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Race Equality Policy Statement What is racist behaviour? Racism in any form is damaging to society and more specifically, to those groups and individuals against which it is directed. Racial harassment is defined as any form of human behaviour that has the effect of threatening, intimidating, ridiculing, humiliating or undermining the perspective of a person or group on racial or cultural grounds. Race and culture relate to colour, race, ethnicity, traditions and nationality. Although religious intolerance is not related to racial intolerance, it is a recognised factor of potential conflict between groups. The Macpherson Report of the Stephen Lawrence Enquiry defines a racist incident as: ‘Any incident which is perceived to be racist by the victim or any other person.’ Racial harassment may include: • Physical abuse • Verbal abuse, including derogatory comments / jokes / name calling / insults • Graffiti or other written abuse or the display of offensive material • Differential negative treatment • Refusal to co-operate with people from other ethnic groups • Display of racist insignia, literature, leaflets, recruitment or encouragement of others to join the racist group • Racist comments about people or the work in hand during the course of a lesson or at break time • Ridicule over cultural individuality / diversity • Unwelcome gestures and aggressive body language • Damage to property • Incitement of others through the above categories Challenging and dealing with racist incidents: At this school all incidents will be acknowledged, challenged, investigated and reported. Incidents may involve pupils, employees or visitors to the school, as either victims or perpetrators. The victim/s need to be supported and their cultural identity, positively reinforced. The perpetrator/s need to be counselled. If those involved are pupils, the parents of both victims and perpetrators should usually be informed of the incident and the actions taken by the school. Depending on the outcome of the investigation and seriousness of the incident, a verbal or written warning may be necessary. Not all incidents will be brought to the attention of a member of staff. It is therefore important that we foster a culture within the school where the whole community is sensitive to unfair treatment, so that everybody takes responsibility for reporting a racial incident. The whole school community needs to know the mechanism for raising complaints of racial harassment. If a pupil, parent, visitor or employee is racially abused or reports an incident of racism, the incident should be recorded and the Head Teacher or Deputy Head in her absence, should be informed. Procedure for dealing with racist incidents: If an incident is reported to a member of staff, they should: • Acknowledge that the incident has happened and express clear disapproval. • Support the victim by apologising for the fact that they are having to suffer like this. (see appendix 1) • Ask both the victim and the alleged perpetrator for their account of events, separately. • Identify the racist element within the behaviour • Inform the Head Teacher or Deputy Head in her absence. • Consider appropriate action. • Complete a racial issues/incident form including their findings of whether or not the incident was found to be racially motivated. (in Head’s office) • Log the incident in the school record book. (in Head’s office) The Head Teacher or Deputy Head in her absence should: • Contact both sets of parents if appropriate. • Reinforce the school’s policy to handle racism and explain the action taken. • Inform staff so they can be vigilant in preventing further occurrences. • Find ways of re-affirming the positive status of the culture of the victim. • Decide on the best ways to increase pastoral support for the victim. • Talk with the perpetrator and increase pastoral support for them too.(see appendix 2) Recording and monitoring: The Head Teacher or Deputy Head in her absence, will keep a record of all racist incidents. The record will enable the investigation, recording and monitoring of racist incidents. The Head Teacher will report on racial incidents to the Governing Body on a termly basis so that governors can monitor concerns or trends effectively. It is the duty of the Governing Body to report to the LA on an annual basis. The LA will conduct an annual audit and will publish overall patterns and trends via the Chief Inspector’s report. Trends over time across the borough will be identified and tackled and an appropriate support strategy will be devised within the authority’s EDP. Triggers for concern: The school’s Link Inspector will be informed if any of the following incidents occur, S/he will discuss with the Head Teacher whether it is appropriate to develop an action plan for combatting racism in the school, in cases of: • Exclusion • A complaint which is not resolved within the school • Significant levels of harassment or racial tension • Media attention • A police reported incident • An Ofsted inspection report citing Multicultural / Race issues as a key issue The Link Inspector will send a copy of his/her report to the HIAS Inspector (Race), if any of the triggers for concern becomes apparent. Complaints: • In the case of a pupil, employee or parent not being satisfied with the steps taken by the school, they should be informed of their right to take their grievance to the Governing Body, under the school’s general complaints procedure. • If the complaint remains unresolved, the Director for Children and Lifelong Learning should be informed. • If the dispute is still unresolved, the Havering Race Equalities Council should be informed. • An individual member of staff should be informed of their right to consult their professional association. This policy will be reviewed annually Reviewed April 2006
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