobs, their homes and were denied free medical treatment on the NHS. The Windrush Scandal has a large continuing impact on the British Jamaican community and may lead to a distrust or fear of engaging with any organisations or services connected to the state, such as children’s social services. One Windrush Scandal victim, Anthony Bryan, described how “[t]he Windrush scandal broke my world in two. I spent months wrongfully detained in detention centres, leading to the loss of my livelihood, my home”.

The Windrush Generation are now ‘held in reverence by their communities’ and Windrush Day, on 22nd June, was introduced in 2018 to celebrate the 70th of anniversary of the ship arriving.
Windrush Day highlights ‘the contribution that Caribbean men and women have made and continue to make to Britain’s well-being and prosperity since the 1940s’.

Windrush generation and the Home Office, House of Commons, Conclusions and recommendations (2019).
Ibid.
Home Office destroyed thousands of Windrush landing cards, Casalicchio, Civil Service World, (2018).
Ibid.
Case studies of how the Windrush Scandal has affected individuals, The Guardian, (2018).
The Ties That Bind Us, UCL Institute for Global Health, Burgess et al, (2022).
Jamaicans in the UK Mapping Exercise, International Organization for Migration, p8, (2007).
Windrush Champions and Pioneers, Osborne et al, Windrush Foundation, p4, (2023).
Fear of crime, arrest or deportation
There is a perception that Jamaicans in the UK (who are not British nationals) are particularly targeted for deportation as foreign-national offenders or due to their undocumented immigration status. This perception could lead to members of the community feeling especially worried about engaging with their local authority or social services. Furthermore, research has shown that some victims and survivors of abuse from ethnic minority groups are scared to engage with social services over fear of their immigration status.

Official data published in 2019 shows high rates of Stop and Search for British Jamaicans. Black Caribbean people were 9.6 times as likely to be stopped and searched as White British people.
This was the highest rate out of all ethnic groups except those recorded as ‘Other Black’. Black Caribbean people were 3.8 times as likely to be arrested as White British people. Furthermore, 28% of Black Caribbean people said they thought they were likely to be a victim of crime in the next year, compared with 18% of White British people (England and Wales, 2015/16). These negative experiences, as highlighted by these statistics, could impact on a family’s trust and compliance with social services, which works closely with the Police, as part of the Working Together policy.

Barriers to accessing help
There may be a perception by Jamaican families that the number of times a Black family has to reach out to get help from social services is more than for other families. This is supported by research that found that there are disparities by ethnic group in intervention rates. Research into the experiences of minority ethnic young people and families who were trying to access family support services found that they commonly faced extra barriers. One parent said “[w]e struggled to be understood. There was lack of cultural sensitivity, lack of understanding from a cultural religious perspective, and the family dynamics were not understood”. Further data from the Department for Education shows that double the proportion of children from Black ethnic groups entered care following no previous social care activity when compared to all children (37% for Black children compared with 19% for all children). This may suggest that opportunities for early help and intervention – which usually lead to much better outcomes for a child – are perhaps being missed for some children of Jamaican heritage.

Disproportionate ‘targeting’ of Jamaicans for deportation from UK, Peter Walker, The Guardian, (2021).
Jamaican Deportation Action and The UK Home Office, Pasha et al, JURIST, (2020).
Interview with Jamaican social worker on 26/04/2023.
‘People don’t talk about it’: child sex abuse in ethnic minority communities, Rodger et al., Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse, P18, (2020).
To note: official data is collected on the Black Caribbean ethnic group. Based on data collected in 2007 by the International Organisation for Migration, Jamaicans are the most prominent sub-group within the Black Caribbean ethnic group.
Black Caribbean ethnic group, UK Government, (2019).
Ibid.
Ibid.
Working Together to Safeguard Children, HM Government, (2018).
Interview with Kinship Carer on 21/06/2023.
Ethnicity of children in care and supervision proceedings in England, Edney et al, Nuffield Family Justice Observatory, p1.
Improving the way family support services work for minority ethnic families, Waddell et al, Early Intervention Foundation, (2022).
Ibid, p18.
Ethnicity and children’s social care, Ahmed et al, Department for Education, p30, (2022).

Section Two: culturally relevant networks and resources to assist
families

Rights of families in the UK
The majority of the British Jamaican community are British nationals – the large diaspora community being in its third or fourth generation.

Jamaicans who are not British nationals need a standard visa to visit the UK for tourism or business purposes. To work in the UK, Jamaican nationals would need a Tier 2 visa. The requirements of a Tier 2 can be found here.

CFAB is not qualified to give immigration advice and suggest contacting the UK Home Office, for immigration questions regarding a Jamaican family.

How to work with foreign social services
The Jamaican Child Protection and Family Services Agency is a member of the International Social Service (ISS) Network. The UK member of the ISS Network is Children and Families Across Borders (CFAB). Assessments and other social work in Jamaica should be commissioned through CFAB. CFAB advice line is open Monday – Friday between 10:00 and 15:30 (020 7735 8941).

Children’s legal cases with an international element
There is a significant need for legal support with the complexities of children’s cases with an international dimension. CFAB now offers a range of legal services to meet this need. CFAB can provide advice sessions or a letter of advice from CFAB’s Senior Legal Advisor for questions that deal with the complexities of children’s cases with an international dimension.
Furthermore, CFAB have an International Legal Advice service, which will provide advice and guidance from legal experts based in the country of placement. Further information can be found here.

UK-based support networks for Jamaicans
The Association of Jamaicans (UK) Trust – Considered the oldest Jamaican voluntary social welfare organization in the United Kingdom. Its vision is to improve the quality of life for Jamaicans including the UK diaspora.

Association of Jamaican Nationals (Birmingham) UK – A community organization dedicated to community development and outreach, helping young people, and connecting services to the people that need them.

Further resources and organizations

The Victoria Climbié Foundation UK- campaigns for improvements in child protection policies and practices and to ensure effective links and coordination between statutory agencies, care services and communities. They are currently running training on working from a culturally competent perspective.

Practice Supervisor Development Programmed – Understanding the Lived Experience of black and ethnic minority children and families.

Families in Harmony – their mission is to end racial disparity in kinship care and foster a co- production approach of ‘together we are stronger.

Reach Society – The core purpose of the Reach Society is to encourage, motivate and inspire Black boys and young men to own the development of their potential and make viable transitions into adult life.

The Black Care Experience Charter – a declaration from Black children in social care system of the changes they would like to see to improve the Care, Outcomes and Life Chances of the Black Child or Young Person and keep them connected to their Culture, Identity and Heritage as they Journey through the Care System.

The Windrush Foundation – charity that designs and delivers heritage projects, programmes and initiatives which highlight African and Caribbean peoples’ contributions to UK public services, the Arts, commerce, and other areas of socio-economic and cultural life in Britain and the Commonwealth.

Windrush 75 Network website – The Windrush 75 network aims to make 2023 a year of celebrations to mark the 75th anniversary of the Windrush. The network helps to broaden public recognition of the contribution of the original Windrush Pioneers, as well as increasing public understanding of the history of race and migration to Britain across the decades.

AFRUCA Community Research Programme – AFRUCA promote the well-being and protection of children and families in black and ethnic communities across the UK using a cultural- competent approach. We provide a range of prevention and early intervention services to address child abuse linked to cultural practices, child trafficking, modern slavery and exploitation.

Understanding Child Protection In The UK: A Guide For Parents In Black and Ethnic Communities

Methodology
To produce this guide, discussions took place with a range of social workers, kinship careers, diplomatic officials, and other professionals with experience in both Jamaica and the UK.
Given the sensitive nature of working with vulnerable children and families, interviews have been anonymously cited throughout.

Limitations
The data used in the guide has been collected in different ways. For example, the official data on ethnicity uses some data describing the Black Caribbean group, some for British Jamaicans in particular, and some for all Black ethnic groups. We have always used the most relevant data where possible, however, even where the data is not perfect it may help us to better understand a family’s lived experiences.

Introduction to the history and culture of families of Jamaican heritage

INTRODUCTION

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

References

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