Co-op Academy New Islington

Anti-Racist Policy

Approving Body: AGC

Ratified: May 2023

Next review:  May 2025

Definition of Racism:

The school has adopted the definition of racism as defined in the Macpherson Report (1999) ‘Conduct or words which advantage or disadvantage people because of their colour, culture or ethnic origin. In its more subtle form it is as damaging as its more overt form’.

Rationale:

The primary objectives of Co-op Academy New Islington are to educate by working within the National Curriculum, which promotes the spiritual, moral, cultural, mental and physical development of all its pupils and prepares them to develop a society which is based on mutual respect and understanding. It is therefore important that as a school no one is made to feel different due to their colour, culture, origin, gender or religious beliefs. It is hoped pupils lead positive lives and aspire to reach their full potential.

Pupils, teachers and all other staff working in the school will endeavour to further this objective by personally contributing towards a happy and caring environment and by showing respect for each other’s racial and cultural backgrounds and treating each other with dignity.

Discrimination on the basis of colour, culture, religion or origin is not tolerated in this school. The school acknowledges the complexity of British society and recognises that it would be failing the pupils if it did not prepare them for their integral part in society. The school is committed to emphasising the common elements and values of our multiple cultures whilst appreciating the differences.

A racist incident is one perceived to be racist by the victim or any other person.

Unacceptable racist and micro-aggressive acts:

● Direct physical assault or threat of it

● Inciting racism in others

● Behaving in a racist way and treating others less favourable on the basis of race

● Racist name-calling or racist joke-making

● Micro-aggressive acts referring to physical features or cultural  heritage  

● Expressing prejudices or deliberate mis-information on racial or ethnic distinctions

● Distributing racialist literature

● Writing or expressing provocative slogans or catch phrases

● Refusal to cooperate with other people because of their ethnic origin

Principles of our Policy:

The school is an anti-racist establishment and is committed to addressing racism in any form and will not tolerate it.

We will:

• Instigate action to support victims of racism.
• Ensure existing school policies address inappropriate behaviour around racism and other discriminatory practices.
• Record and report racist incidents to the appropriate authorities both internal and external to the school to endeavour to eradicate such behaviour.

Purpose for pupils:

• Pupils will be encouraged to enjoy the multi-culturally diverse nature of our school and of our society, and have opportunities to celebrate the world as it is and as we would like it to be. On such foundations pupils will develop positive attitudes to the pluralistic society.
• Through a well-balanced, objective and sensitive curriculum pupils will avoid omissions and misrepresentations of historical, cultural and racial differences and experiences.
• Our pupils will know and understand, from an early age, what constitutes a racist remark or action and why it is offensive; to use the correct name to describe their language and be confident to speak, hear or read in their home language in school; to learn not to use their own language to deliberately exclude other pupils; to accept and to respect names from other cultures.

Guidelines for staff:

• Pupils’ names will be accurately recorded and correctly pronounced
• All staff must be aware of the use of racist connotations in the language they themselves use.
• All staff should be aware of possible cultural assumptions and bias within their own attitudes.
• All staff in our school take all forms of racism seriously, and intervene to prevent incidents from taking place.
• We attempt to support all children in the school and through our actions, establish a climate of trust and respect for all. By praising, rewarding and celebrating the success of all children, we aim to prevent incidents of racism.
• We recognise that the behaviour of all staff in the school will be seen by children as model behaviour, therefore it is imperative that all staff behaviour demonstrates tolerance, understanding and care towards all children and high quality professional relationships with all adults. We show equal regard for all and our interactions are free from intimidation.

The role of midday supervision staff:

• The lunch time supervision staff have a special responsibility to be alert to signs of racism during the longer lunchtime playtime.

• All incidents involving intimidation, violence and social exclusion that are reported by a child to our lunchtime supervision staff must be referred on to a member of the to the Deputy Head or to the Head Teacher.
• Lunchtime supervision staff should adopt an active role whilst supervising and endeavour to observe all children and be a presence in all of the areas where children are playing.
• If the lunchtime supervision staff have evidence that racism is going on, then acceptable intervention will be taken to immediately stop such an event; then report to the Deputy Head or the Head Teacher. The reporting adult must complete a record on CPOMS.

Action at a time of racist behaviour:

• All forms of racial abuse by any person within the school are treated seriously.
• All forms of racial abuse must be reported to the Deputy Head Teacher or the Head Teacher immediately.
• All facts are gathered as quickly as possible, to ensure accuracy, and enables any acts of racism to be dealt with immediately.
• The victim will be supported and the perpetrator will have an age appropriate consequence, followed by a session to educate and finally a time to reconcile and rebuild their relationship with the victim.
• We will record all incidents on CPOMS and all parents will be contacted.  
• Governors will be regularly informed about the occurrences of racial incidents.

The role of Governors:

• The Governing Body supports the Head Teacher. This policy statement makes it very clear that the Governing Body does not allow racism to take place in our school, and that any incidents of racism that do occur are taken very seriously and dealt with appropriately.
• The Governing Body monitors the incidents of racism that occur, and reviews the effectiveness of the school policy on an annual basis. The governors require the Head Teacher to keep accurate records of all incidents of racism and to report to the governors on request about the effectiveness of school antiracist strategies.
• The Governing Body responds immediately to any request from a parent to investigate incidents of racism. In all cases, the Governing Body notifies the Head Teacher and asks her to conduct an investigation into the case and to report back to a representative of the Governing Body.

Role of Head Teacher and other Senior leaders:

• It is the responsibility of the Head Teacher and SLT to implement the school’s anti-racism strategy and to ensure that all New Islington staff (both teaching and non-teaching staff) are aware of the school’s policy and know how to deal with incidents of racism.
• The Head Teacher reports to the Governing Body about the effectiveness of the anti-racism policy on request.
• The Head Teacher and all staff will ensure that all children know that racism is wrong, and that it is unacceptable behaviour in this school. The staff team draws the attention of children to this fact at suitable moments through assemblies, the PSHE curriculum and when setting class rules. For example, if an incident occurs, they may decide to use assembly as a forum in which to discuss with other children why this behaviour was wrong, and why a pupil has to complete a consequence of their actions. Children also discuss racism in class Circle Time meetings.
• The Head Teacher ensures that all staff receive sufficient training to be equipped to deal with all incidents of racism.
• The Head Teacher sets the school climate of mutual support, respect and praise for success, making any form of negative comment less likely. When children feel they are important and belong to a friendly and welcoming school, any form of bullying or racist behaviour is far less likely to be part of their behaviour.
• The school benefits from an Inclusion Lead (Deputy Head Teacher). Part of her role is to support the school’s anti-racism policy. Any ‘friendship’ issues/disputes or reports of bullying can be immediately dealt with by the Inclusion Lead. This ensures all facts are gathered as quickly as possible, to ensure accuracy, and enables any acts of racism to be dealt with immediately.

The role of parents:

• If a parent is concerned that their child is being targeted, then they should talk to their child, listen, reassure, stay calm and if unsure seek advice on what to do. The parent should talk to the child’s teacher (first) and/or the Deputy Head Teacher and / or the Head Teacher.
• Parents have a responsibility to support the school’s anti-racism policy and to actively encourage their child to be a positive member of the school

Strategies employed to raise awareness and so reduce risk of Racism:

• Developing topics and using stories and materials which raise issues of racial similarities and differences (opportunities especially in RE and PSHE but not restricted to these subjects)
• Providing positive images and role models in resources and displays- use of videos etc. Provide opportunities for pupils to learn about cultural diversity e.g. units of work for history, geography, R.E. art and music.
• Where possible involving people from diverse and varied backgrounds in school.
• Using P.S.H.E., circle time and assemblies to discuss and develop strategies for dealing with conflict, for encouraging cooperation and collaborative learning and for listening to each other’s point of view and opinion.
• Use of language that portrays negative images should be avoided, e.g. terms such as ‘third world’ or ‘natives’.
• Screen resource materials so that an accurate picture is given in pictures, posters, books, TV programs and worksheets to reinforce respect and value one another’s differences.
• Valuing each pupil’s cultural and linguistic background and having high expectations of all children.
• Staff vigilance and regular training.

This policy is monitored on a day-to-day basis by the Head Teacher, who reports to governors about the effectiveness of the policy on a half termly basis.

This anti-racist policy is the governors’ responsibility and they review its effectiveness annually. They do this through regular discussion with the Head Teacher. Governors analyse information with regard to gender, age and ethnic background of all children involved in racist incidents.

This Policy links to the school’s Behaviour Policy, Anti-Bullying Policy, Staff Code of Conduct, Safeguarding Policy