Schools - addressing racism and racist incidents: guidance

Introduction

Every child has the right to grow up fully included in their learning experience and to be treated with dignity and respect. Children’s rights and wellbeing are intrinsically linked and mutually reinforcing. When a child’s rights are respected, protected and fulfilled, their health and wellbeing can improve; this positively impacts on their learning and achievement. Children’s rights include the right to protection from all forms of violence and discrimination and to an education which develops respect for human rights and prepares children for responsible life in a free society.

A key aspect of creating a fair, safe, supportive, and healthy environment for all children and young people in schools, is to ensure that there is no place for racism, prejudice, or discrimination in any part of school communities. This interim guidance has been designed to assist schools to develop and implement a consistent and robust approach to addressing racist incidents experienced or displayed by children and young people in school. It is the first stage in the development of a wider Whole School Approach to preventing and responding to racism and racist incidents in schools.

This interim guidance has been developed by the Scottish Government in conjunction with the Racism and Racist Incidents Subgroup of the Scottish Government Anti-Racism in Education Programme, and draws on materials developed and contributed by group members. This guidance is underpinned by the Anti-Racist Curriculum Principles which have been developed as part of the Anti Racism in Education Programme, and builds on Addressing Inclusion: effectively challenging racism in schools.

It is important to note that language around anti-racism frequently changes. This guidance uses the term “adversely racialised” throughout. This is used rather than “minority ethnic”, to recognise that racism is a systemic problem where systems and structures unequally advantage or disadvantage people and communities based on their perceived “race.”

Legal status of the interim guidance

This guidance is non-statutory and is designed to assist public, grant-aided and independent schools. It is also applicable to early learning and childcare.

The guidance is not prescriptive, and each incident should be assessed on a case-by-case basis. Public, grant-aided and independent schools are responsible for ensuring that their policies, practices, and information take full account of relevant legislation and policy (see Annex A). It is for education authorities, the managers of grant-aided schools and the proprietors of independent schools to take their own legal advice on such matters.

Purpose of the interim guidance

The work of the Scottish Government’s Anti Racism in Education Programme has highlighted that many adversely racialised children and young people are experiencing racism and racist incidents in Scottish schools, and that schools may not have robust policies in place to recognise, respond to, record, and monitor incidents of racism. Robust policies and practices in this area play an important role in creating and reinforcing an anti-racist culture and ethos, and in supporting the health and wellbeing of all members of a school community.

This guidance is designed to:

• Support schools in developing their approaches to responding to, recording and monitoring racist incidents experienced or displayed by children and young people.
• Help create conditions where children and young people, and their families, to feel confident that they know what to do if they experience or witness racism at school.
• Help create conditions where members of the school community feel confident that all instances of racism will be responded to appropriately.

School staff who experience racism

The focus of this guidance is on responding to incidents of racism affecting children and young people in school. It is important to acknowledge that adversely racialised school staff are often affected by racism or discrimination, including in the workplace. School leadership should that ensure that there are robust reporting and recording processes in place. School leadership should ensure that staff are protected from discrimination, that health and safety legislation is adhered to, and that staff have appropriate information and guidance. Staff should be actively supported to access local authority wellbeing policies and other support services. Further guidance on responding to incidents experienced by staff will be included within the wider Whole School Approach to preventing and responding to racism and racist incidents in schools.