BISHOP RAMSEY CHURCH OF ENGLAND SCHOOL

Transcription

1 BISHOP RAMSEY CHURCH OF ENGLAND SCHOOL RACE EQUALITY POLICY Date of Policy: January 2010 Review date: January 2012 Review Body: Person Responsible: Staff and Student Well Being Committee Harry Nixon 1

2 BISHOP RAMSEY SCHOOL RACE EQUALITY STATEMENT The Race Relations Act of 1976 places a duty on every school to stop racial discrimination as defined in the Act and to promote good relations between all racial and cultural groups. In addition this school supports the equal opportunities and racial harassment policies of the London Borough of Hillingdon and the Diocese of London. The school must be made free from racism and prejudice so that the school meets the needs of everyone in our communities. There must be mutual respect in all relationships within the school community. The school will ensure when planning and delivering the curriculum that:- It significantly reflects positive images of all minority groups whatever their race, colour or creed. It actively discourages and challenges the use of racial and personal abuse, graffiti and racist attacks. It draws on linguistic, religious and cultural diversity, in all learning experiences. It reflects the Christian message of equality of people before God. 2

3 RACE EQUALITY POLICY These guidelines are our statement of intent to challenge racism as we would challenge any other offensive or antisocial behaviour when it manifests itself in our school. We will demonstrate to pupils, when necessary, that offensive behaviour towards others because of their religion, their place of origin or the colour of their skin, will not be tolerated. Pupil s attitudes are often formed at home and in the world beyond the school. Our aim must be to reform racist attitudes not just to punish them. While the response of staff must initially be to discipline individuals who offend, every effort must be made to explain what it is about the pupil's behaviour that is wrong. What do we mean by a racist incident or racial harassment? A racist incident is: Any incident, which is perceived to be racist by the victim or any other person Racial harassment is when incidents happen more than once to the same pupil by the same person or group. GUIDELINES 1. Incidents of a racist nature must be recorded and reported immediately to the Head of Year. 2. All instances of verbal abuse must be challenged - including racist name calling, racist jokes and mimicry. 3. All graffiti must be reported and removed immediately. 4. Pupils who refuse to work or co-operate with others must be challenged. Pupils should not be allowed to refuse to participate in multicultural work in the classroom. 5. Misconceptions about other races or cultures must be challenged. 6. Teachers need to be sensitive to different naming traditions and encourage pupils to respect and accept names from cultures other than their own. If we are in doubt about the pronunciation or spelling of a name, there is nothing wrong in asking the pupil concerned about it. 7. All staff must seek to develop an understanding of cultural norms which may be different from their own and which may determine some pupils' attitudes and behaviour. We must respect all members of the school community as individuals. We must recognise that we may need to reassess our own attitudes to others from time to time. SCHOOL PROCEDURES TO SUPPORT RACE EQUALITY There exists a parents group, which has been well attended and has had a positive impact for the good on the life of the School and was set up originally to support the relationship between the School and the parents of black boys. The group has widened its remit and now acts as a forum where concerns can be discussed, chaired by Mrs Dimmock.(parent) All racist incidents are reported electronically to the Local Authority 3

4 Bishop Ramsey School monitors exam performance each year, to establish whether there is evidence of disproportionate underachievement in value added terms on the part of students of any racial group. Particular note is taken of the possible underachievement of black boys. Each head of department is required to report on any discrepancies in the performance of different ethnic groups in his/her annual review with the Headteacher. The Governors Learning, Teaching and Assessment Committee and the full Governing Body review the performance of students in public examinations each year. Bishop Ramsey School monitors data on internal, fixed period and permanent exclusions in an effort to ensure equal treatment of students of all ethnic origins. An analysis of external exclusions is presented to governors at final meeting of the full Governing body in the academic year. 4

5 SITUATIONS AND RESPONSES The word 'challenged' has been used in several of the guidelines, the word was deliberately chosen to encompass several different responses from a member of staff. LESSONS If, during the course of a lesson, one pupil makes a racist statement about another, staff have several options open to them: (i) (ii) (iii) (iv) He/she can simply reprimand the pupil eg "That sort of statement is not acceptable. He/she can reprimand the pupil and say why such racist comments are unacceptable. If the statement is particularly offensive or the member of staff feels sufficiently confident to confront the issue, the actual lesson might be suspended for a longer discussion of why such abuse is wrong, hurtful and offensive. Extreme caution needs to be exercised when doing this otherwise attitudes may be reinforced. Should the member of staff not feel confident enough to 'challenge' the pupil in front of the class, then he/she should either ask to see the pupil after the lesson, or if the opportunity arises, have a quiet word with him/her later in the lesson ensuring that the class is aware that the incident is being dealt with. The important point being in all cases that we make a commitment as a staff not to let such comments pass apparently unnoticed. On any one teaching day, we have to make several decisions about how best to react to examples of bad behaviour. Our reaction usually depends on the class, the work they are doing and our relationship with them. The same applies to our response to racist behaviour - in our view it would be too dangerous to be too prescriptive about how classroom teachers should respond to examples of such behaviour. GENERAL It is important that the school as an institution supports individual teachers. Any of the following may occur on school premises: (i) (ii) (iii) (iv) (v) Physical attacks of a racist nature; Any behaviour - physical or verbal - which implies or threatens physical harm; Introduction/dissemination of literature and materials of a racist nature into school; verbal abuse; Incitement of others to collaborate in abuse. 5

6 DISCIPLINARY PROCEDURE If any incident occurs the following steps should be taken: 1. A referral form must be passed to Tutor and Year Director or a member of Leadership Team for information and the pupil will be spoken to by the Year Director. 2. The Year Director should record the incident on the appropriate incident sheet and place it in the student file. The Year Director or member of Leadership Team will decide whether the incident can be dealt with immediately, if not then a full report will be passed on to the Head of Key Stage. (In all cases incidents which occur must be dealt with firmly and given central importance) 3. If a report has been passed to the Head of Key Stage he/she will inform the parent/carer. 4. In certain cases the Head of Key Stage will consult with the Head/Deputy Headteacher and the pupil will be excluded for a fixed term. Simultaneously, the parents will be informed by letter. PASTORAL SUPPORT In all cases there should be support for teacher(s) concerned, victims and perpetrators. There should also be short-term and long-term follow-up work to prevent recurrence eg whole group pastoral work, stages of individual and group counselling, development of the curriculum, etc. The school Chaplain will be involved where appropriate. CHALLENGING RACISM It is, of course, the responsibility of all of us to challenge racism whenever it occurs on the school premises. It should not be forgotten that racism is illegal. It is important that the school as an institution display full support for individual teachers outside as well as inside the classroom. Staff should follow the guidelines when on duty or moving about the school premises. As situations outside the classroom can be more difficult to control/contain/respond to, staff must feel able to call for assistance from colleagues. If it become clear to pupils that the staff at Bishop Ramsey School will not tolerate racism, then it will become easier for all of us to challenge it individually. REVIEWING/ASSESSING This will be regularly visited at HOD/YD review meetings annually. MONITORING This policy will be monitored by the Leadership Team and the Governors Staff and Student Welfare Committee. 6

7 REFERRAL FORM REPORTING A RACIST INCIDENT INSTRUCTIONS 1. The referral form should be completed using these guidelines. 2. When completed the form should be returned to the Year Director who will then inform the relevant members of staff. 3. After the above procedure the Year Director will store the form in the pupil's file. RACIST BEHAVIOUR 1. Incidents may include one or more of the following types: 1. Physical Assault against a person/group because of colour/ethnicity 2. Derogatory name calling, insults and racist jokes 3. Racist graffiti or written insult 4. Provocative behaviour such as wearing racist badges or insignia 5. Bringing racist material such as leaflets, comics or magazines into and within the immediate vicinity of an educational institution. 6. Making threats against a person or group because of colour or ethnicity. 7. Racist comment in the course of discussion in lesson. 8. Attempt to recruit other pupils and students to racist organisations and groups. 2. Record the procedure adopted to deal with the incident which may include one or more of the following: A. Clearly explaining the wrong done without taking further action. B. Sending the perpetrator to the appropriate senior member of staff. C. Using the exclusion/suspension procedures involving parents/governing Bodies and requiring that it would be necessary for pupil to comply with the school's anti-racist guidelines as a condition of readmission to the school. D. Reporting the matter to the Police where it is necessary to bring to bear the process of law. E. Contact with other relevant agencies. RESPONSE TO AN INCIDENT Racist behaviour is regarded as a serious breach of discipline and will be referred to the Year Director in the first instance. In addition there would be counselling for both the victim and the perpetrator, contact with parents of both the victim and the perpetrator and the return of the form to the pupil file of the perpetrator. 7

8 CHECKLIST FOR A MULTICULTURAL PERSPECTIVE IN TEACHING MATERIAL If teaching material depicts a multicultural society it is important to check that the teaching material is representative of that society. Conversely it is inappropriate to include people of differing ethnic groups in contrived situations. These are some of the questions that should be asked. The list is not exhaustive. For 'people' read 'children' where appropriate. Does the teaching material tackle or avoid controversial issues? Are people from all ethnic groups shown in a variety of roles? If life in less economically developed countries is included, does the teaching material show the varieties of lifestyles in those countries, eg urban as well as rural life, rich people as well as poor people, women as well as men? Do the text and illustrations counter or reinforce stereotypes of peoples? Are there assumptions about all people in an ethnic groups looking alike, dressing the same and having similar interests. Does the teaching material counteract or reinforce a positive association with the colour white and a negative with the colour black? Is language used sensitively, eg using black people as opposed to coloured people? Is care taken with works such as race, immigrant, foreigner? Are loaded words used inappropriately, eg savage, primitive, developed, civilisation? Can people from ethnic groups speak of themselves or do outsiders comment on their behalf? Are some ethnic groups shown as being impoverished? If there are examples of poverty, are the reasons for poverty explained? Are non-whites treated as a problem? Are problems only solved by white intervention? Are there only romanticised/exotic images of some peoples and countries? Are there examples of achievements by people from all ethnic groups (where relevant)? Are people from all ethnic groups included in scenes from everyday life as opposed to the exotic and unusual? Are people from all ethnic groups shown taking initiatives? Are people from all ethnic groups shown in a variety of roles (both physical and intellectual)? Are there people from all ethnic groups represented in positions of power and leadership or are they only shown as subservient? If inappropriate/racist views are contained within teaching material it is the responsibility of the member of staff to explain the context and counter such a viewpoint. 8