Schools - addressing racism and racist incidents: guidance

Responding to a racist incident

Schools have a responsibility to ensure the health and wellbeing of all children and young people in their care. How a school responds to a report of a racist incident is important in creating a culture where the whole school community understands that racism is unacceptable. The school’s relationships and behaviour policy is core to communicating the school’s expectations of behaviour and how it will record and manage any situations which arise. Staff should respond to racist incidents in line with this policy, and other relevant national guidance such as Respect for All.School staff are skilled in responding to challenging behaviours and engaging children and young people in their response. The key difference for incidents of racism is that staff need to be supported and confident to recognise racism and to consider the particular sensitivities of a racist incident, to enable accurate recording and monitoring.

As with the wider approach to promoting positive behaviour in schools, responses to racism and racist incidents should focus on relational approaches to changing behaviour. Addressing incidents reflective of racism does not mean stigmatising or labelling the child or young person displaying the behaviour. It is always necessary to challenge racism, and this has benefits for the person displaying as well as the person experiencing the behaviour.

All responses to racist incidents should be child-centred and centred on the wellbeing of the children or young people involved. Responses should be rooted firmly in the values of rights, fairness, respect, equality, inclusion, dignity and autonomy.

When dealing with a specific incidence of racism, the following questions should be considered:

What action can the school take in this case to show that racism will not be tolerated?

What was the behaviour, process, learning resource or activity that could have caused/contributed to the experience of racism?

What impact did it have?

How can I support the child or young person who has experienced racist behaviour?

What does the child or young person want to happen?

Is there a child protection concern?

What attitudes, prejudices or other factors may have influenced the behaviour?

Are there wider impacts of the incident on other members of the school community, and what support may they require?

What action can the school take to learn from this incident to help prevent or address future incidents?

What to do in response to a report of a racist incident

All actions following a report of a racist incident should follow the school’s relationships and behaviour policy and procedures, and child protection procedure where appropriate. Robust procedures should include:

Recognising

• Where an incident has been reported as racist, this should be reflected in the response.
• Where an incident has not been reported as racist but staff have concerns that it may be, staff should consider the context of the incident (see Questions above).
• If staff are unsure if an incident is racist, they should still report any concerns.

Recording

• All reports of racist incidents should be recorded. It is not necessary for an allegation to be substantiated before it is recorded.
• Gather information about the incident (when did it occur, where, who was involved). An investigation into a report of racism should follow the school’s relationships and behaviour policy procedure.
• Consider who is reporting the incident. The person who reports may not be the person who experienced the incident.
• Record the incident in line with school procedure, using the ‘Racism or racist incident’ category of the Bullying and Equalities module on SEEMiS (or other appropriate system).
• Ensure records are kept up to date throughout the investigation process.

Responding to the child or young person affected

• Consider the immediate welfare of the person who experienced the incident. What support do they need right now?

If there is a child protection concern:

• If proceed in line with the school’s child protection procedure.

If there is not a child protection concern:

• Identify a safe space for the child or young people to talk about their experience.
• Tell the child or young person who has experienced racism that you are treating the concern seriously. Acknowledge the distress caused by the incident.
• Consider with the child or young person what they want to happen next (with awareness that racism cannot go unchallenged, even where the person targeted is reluctant to seek a solution).
• Carry out a risk assessment for future incidents.
• Link the child or young person to further sources of support, where available.
• Where possible, keep the child or young person informed about any action taken.
• Plan ongoing supports for the child or young person to ensure that future concerns or incidents are addressed (for example, a follow-up meeting).

Responding to the child or young person displaying racist behaviour

• In line with school behaviour policy, engage with the person who displayed the behaviour.

If there is a child protection concern:

• Proceed in line with the school’s child protection procedure.

If there is not a child protection concern:

• Seek to understand the nature of the behaviour through dialogue if possible.
• Provide support to understand the impact of the behaviour. Explain that the behaviour displayed is reflective of racism, and racism is not tolerated in school.
• Consider any further support that the child or young person may need.
• Set out next steps and any relevant consequences in line with school relationships and behaviour policy.
• Carry out a risk assessment for future incidents.

Engaging with families

If there is a child protection concern:

• Follow the school’s child protection procedure.

If there is not a child protection concern:

• Proceed in line with the school’s relationships and behaviour policy with respect to engaging with parents.
• Inform the family of child or young person who has experienced racism about what has happened and to provide reassurance that the incident will be investigated fully.
• Inform the family of the child or young person who has displayed racist behaviour about the alleged incident, providing reassurance that it will be investigated fully.
• Arrange a follow-up meeting with parents/carers present, if necessary.
• Keep parents and carers informed about any action taken. For example, staff may wish to inform parents about ongoing support put in place for their child.

Evaluating and Monitoring

• It is important that schools regularly evaluate their approach to responding to incidents of racist behaviour.

Recording racist incidents

It is vital that schools and local authorities have clear policies and procedures in place to record, monitor and address all incidents of racism. In line with self-evaluation, this approach will provide evidence to support consideration of quality indicators within How Good is Our School 4, in particular, QI 3.1 and 2.1.

All reports of racist incidents should be recorded. It is not necessary for an allegation to be investigated before it is recorded.

Schools may wish to display information about their racist incident recording and monitoring procedures in classrooms or communal areas of the school to build understanding among the whole school community.

Recording incidents of racism

Once an incident or concern has been raised, this should be logged on a school’s recording system as soon as possible. For public schools, in accordance with the education authority’s advice on recording and monitoring personal data; this is ideally within three working days.

Where possible, the content of this record should be discussed with the child or young person involved.

In some schools, the recording of racist incidents is the responsibility of school leadership or a named practitioner, usually referred to as a ‘Designated Member of Staff.’ School staff should ensure that the DMS has comprehensive information to inform an accurate record. School behaviour policy will identify the recording procedure and responsibility. Schools can refer to Respect for All guidance on recording and monitoring for information on the process to follow and what details to include in an incident record.

What incidents should be recorded and how?

If a behaviour is covered by the definition of racism provided in this guidance, it should be recorded. This includes incidents where:

• The behaviour is not directed at anyone specifically, e.g. children and young people may use racist language as part of ‘banter.’
• The behaviour is witnessed or overheard by staff rather than being disclosed.
• The behaviour is carried out by a third party, e.g. someone paints racist graffiti on the school building.

Evidence from HMIe’s thematic inspection on recording and monitoring bullying incidents indicated that those working with children and young people can be reluctant to record incidents of bullying, including prejudice-based bullying. This can be for a variety of reasons, including concern about inaccurately labelling children as ‘bullies’ or ‘victims’, or a fear that a higher number of incidents recorded could reflect poorly on the school or organisation.

Recording allegations of racism is important as it:

• Demonstrates to the whole school community that racism is taken seriously
• Enables monitoring of specific incidents to ensure an appropriate response has taken place
• Enables the school to track patterns of racially motivated behaviour and racist incidents, and identify trends related to prejudice and discrimination.
• Supports action to address any observed patterns or trends.
• Enables schools and organisations to assess the effectiveness of their policy and practice

Schools will have their own reporting and recording systems connected to their local authority system or as a grant-aided or independent school. The incident should be recorded in the Bullying and Equalities module of SEEMiS, or under an equivalent section of a school’s recording system. The Bullying and Equalities Module is designed to capture a range of behaviours related to equalities and includes ‘Racism or racist incident’ as a category. Racist incidents should be captured in this section regardless of the type of behaviour and whether a disclosure has been made directly. If the person recording the incident is unsure how to use the Bullying and Equalities Module, they can contact their local authority who will provide assistance.

If there is a child protection concern, the incident should be recorded in accordance with the school’s child protection procedures.

Where racism has an element of discrimination or abuse based on another protected characteristic, both should be recorded. SEEMiS enables the person entering the data to identify and record multiple types of incidents within a single record. For example, where there is a belief that an incident of racism is also motivated by homophobia, this can be recorded. Similarly, racism can be recorded as part of the report for other types of incidents, for example gender-based violence. It is acknowledged that this may lead to an incident being included in more than one category for reporting purposes; however, this is important to ensure that incidents are recorded accurately and enables schools and local authorities to analyse data to identify intersectionality.

Schools will have separate recording systems for a staff member affected by a racist incident, connected to their Health and Safety at Work or Dignity at Work policies. It is important that such incidents are part of the same monitoring and evaluation systems to capture a whole school picture of prevalence. Further information will be provided in the forthcoming Whole School Approach guidance.

Responding to a child or young person experiencing racism

Children and young people who experience racist behaviour at school may need:

Opportunity to describe what they have experienced in a safe space

Reassurance that their concerns are taken seriously

Ongoing support to ensure they are not continuing to experience racist behaviour

A school’s response should focus on:

Taking action to meet the support needs of the child or young person experiencing, both immediately and ongoing

Creating and maintaining accurate records and investigating reports

Risk assessing the likelihood of futher incidents

Staff should take all disclosures seriously and use their professional judgement to decide on the appropriate course of action. Some schools will have a ‘Designated Member of Staff’ (DMS) who can provide support as necessary, otherwise staff can seek support from senior management if needed.

Annex A contain resources to support school staff in responding to a child or young person who has experienced a racist incident.

Barriers to reporting

Even within a supportive environment, adversely racialised children and young people may find it very challenging to report racism. They may think that adults in school won’t understand, or that they won’t be taken seriously. They may be concerned about the potential worry family members will feel if it is reported. They may be worried about being seen as a troublemaker or facing further racism or victimisation following reporting an incident. Staff should be attentive to signs of distress or changes in behaviour which may be linked to the impact of trauma. Children and young people should be encouraged to discuss any concerns with a trusted adult within school.

Responding to a child or young person who has displayed racist behaviour

Children and young people who exhibit racist behaviour need adult help and support to:

Help them understand the impact of their behaviour on other people and the harm racist behaviour causes

Challenge prejudicial attitudes through education and building empathy

Repair relationships if appropriate and desired by the person harmed, such as through restorative conversations

A school’s response should focus on:

Challenging behaviour

Encouraging reflection

Preventing recurrence

The school’s relationships and behaviour policy is core to communicating the school’s expectations of behaviour and how it will recognise, identify, record and manage any situations which arise. Staff should respond to racist incidents in line with this agreed policy. Further guidance can be found on Education Scotland’s Promoting Positive Relationships and Behaviour in Educational Settings

In line with GIRFEC, consideration should be given to how to support the child or young person, to prevent recurring behaviour. It is helpful to focus on the behaviour as the problematic issue, rather than the individual themselves. This may help the child or young person to reflect upon their behaviour, supporting and effecting change, without stigmatisation.

Sometimes, racist language or behaviour can be used without malice or understanding, but this does not mean that it has no impact. Racist language, stereotypes, jokes, and implicitly racist behaviours can exclude, threaten, hurt, or humiliate children and young people, whether experienced directly or indirectly. All prejudice-based incidents should be recorded and monitored with rigour and transparency in line with the school’s relationships and behaviour policy, regardless of the intention of the person responsible (see Respect for All guidance on Investigation).

Responding to a racist incident involving a child or young person with additional support needs

There may be instances where the additional support needs of the child or young person means they do not realise their actions are racist. It is important that racism is always challenged, and children and young people are supported to understand their actions. As in all cases, practitioners should carefully consider the individual needs of that child or young person when responding, and what supports need to be put into place to address the behaviour.

In discussing racist behaviour displayed by a young person with additional support needs, with the young person who has experienced racism and/or their family, it is important that confidentiality is maintained with respect to additional support needs.

As noted above, there may be cases where staff are reluctant to record due to awareness that the child or young person did not understood their actions. Recording incidents allows for monitoring and evaluation of the school or setting’s policies and practices. Incidents should be recorded along with the planned response and supports put in place, in line with the school’s behaviour policies.

Hate crime

The nature of some racist behaviour may constitute a criminal offence, such as a hate crime. Adults should seek immediate support from Police Scotland if they have reason to suspect or believe that a crime may have occurred or that a child or young person has been seriously harmed. Schools should follow national child protection procedures in these cases, and should work closely with their education authority and colleagues in core agencies (Social Work, Health and Police Scotland) to ensure the safety and wellbeing of children, young people, and staff. All approaches should be trauma-informed and centre the needs of the children or young people involved.

Education Scotland have developed a professional learning resource on recognising and responding to hate crime. Further information on Hate Crime is included at Annex A.

It should be noted that under the Age of Criminal Responsibility (Scotland) Act 2019, a child under the age of 12 cannot be arrested, charged or prosecuted for a crime. However, Police Scotland may still be involved. Further information can be found in Annex A.

Engaging with families

Clear and ongoing communication with parents, carers and families is an important aspect of responding to racist incidents. School staff should engage with families in line with school relationships and behaviour policy. It is important that parents and carers know that an incident is being taken seriously, action is being taken, and that all children or young people involved are receiving appropriate support.

There may be particular sensitivities around engaging with families following an incident of racism. Communication with families should take account of barriers that they may face such as language barriers, a lack of confidence, or distrust in engaging with school staff. Where these barriers exist, schools should take action to address them. This could include tailoring communication or offering extra support to families where possible. Further guidance on engaging with parents and carers is available in Education Scotland’s toolkit for practitioners on engaging with parents and families.

Following racist behaviour displayed by their child, parents or carers may voice concerns that their child is being labelled as ‘racist’, they may request for the incident not to be recorded, or they may be very concerned about the impact of a racist incident being on their child’s record. School staff should be cognisant of these concerns and allow time to discuss them with the family. It is important for them to understand what has happened and what action will be taken. Where appropriate, schools should seek support from parents and carers to ensure that the racist behaviour does not happen again. Staff should be clear about what is being recorded, and should emphasise that the focus of the response is on addressing the behaviour and providing support rather than labelling the child or young person. Where there is a child protection concern, staff should report this in line with school policy.

The health, wellbeing and welfare of the children or young people involved, both in the immediate term and in the future, should be uppermost when school staff engage with families.

Following a racist incident, the family of each pupil involved should be engaged with in line with the school’s relationships and behaviour policy. Where there is not a child protection concern, staff should discuss with the child or young person their intention to contact their family about the incident. This is important to ensure the child does not feel excluded from the decision-making process as failing to do this can worsen the child’s sense of helplessness or lack of agency.

Where there is not a child protection concern, no criminal offence has been committed, and the child is considered to have the maturity and understanding to make an informed decision, they may express views that they do not wish for their parent(s) or families to be informed. A child’s capacity will be assessed in line with the UNCRC, on a case-by-case basis, taking into account their age and maturity.

Staff should approach this issue sensitively in line with school policy on relationships and behaviour. Where an incident is not shared with families but later comes to their attention, there is a risk of a breakdown of trust between families and the school.

There may be a variety of reasons why a child may not wish their family to be informed, including the sensitivities around an incident of racism as described above. Careful discussion with the child or young person may be necessary to understand the reasons why and, if appropriate, to communicate why engaging with families can form an important aspect of the child or young person’s overall support.

At all stages, all actions and outcomes of conversations and communications should be fully recorded, monitored and updated in pastoral notes and on the SEEMiS Bullying and Equalities module. Any decision not to inform families should be noted in the incident record.

Supporting staff to have potentially challenging conversations

Openly describing behaviour as reflective of racism may feel uncomfortable for staff, as well as the child or young person displaying this behaviour, and their parents or carers. It is important that personal discomfort does not influence the way in which a school or staff member responds to allegations of racism. In line with their professional standards, teachers are committed to and trained in challenging social injustice. Addressing racism will involve having sensitive and potentially challenging conversations with children and young people, colleague and families. This may have an impact on the health and wellbeing of members of school staff, particularly for staff who have experienced racism directly either within the workplace or outside of it.

School leadership should recognise talking about racism, or responding to instances of it, may be distressing or traumatic for schools staff, particularly for those with personal experience. Schools and local authorities should ensure that their staff who are directly or indirectly responding to racist incidents experienced by young people in school are well supported and are able to access any additional support that they may require.

Respectme have developed a conversation guide to assist schools to have conversations involving prejudice-based behaviour.

Confidentiality

Information about racist incidents should be shared in line with the school’s relationships and behaviour policy. Staff have a duty to report any child protection concerns.

Children and young people should be informed about who information will be shared with. Clear and ongoing communication with the child or young person is crucial to building their confidence that the incident is being investigated. Communication should be appropriate to their age, stage and development and should consider any additional actions that may be necessary, for example, if the child or young person involved has an additional support need.^[2]

There may be instances where privacy concerns relating to the child or young person displaying racist behaviour means information cannot be shared with the person affected. In such instances the need to respect privacy should be explained and reassurance given that action has been taken.

Responding to the wider school community

Following a racist incident, staff should consider whether a wider group of children or young people have been impacted, for example friends or classmates, to allow appropriate support to be put in place. This may be through pastoral support and could include counselling, peer support, or solution-oriented approaches. Consideration should be given to any additional factors that may impact upon a child or young person’s wellbeing, including whether any additional support for learning input is required.

Repairing relationships

Schools should consider whether those affected by racism, and those displaying racist behaviours, wish to utilise strategies such as restorative conversations to address what has happened. Such approaches can support children and young people and staff to identify what happened, what the impact was on those affected, what action needs to be taken to resolve the situation and what they can learn from this process, including addressing any prejudiced attitudes underlying the behaviour. It can support those who exhibit racist behaviour to make amends and encourage their learning and changed behaviour, and it can support those who experience racism to facilitate relationship building and support.

However, schools must be alert to the potential for restorative approaches to be unsafe or retraumatising for the person who has experienced racism. School staff should be aware that reconciliation may not be possible or advisable, and should not employ strategies that may cause additional distress to any person affected. Staff should be sensitive to the views of the child or young person who has experienced racism; it is important that they do not feel that they are obliged to engage in a restorative conversation. Staff should use their professional judgement to carefully consider the most appropriate approach in line with the school’s relationships and behaviour policy. Guidance on techniques such as restorative practice and solution-focused approaches can be found in Included, Engaged and Involved 2 and in Education Scotland’s resources on restorative approaches to support positive relationships and behaviour.