Whole school approach to racism and racist incidents: guidance

What do we mean by ‘racism’?

‘Race’ is a historical social construct and no longer considered scientific reality. For this reason, people who experience racism can be described as having been ‘racialised’. It is important to recognise that racism is not a direct result of differences in nationality, skin colour, religion or ethnicity, but rather a result of historical systems of oppression that give some groups more power and privilege than others. More information is available on Education Scotland’s Promoting Anti-Racist Education in Scotland.

Under the Equality Act 2010 and the Public Sector Equality Duty, education authorities have a duty to eliminate unlawful discrimination, harassment and victimisation, advance equality of opportunity between people who share a protected characteristic and those who do not, and foster good relations between people who share a protected characteristic and those who do not.

Guidance on identifying racism can be found in the Addressing racism and racist incidents guidance, including

• Race and the Equality Act 2010
• the impact of racism on children and young people
• what is a racist incident
• how to distinguish racism from bullying

There may be occasions where incidents involve elements of both racism and religious prejudice and discrimination such as antisemitism or islamophobia. In these cases, it is important that the response and record reflects both factors, and that children and young people, or adults, affected are supported accordingly.

Any child or young person can be affected by racism in school, whether they are adversely racialised or not. Recurring or unaddressed racist incidents may create a perception that prejudice, disrespect, and racism will be tolerated. This may increase the risk of bullying for all students and lead to a reluctance to report incidents.