Schools - addressing racism and racist incidents: guidance

Scenarios for schools and practitioners

This section demonstrates different ways in which racism may manifest in schools, and provides points for practitioners to consider.

For each scenario, practitioners should first follow the steps set out in What to do in response to a report of a racist incident around recording, engaging with the child experiencing, engaging with the child displaying, and engaging with families.

Scenario 1: What do I do if… as a school leader I am unsure that the culture and environment in my school encourages pupils, staff and families to raise concerns about experiences of racism?

Points to Consider:

• How do the policies which support the ethos, culture and values for your school reflect race and racism? Are they sufficiently clear on the expectations within the school and its community?
• Have the policies been co-created and developed to ensure understanding and buy-in from pupils, staff, and families?
• Do school staff have sufficient understanding of racism and the different ways in which it may manifest in schools?
• Does the curriculum within the school enable appropriate representation of diverse ethnicities and cultures, including those within the school community?
• Is there sufficient clarity in the school’s policy on what will happen if a pupil experiences racism or displays racist behaviour? Has this been communicated with pupils, families and staff members?
• Does the school have clear arrangements in place for the recording and monitoring of experiences of racism for pupils? Are there clear links to the reporting arrangements within the local authority?
• Are consistent recording, evaluation, and follow up procedures in place?

Scenario 2: What do I do if… I observe a group of children laughing at an adversely racialised classmate during lunchtime, in response to the contents of the child’s lunchbox?

Points to consider:

• Follow the steps set out in ‘What to do in response to a racist incident’.
• As the child experiencing racism has not reported the incident, school staff should consider how best to sensitively support the child, who may not wish to draw attention to the incident.
• The children displaying the behaviour should be engaged with in line with school relationships and behaviour policy. It should be communicated that their behaviour is racist and will be taken seriously.
• Are there any underlying needs which the child displaying may have which has resulted in this behaviour? Are there supports available to help address this?
• The consequences of continued behaviour should be explained.
• The class teacher and other staff should be alert to any wider impacts of this behaviour, for example with friends of the children involved.

Scenario 3: What do I do if… a child uses a racial slur without realising it is a slur?

Points to Consider

• It is important to report, record and address all incidents of racism, even where the child was unaware of the harm caused, to demonstrate that racism will not be tolerated in school.
• Discuss the language used with the child to ensure that they understand why it is inappropriate to use the term, with reference to the expectations and standards set out in school policy.
• In line with school policy, explain consequences if the child or young person continues to use the term.
• Education Scotland’s Promoting Anti-Racist Education in Scotland includes guidance on racial slurs in the classroom.

Where the child using the racial slur has complex learning needs or requires language and communication support:

• Use the communication methods usually used by the child or young person to communicate with them, making clear that the language used isn’t acceptable and that they should not use it again.
• Ensure that the child or young person has appropriate support during any conversation about behaviour.
• Consider if supporting the child with this behaviour should be part of the ongoing support for this child.
• Consider if there is a child protection concern.

Where the term is being used by adversely racialised children within a friendship group:

• It is important to acknowledge the context in which this language is being used. What may be considered as racial slurs or racist language, could be viewed by adversely racialised children or young people as reclaiming words when referring to themselves, especially when exploring their own racial identity.
• Staff should respond to these situations sensitively and create opportunities for children and young people to learn about some of the harms (even unintended) different words can have in relation to racial identity and racism.
• Discuss the language used with the child(ren) or young people, to ensure that they understand why it is inappropriate to use the term(s) in the school context, with reference to the expectations and standards set out in school policy.

Scenario 4: What do I do if… existing school uniform policy bans ‘voluminous hairstyles’? The family of a pupil with a natural Afro hairstyle has communicated to the headteacher that this policy is discriminatory on the basis of race.

Points to consider:

• Scottish Government guidance on School uniform and clothing in Scotland sets out that schools should recognise and understand in their uniform or clothing policy, the different needs and circumstances of pupils from all ethnic groups who belong to their school community.
• School leaders should review the uniform policy as soon as possible to remove the part that has been identified as discriminatory. They should also check the wider policy to ensure that it does not discriminate on the basis of race or ethnicity and enables cultural expression.
• Changes to policy should always be done in consultation with pupils, parents and carers, teachers and school staff and other relevant parties, to ensure that it is inclusive and responds to the needs of pupils from all ethnic groups.
• School leaders should keep in touch with the parent who raised the concern, to keep them updated with actions taken.
• More information on preventing hair discrimination in schools can be found at: Preventing hair discrimination in schools | EHRC

Scenario 5: What do I do if… a pupil’s family is unhappy with the approach that a school has taken to addressing a racist incident?

Points to Consider:

• School staff should engage with the family of all children or young people involved in an incident, with regards to the particular sensitivities of a racist incident as set out in the sections Engaging with families and Responding to a child who has displayed racist behaviour.
• If the family has contacted the school informally to highlight concerns then the school should arrange to have a discussion to understand those concerns more fully, and seek to resolve them if possible.
• School leaders should consider and address any possible barriers, that the family may be experiencing, such as language barriers (see Engaging with families).
• Taking account of the discussion with pupil’s family, school staff should consider if the school’s policy around racism and racist incidents is sufficiently clear, and if further communication or development of the policy is needed.
• Staff may wish to arrange further engagement with families in the wider school community around general development of school policy on racist incidents, to gather insights and feedback.
• If the family remain unhappy about the way in which the school has responded to a racist incident, they should be supported and advised of their right to complain.
• If the family makes a formal complaint, this should be considered and responded to in line stage 1 and stage 2 of the complaints policy, including discussion with the family, as appropriate.

Scenario 6: What do I do if… a child reports finding racist graffiti in a school corridor?

Points to Consider

• School staff should follow the steps set out in ‘What to do in response to a racist incident’ around recording and responding.
• In this case, there may be many pupils affected by the incident as it is in a public location. Staff may wish to consider a whole-school response to discuss why this behaviour is not tolerated and the consequences of further incidents. It is important to communicate to the whole school that this behaviour is racist and unacceptable.
• School staff should consider if there are groups of children or young people who may be particularly affected by the racist graffiti, and plan how to support their wellbeing.
• If staff have concerns that the graffiti may have been drawn in order to intimidate learners and staff or to stir up racism, this should be reported to police as it may constitute a hate crime.

Scenario 7: What do I do if… a girl pupil reports that a group of boys in her class have repeatedly tried to pull off her hijab and made Islamophobic comments to her?

Points to consider

• School staff should follow the steps set out in ‘What to do in response to a racist incident’, including engaging with each of the boy pupils involved.
• The circumstances of the incident and the response should be recorded following school protocol, noting that the incident was both gender-based violence and racism.
• Scottish Government has published guidance on preventing and responding to gender-based violence in schools, which includes information on intersectional discrimination.