THE COLLETONPRIMARY SCHOOL

RACE EQUALITY POLICY

AIMS AND VALUES

We respect and value the linguistic, cultural and religious diversity which exists in the wider community. We are committed to challenging attitudes that promote racial discrimination, ensuring respect for all and preparing all pupils for life in a culturally diverse society.

Our commitment to race equality will be demonstrated through:

Fostering respect for all groups and individuals, within the context of Human Rights

Promoting positive non-discriminatory behaviour

Ensuring appropriate support for isolated individuals of different ethnic groups

within the school

Ensuring high expectations of all

Ensuring representation of a wide range of heritages within our curriculum

and school community

Encouraging links with the wider community.

We recognise that it is the responsibility of every member of our school community to ensure that this ethos is actively and consistently reflected in our practice. We will systematically assess, evaluate and constantly review the impact of our school policies and practice on the life, attitudes and achievement of all groups and individuals amongst our pupils and staff. Our aim is to eliminate any racial discrimination and to actively promote equality of opportunity and good race relations in all areas of school life.

ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

(i)Governing body - The governors are responsible for:

  • making sure that the school complies with the Race Relations Act 1976, as amended by the 2000 Act; and
  • making sure that the Race Equality Policy and its procedures are followed.

(ii)Head Teachers - The head teachers are responsible for:

  • making sure that the Race Equality Policy is readily available and that governors, staff, pupils, parents and guardians know about it;
  • making sure that the Race Equality Policy and its procedures are followed in school and during school activities outside of school;
  • producing, annually, information for staff and governors about the policy and how it is working;
  • ensuring that staff receive training on the policy, if necessary;
  • making sure that all staff know their responsibilities (see below) and receive training and support in carrying out these responsibilities; and
  • taking appropriate action/ensuring that staff take appropriate action in cases of racial harassment and racial discrimination.

(iii)All staff - All staff are responsible for:

  • dealing with racist incidents;
  • recognising and tackling racial bias and stereotyping;
  • promoting equal opportunities and good race relations and avoiding discrimination against anyone for reasons of race, colour, nationality, ethnic or national origins;
  • taking up training and learning opportunities, both in school and out of school, on discrimination; and
  • delivering an inclusive curriculum within which all ethnic groups can feel valued and within which inequalities are addressed.

(iv)Assessment/Core Curriculum Co-ordinators

The co-ordinators are responsible for:

  • Analysing statistical information on the performance of The Colleton’s pupils by ethnic group and reporting back to the Senior Management Team, the Working Party or Governors, as appropriate.

(v)Working Party: - The members of the Working Party are:

The Headteachers, Equal Opportunities, Race Equality Governor, Deputy Headteacher

The Working Party is responsible for:

  • developing and annually reviewing the Race Equality Policy
  • keeping up-to-date with any changes which affect this Policy and/or how the school meets its race relations duties

(vi)Visitors

  • Visitors are required to follow the Policy in all their dealings with the school.
Pupils’ Attitudes, Values and Personal Development

At The Colleton School we will:

  • Enable our pupils and staff increasingly to develop a critical awareness of diversity and equality
  • Enable our pupils and staff to have the confidence and skills to challenge instances of prejudice, intolerance and discrimination
  • Equip our pupils and staff to understand that reason, logic and sensitivity have to underpin ways and means of resolving arguments and conflicts
  • Ensure a willingness by pupils and staff to learn from different cultures, backgrounds, faiths and beliefs
  • Recognise the importance of language to a person’s sense of identity and belonging and consider pupils’ language abilities as a teaching and learning resource and a strength
  • Ensure that pupils have the opportunity to receive the support and guidance they need on an individual basis and take account of the personal and cultural needs specific to that individual
  • Ensure that pupils have the skills to communicate effectively (including the ability to listen and discuss) and to defend their own opinions.

Teaching and Learning

We will ensure that:

  • Teaching methods and styles take full account of the needs of pupils’ background experiences
  • Access to extra curricular activities is fair and equitable across all ethnic groups
  • Teaching methods encourage positive attitudes to difference, cultural diversity and race equality
  • Diverse learning styles are catered for
  • The skills to learn in a range of different styles and contexts are developed and encouraged
  • The diversity of cultures and backgrounds represented in the school is seen as a positive resource for teaching and learning
  • All pupils are fully aware that staff have very high expectations of them and are continually challenged to reach higher standards
  • A positive ethos of mutual respect and trust is fostered amongst pupils and staff, in which all members of the school community feel valued and safe
  • Classrooms and other common spaces in the school, where work is displayed present positive and challenging images that are non stereotypical and reflect the multiethnic, multilingual and multicultural society and world
  • Learning is a collaborative and co-operative enterprise

The Curriculum

All teachers will ensure that curriculum content and resources and classroom environments present and value Britain as a culturally diverse society and develop pupils understanding of the wider world. In presenting this diversity, all staff and volunteers will take care not to present different cultures in stereotyped ways.

All teachers will develop the dimension of cultural diversity as appropriate to their subject and care responsibilities. Collectively the school curriculum will:

Support the development of personal, social and cultural identities in all pupils

Teach pupils respect and value for diversity

Teach pupils the nature of cultural diversity in Britain and globally

Teach pupils the nature of inequality as it affects various groups, within the context of the rights and responsibilities of being a member of society.

Admissions and transfer procedures

As a Community school our admissions policy is that of the LEA. We will provide the LEA with appropriate data as necessary for them to monitor the policy.

As a school we are conscious of the vulnerability of our pupils at times of transfer into and out of the school. Appropriate guidance and support will be provided for all parents and pupils in relation to the new context in which the children will learn. We will seek to ensure that all vulnerable pupils are nurtured and supported in a safe environment.

Leadership and Management

Staff recruitment and retention

The school recognises the value of diversity in the school staff and governing body and will ensure that its recruitment policydoes not discriminate against minority ethnic groups

Steps will be taken to ensure that cultural bias is removed from recruitment and selection processes and that all involved in recruitment and selection understand how to ensure race equality in the process.

A demonstrated commitment to race equality will be a criterion for the selection of all new staff.

The school will seek to ensure that diversity represented in the school staff and the governing body is valued, maintained and built on.

The school will monitor its support practices to ensure that retention rates for minority ethnic staff and governors match the retention rates for the staff and governing body as a whole.

The school will provide data for LEA to enable them to monitor staff recruitment and retention by ethnicity.

Staff career structure and development, guidance and support

We will ensure that all staff have access to professional development opportunities, to support and guidance as appropriate and to career progression opportunities.

Our awareness of issues related to cultural diversity and staff effectiveness in dealing with issues of race equality is directly addressed in staff induction and training sessions, staff meetings and/or performance management meetings as appropriate. The school strives for consistency of approach and effective practice.

Commitment

All members of staff and Governors will actively promote race equality as a school priority ensuring high expectations of all and non-discriminatory behaviour. We believe that all pupils need to experience a school environment where cultural, linguistic and ethnic differences are respected and valued, and the principles of equal opportunity are actively seen to be at work in the school’s ethos and procedures.

To achieve this:

-All staff, governors, parents/carers and pupils will be actively involved in developing, implementing and evaluating the school race equality policy.

-All members of the school community will understand their role in supporting and implementing the policy.

-The perspectives of minority groups and isolated pupils/families will be a matter of particular concern in this process.

Attendance, Exclusion and Behaviour

  1. The school recognises that attendance and exclusion rates forparticular minority ethnic groups can be unequal. Attendance, exclusion rates, numbers of pupils with Pastoral Support Plans (PSP) and teachers rewards/systems will be monitored for disparities across different ethnic groups. Strategies are employed in the school to reduce disaffection, encourage attendance and avoid exclusion.
  1. Where the pattern of a pupil’s undesirable behaviour is being monitored, the circumstances leading up to that behaviour will be analysed in order to address any possible racial harassment and institutional racism.
  1. We will monitor the exclusion of ethnic groups from both the classroom and the school and will address any discrepancies.
  1. Understanding pupils’ behaviour will include taking account of cultural and linguistic differences in self and emotional expression or dealing with conflict.
  1. The school accepts the right of a parent to have an advocate when dealing with matters pertaining to race discrimination.
  1. Reintegration strategies are culturally inclusive and responsive to pupils’ ethnic and cultural background.
  1. The school recognises the right of pupils and staff to take time off for religious/cultural observance and action is taken to minimise any disruption to the education of pupils who are absent for religious/cultural observance.
  1. Provision is made for pupils who are of on leave for religious/cultural reasons.

Parents and the wider community

We recognise the challenge of expanding pupils’ contacts and insights into cultural diversity. As such we actively seek to involve representatives of minority ethnic communities and diverse cultures and faiths in the school and across the curriculum.

MEETING THE SCHOOL’S SPECIFIC DUTIES UNDER THE RACE RELATIONS ACT 1976 (as amended by the 2000 Act)

(a) Planning and Developing Policy:

  • We will build race equality throughout the school through ethnic monitoring, target setting and a positive school ethos. Targets are set for each individual child as well as for groups of children.

(b) Ethnic Monitoring:

  • Each term information is collected on the level which each child has reached in the core subjects. In addition, a pupil achievement tracking system will be used to record progress being made by each child on an annual basis.
  • This information will then be broken down according to ethnic groups
  • Ethnic data on pupils’ attainment and progress is collected by the local authority. The Assessment Team will analyse this statistical information - as it relates to our school – together with more detailed information based on additional school data.

(c)Racial Incidents Monitoring

  • The Team Leaders will report any racial incidents to the headteachers and note them in the Team behaviour book .
  • Lunchtime controllers must report any incident(s) which occur during the lunchtime to the Senior Lunchtime Supervisor. The Senior Lunchtime Supervisor must, then, report the incident(s) to the relevant Team Leader/ Headteacher.
  • Teachers and support staff must report any incident(s) to the Team Leaders/ Headteachers.
  • Children may be sent, or taken, to the Team Leaders or the Head Teacher so that, as part of their punishment, they can see the incident(s) actually being recorded
  • Serious incidents will be recorded formally through the use of School Racial Incident Report Forms to be completed by the Headteacher.
  • The Team Leaders will act as Monitoring Officers and record all racially motivated incidents in the Team Behaviour books. They will review any patterns or trends and report to the Head Teacher, where decisions about any action will be taken.
  • This information (minus names) will be made available to the Governing Body: it will be a standing item on the Head Teachers’ report to the Governing Body. The information will also be made available to the LEA via the Minutes of the meetings of the Governing Body.

(c)Disseminating the results of monitoring

In line with the Freedom of Information Act parents can request information about the number of racial incidents which have occurred (minus names).

If a pattern or trend is identified by the Team leaders this will be reported at a Staff meeting and the information will be provided to the Governing Body.

PUTTING THE RACE EQUALITY POLICY INTO PRACTICE

The School will review its Race Equality Policy on an annual basis.

The review will take into consideration factors such as:

  • whether or not The Colleton School has complied with its general duty under the amended Race Relations Act:-

To promote race equality i.e aim to - eliminate any unlawful racial discrimination;- promote equal opportunity; and- promote good relations between people of different racial groups

  • whether or not The Colleton School has complied with its specific duties under the amended Race Relations Act:-

(i)- to have a written policy for promoting race equality

(ii) - to put in place arrangements for fulfilling the following duties:

- assessing the impact of policies on pupils, staff and parents of different

racial groups including, in particular, the impact on pupils' attainment; and

- monitoring, by reference to their impact on such pupils, staff and

parents,howthepolicies operate, including how they impact upon

pupils'attainment levels

(iii) - to maintain a copy of the Race Equality Policy and fulfil the duties.

  • whether or not the Race Equality Policy has been effectively put into practice during the year ending immediately before the review.

TRAINING

A training session will be run for all existing staff. Thereafter, training will be incorporated into the induction process for all new members of staff.

PUBLISHING AND PROMOTING THE POLICY

  • We will publish a review of progress, together with the new targets in the SDP.
  • We will publish this Policy through the School Website and newsletter so that it is accessible to the whole school community.

ASSESSING THE EFFECTS OF THE SCHOOL’S RACE EQUALITY POLICY

The Commission for Racial Equality’s “Learning For All Standards for Racial Equality” will be used to carry out an annual assessment of The Colleton’s performance in relation to equalities. There are 7 standards and all 7 will be used. The 7 standards are:

  1. Policy, Leadership and Management;
  2. Curriculum, Teaching and Assessment;
  3. Admission, Attendance, Discipline and Exclusion;
  4. Pupils – Personal Development, attainment and progress;
  5. Attitudes and Environment;
  6. Parent, Governors and Community Partnership;
  7. Staffing – Recruitment, Training and professional Development.

ACTION PLAN

We plan:

(a)to review the Pupil Behaviour Policy, with specific reference to monitoring of racial incidents each year.

(b)to include a race equality statement within each policy as and when each of The Colleton’s policies fall due for review.

(c)to continue the review of the School’s Recruitment and Selection of staff.

(d)to examine and compare attainment and progress data collected according to ethnic groups. We will analyse the data, seeking to identify any differences, patterns or trends in attainment and progress between ethnic groups. This will include analysis of Baseline Assessment and Foundation Stage Profiles by ethnic group where sufficient data is available.

(e)The Working Party will, each year, assess the School’s performance in relation to equalities, using the Commission for Racial Equality’s 7 standards. The meetings of the Working Party will be dedicated to the review of the standards.

Responsibility: Staff & Finance

Reviewed: Annually

Author: Nicola Allan, Suzi Doward

Last Review: Jan 2009

Next Review: Jan 2010

Ratified: 29/01/09