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St. Mary’s R.C. Primary School

RACIAL EQUALITY POLICY

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Contents RACIAL EQUALITY POLICY STATEMENT WHAT IS UNLAWFUL DISCRIMINATION? WHAT ARE THE EFFECTS OF RACISM IN THE EDUCATION SYSTEM? IDENTIFYING RACIST INCIDENTS DEALING WITH COMPLAINTS GUIDELINES FOR RESPONDING TO RACIST INCIDENTS PROCEDURE FOR DEALING WITH COMPLAINTS OF RACIAL DISCRIMINATION

RESPONDING TO RACIAL DISCRIMINATION INCIDENTS RECORDING MONITORING RACIST INCIDENTS ASSESSMENT OF THE POLICY ACCOUNTABILITY

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THE ROLE OF OFSTED EVIDENCE FOR AN INSPECTION

St. Mary’s RC Primary School Racial Equality Policy Statement This policy should be read in conjunction with our Mission Statement St. Mary’s RC Primary School recognises that racial discrimination is not acceptable and is committed to promoting equality of opportunity and good race relations, in line with the school’s Mission Statement. Our school, in line with the teachings of Jesus Christ, believe that all people are created by God the Father and are equal and should be given equality of opportunity to achieve their full potential. Everyone is different and has the right to be treated justly and fairly regardless of their attitude and/or appearance. The school strongly encourages all staff and pupils to report any cases of racial discrimination. Where the school is satisfied there is substance to any complaint, action will be taken under the agreed procedure.

Our Race Equality Policy reflects the school’s philosophy, ethos, character and circumstances and the following areas will be carefully scrutinised to make sure that they reflect our Mission Statement and promote race equality. School will assess all the school’s policies to see whether they have or could have an adverse impact on any of the areas mentioned below.         

Pupils’ attainment and progress Curriculum, teaching and learning (including language and cultural needs) Care and assessment Staff recruitment and career development The school’s values Pupil behaviour, discipline and exclusion Racism and racial harassment Admissions and transfer procedures Membership of the governing body.

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The Commission for Racial Equality (CRE’s) statutory code of practice on the duty to promote race equality comes into effect on 31st May 2002. From that time, schools must have a race equality policy in place, monitor its operation and assess its impact.

The CRE also plays a role in helping LEAs to meet their duties, by giving practical advice and disseminating good practice.

WHAT IS UNLAWFUL RACIAL DISCRIMINATION? The Race Relations Act 1976 makes it unlawful to discriminate – directly or indirectly- against someone on racial grounds. Under this Act, “racial grounds” means race, colour, nationality (including citizenship) and ethnic or national origin. Racial groups are defined under these grounds.

For example, African Caribbean, Gypsies, Indians, Irish, Pakistanis, Irish Travellers, Jews and Sikhs have been recognised under the Race Relations Act Direct Racial Discrimination This means treating one person less favourably than another on racial grounds. An example of direct discrimination is applying harsher discipline to Gypsies.

Indirect Racial Discrimination This means that a rule or condition which is applied equally to everyone can be met by a considerable smaller proportion of people from a particular racial group; the rule is to their disadvantage; and the condition or rule cannot be justified on non-racial grounds. All three conditions must apply. An example of unlawful indirect discrimination is where school’s uniform rules do not allow for a particular racial group’s customs.

Victimisation The Act also makes it unlawful to victimise someone because they;  Have made a complaint of racial discrimination;  Are thought to have made a complaint; or  Have supported someone else who has made a complaint of racial discrimination WHAT ARE THE EFFECTS OF RACISM IN THE EDUCATION SYSTEM? 1. It perpetuates the false belief that one set of people is inferior to another.

2. It limits access and achievement for those children in education.

3. It creates great unhappiness and fear for the victims.

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4. It inhibits the ability of those children to achieve their full potential in a multicultural society.

5. It can lead to serious consequences for the perpetrator if not dealt with appropriately.

For these reasons and if not just for the fact that it is wrong school will treat all cases of racial discrimination seriously.

IDENTIFYING RACIST INCIDENTS Racist incidents can be recognised in a number of different forms and degrees of seriousness, both blatant and hidden. Some incidents may be unintentional, stemming from a lack of awareness.

However, if unchecked, these are still damaging for both the victim and perpetrator.

Forms of abuse include: i. Discriminatory practice or procedures – exclusion from activities, discrimination, unfair treatment on the grounds of race, for example, in admissions procedures; ii. The attitude – which perpetuates negative images and undervalues ethnic and cultural diversity.

People often accept that this situation is right, natural or unchangeable. For example, failure to pronounce a child’s name correctly or not challenging stereotypes reinforces negative messages; iii. Verbal abuse – name calling, labelling, stereotyping, racist jokes, ridicule, derogatory racist comments, insults, threats; iv. Non verbal abuse – defacement or damage of property, racist graffiti, wearing racist badges/insignia, use of racist propaganda, refusal to co-operate with others on the grounds of race, attempts to influence others, incitement to racial hatred. v. Physical harassment and violence – racist gestures, signs of behaviours, jostling, harassment, intimidation, assault.

DEALING WITH COMPLAINTS The school realises that many individuals may be unwilling to make a complaint regarding racial discrimination. This may be for a variety of reasons including: ♦ fear that others will consider the behaviour trivial; ♦ fear of retaliation and/or public humiliation; ♦ fear that the complaint will not be taken seriously.

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Rather than face these possibilities, the victim of discrimination may, therefore, choose to transfer to another job or school or leave altogether. The school regards this as totally unacceptable. The school should do everything possible to encourage the reporting of racist / sexual incidents. Accordingly, the procedure details below should be used to facilitate the resolution of sexual and racial discrimination complaints.

GUIDELINES FOR RESPONDING TO RACIST INCIDENTS These guidelines are designed to be supportive and to provide an understanding of the issues. The aim is to increase confidence and ensure a consistent approach when dealing with racist incidents involving any member of the school.  Do remember that young people could harbour racist attitudes.  Do not trivialise the effects of racist jokes and comments.

PROCEDURE FOR DEALING WITH COMPLAINTS OF RACIAL DISCRIMINATION 1.

This procedure will apply to all employees and pupils of the school. It is intended to cover any complaint of a racial nature.

2.

All staff should be aware of the school’s policy. Racist behaviour by any member of staff or pupil is unacceptable. Where there is persistent or serious abuse the person concerned will be subject to disciplinary action through the agreed Disciplinary Procedures. The whole school, pupils, parents, staff and Governors, need to be aware of the agreed code of practice and to actively work against racism.

3.

All employees should be aware that the CRE (Commission for Racial Equality) has the power under sections 49 – 52 of the Race Relations Act 1976 to carry out formal investigations. The investigation can be either a “named person” investigation or a general investigation.

4.

It is recognised that confidentiality is extremely important when dealing with cases of discrimination and it is accepted that any complaint should be investigated and resolved as quickly as possible.

5.

All incidents should be recorded and the information given to a designed senior member of staff who will ensure that they are dealt with appropriately.

6.

The identified member of staff will establish the nature of the complaint and arrange for it to be investigated and agree a course of action following consultation with the complainant.

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7.

Whenever possible, the school (represented by the HT and/or teaching staff) will ask the harasser to stop, or make it clear that the behaviour is unwelcome. In all circumstances the person (the harasser) will be spoken to.

8.

An informal meeting will be arranged with the individual complainant after the steps taken in (7) above. A Trade Union Representative, a friend or a colleague may represent the complainant, if so desired.

9.

If the discrimination does not cease, or the complainant is not satisfied, the harasser will be told that it is to be reported to the Head Teacher and or Governors in the case of an employee. The complaint may be oral or in writing. A written report will be made about the complaint and any action taken or proposed.

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The advice and support of outside agencies should, if necessary, be sought.

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Where management is satisfied that there is substance to the complaint, action will be taken in accordance with the agreed school disciplinary procedure.

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The perpetrator will need guidance and sanctions may be appropriate. In the case of a pupil, parents need to be involved from point 9.

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The victim will need support. In case of a pupil, the family will need to be informed at an early stage and reassured that appropriate action is being taken.

14.

The person accused has the right to take out a Grievance Procedure if they feel that they have not been treated fairly.

15.

Victims will be informed of their right to make a formal complaint to the Governing Body if they are not satisfied with the action taken. The matter will be investigated and appropriate advice given.

16.

Victims who are not satisfied have recourse to law.

RESPONDING TO RACIAL DISCRIMINATION INCIDENTS Checklist for Action Basic Strategies

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Support victim

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Explain to perpetrator why this is unacceptable

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make it clear persistent abuse will lead to further sanctions

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Inform the Chair of Governors

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remove any offending material

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record incident

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encourage positive involvement of parents

carry out follow up activities Additional Action for Persistent/Serious Abuse -

refer to designated senior member of staff

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involve parents

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inform LEA; seek advice and support

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contact police, where appropriate

take necessary steps to prevent recurrence RECORDING  It is essential that all incidents be recorded in order to provide an accurate picture of the scale and nature of the problem.  Do not dismiss racist name-calling as just name-calling. Record the name of the child who was doing the calling and the name of the child who was the victim of the name-calling.  The information will be recorded to determine appropriate responses to racial abuse and used to show a reduction in incidents.

MONITORING RACIST INCIDENTS School should monitor the impact of their policy on pupils, parents and staff and the impact the policy has had on pupils’ attainment levels.

To help the school monitor the effectiveness of its policy it should monitor the following; St. Mary’s Race Equality Policy

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 pupils’ performance and progress  exclusions  racism, racial harassment and bullying  curriculum, teaching and learning  punishment and reward  membership of the governing body  parental involvement.  get a full picture of the frequency and nature of abuse,  measure the effectiveness of the methods used in responding to racist incidents,  determine necessary or future action,  Provide the school Governing Body with a basis for statistical analysis of racist incidents and the school’s response to them.  For these reasons schools are asked to keep a record of all-racist incidents and action taken.

ASSESSMENT OF THE POLICY School should assess the effectiveness of this policy through our normal existing arrangements for developing and reviewing policies. ] School will use the following to help them assess the policy;           

Pupils’ attainment and progress Collecting and analysing relevant data Talking to pupils and parents Curriculum, teaching and learning (including language and cultural needs) Care and assessment Staff recruitment and career development The school’s values Pupil behaviour, discipline and exclusion Racism and racial harassment Admissions and transfer procedures Membership of the governing body.

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 Review any recorded incidents  Use any relevant findings to review other school policies School will make arrangements to publish the result of any assessments, consultations and monitoring they do to identify any adverse impact on race equality and organise staff training in relation to the general duty to promote race equality.

ACCOUNTABILITY The school is accountable to the CRE, the LEA, the Governors, the Diocese and OFSTED. Records should be kept so that the school is seen to have fulfilled its duty.

The school is also accountable (in fact has a duty) to each and every member of staff and pupil, to ensure that everyone understands that racial discrimination is wrong and will not be tolerated.

Everyone has the right to be safe and free from abuse of any kind in their work place.

The Role of OFSTED Inspectors, on behalf of OFSTED, have a general duty to determine whether the school, in all its functions, has due regard to the need to eliminate unlawful racial discrimination, promote equality of opportunity, and promote good relations between people of different racial groups.

From 31st May 2002, inspectors must take account of the CRE’s code of practice and evaluate the quality and impact of the school’s policy and practice in promoting race equality.

The following information changes once the code of practice has been in place for a while.

Where a school’s practice in promoting race equality is a strength, inspectors should highlight this feature in the inspection report, indicating what the school is doing or has done to maintain or develop practice of high quality. Where the school has recently put in place a policy but has not yet begun to monitor its implementation or assess its impact, inspectors should be sensitive to the implementation timescale incoming to their conclusions. However, in cases where the school has not yet tackled the promotion of race equality, the inspection report should highlight this as a weakness.

Two earlier Ofsted reports, “Raising the attainment of minority ethnic pupils – school and LEA responses.” 1999 and “Educational inequality; mapping race, class and gende” November 2000 have indicated the need to put in place strategies for raising the attainment of black and minority ethnic pupils. These can be viewed on www.ten.info

Evidence for an Inspection St. Mary’s Race Equality Policy

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Ofsted, in their inspection will address the needs of ethnic minority pupils and how school encourages racial equality. They will report on the following areas.

The Environment Evidence of;  School’s arrangements for receiving and welcoming visitors, appropriate to all ethnic groups represented in the school  Environment and display being informative, stimulating and promoting positive images of all school members  Visual material depicting Britain’s cultural diversity  A wide variety of pupils’ work displayed  Community languages Resources Evidence of;  Resources/textbooks which promote inclusion and are not culturally biased.  Positive role models of different ethnic groups.

Teaching and Learning Evidence of;  Different teaching styles to address the needs of all pupils.  Appropriate groupings of pupils to support evidence.  Effective use of teaching assistants.  Bilingualism being recognised as a positive learning tool.  Equal participation in investigations, demonstrations and reporting back.  Learning accessed to EAL pupils through;  Use of first language  Visual aids  Practical activities  And not soley dependent on competence in English.

Pupils’ attitudes, values and personal development Evidence of;  Work in an atomosphere free from oppresive behaviour, such as bullying, sexism and racism.  Respect of other people’s differences, particularly their feelings, values and beliefs.

How well are pupils taught?

Evaluation of how well the school meets the needs of all its pupils, taking account of age, gender, ethnicity, capability, special educational needs, gifted and talented pupils and those for whom English is an additional language.

How good are curricular and other opportunities offered to pupils?

Consideration of the extent to which the school; ♦ Is socially inclusive by ensuring equality of access and opportunity for all pupils; ♦ Teaches pupils to appreciate their own cultural traditions and the diversity and richness of other cultures.

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How well does the school care for its pupils?

Consideration of the extent to which the school;  Has effective measures to promote good attendance and behaviour and to eliminate oppressive behaviour including all forms of harassment and bullying.  Has effective arrangements for assessing pupils’ attainment and progress.

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