Racist Incidents Policy

RACIST INCIDENTS POLICY

Rationale

Hope is an integrated service which combines both Surrey County Council and Surrey and Borders Partnership NHS Foundation Trust Policies and Procedures. As issues arise the response process to be followed will be that of the most appropriate organisation. The Manager for Hope is to be contacted in the first instance and will direct the query to ensure the appropriate application of Policies and Procedures of each organisation.

By taking the lead in sending a clear message that racism will not be tolerated, schools can help improve their young people’s lives and contribute to community cohesion and to a healthier society in general. It is important that schools should react quickly and decisively to a single incident of racism if and as it occurs, rather than waiting until a pattern of bullying can be detected in a series of incidents. This policy follows the Surrey County guidelines set out in the ‘Guidance for Surrey Schools on Reporting and Responding to Racist Incidents’ (2010)

What do we mean by ‘racist’?

The Race Relations Act (1976) defines discrimination on ‘racial grounds’ as discrimination relating to race, colour, nationality (including citizenship) or ethnic or national origins

What is a racist incident?

The Stephen Lawrence Inquiry report recommended that a racist incident should be defined as: “any incident which is perceived to be racist by the victim or any other person”. This is the definition adopted by Surrey County Council and may include:

• verbal and non-verbal abuse

• physical abuse,

• other racially based behavioursuch as collusion with the racist behaviour of others, inciting others to behave in a racist way, racist graffiti, or distributing racist materials.

Racist incidents can involve people from any racial or ethnic background, and can involve young people, teachers, school staff, governors, parents and visitors. They canoccur between people of the same ethnic group, while incidents involving people from different ethnic groups are not automatically racist in nature. Racist incidents are considered by the criminal justice system to be more harmful than incidents that do not contain a racist component.

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What can be done to reduce the number of racist incidents?

In order to reduce the number of actual incidents as opposed to reported incidents, The Hope Service will implement a range of strategies which may include the following:

•Communicating high expectations for all young people.

•Promotingan ethos that values and respects people from all ethnic, language, cultural and religious backgrounds.

•Implementingall policies aimed at promoting race equality and community cohesion.

•Ensuring that effective anti-bullying policies and procedures are in place

•Acknowledging and dealing with the seriousness of racist incidents.

How racist incidentswill be dealt with at The Hope Service

The Hope Service will:

•take swift and appropriate action to deal with any racist incidents that occur to ensure that all those involved, whether as victim, perpetrator, or witnesses,can see that the incident has been dealt with decisively and appropriate sanctions have been implemented.

•encourage young people and staff to report incidents.

•deal with allegations of racism by young people against staff or other adults as a child protection issue.

•investigate all incidents which are perceived to be racist, however trivial. If, after investigation, the conclusion is that there was no racist motivation, this information should still be recorded.

•ensure an appropriate response dependent upon the age of the young people involved, the nature of the incident, and its context, but as a general rule they will:

• acknowledge the incident and express disapproval
• support the victim(s) and apologise for what has happened to them
• try to understand the background to the incident and what may have motivated the perpetrator(s), without excusing their behaviour
• explain to those responsible and any witnesses what was unacceptable about the incident; find a quiet place for this conversation, away from others
• decide on appropriate action, e.g. referring perpetrator(s) to the Hope Service Manager, removing racist materials, reminding young people of the policy on race equality
• inform parents or carers
• record the incident on the ‘Racist Incident Recording Form’
• inform the Hope Management Committee in the case of all serious incidents
• ensure follow-up action is taken to prevent recurrences.

Incidents involving young people and adults

Allegations of racism made by young people against adults, including staff, should be treated very seriously. Young peoplewho allege that they have been victims of racially motivated behaviour may lack the confidence to approach a member of staff to report the incident. This may be the case particularly if the pupil feels isolated within the school because of their ethnic or cultural background, or because they speak little or no English.

If allegations of racist incidents are found to be false

These situations need to be handled with the same sensitivity as in the case of a ‘genuine’ racist incident. Staff will find out as much as possible about what has caused the situation, and offer appropriate support to the person falsely accused, as well as address the behaviour of the person making the allegation.

Recording and reporting racist incidents within The Hope Service

All racist incidents must be recorded on the Racist Incident Reporting Form (Appendix A). The ethnicity of both victim and perpetrator must be recorded. In some cases, though, there may be no identified victim. The Hope Service Manager has overall responsibility for monitoring racist incidents to ensure that policies and procedures are working effectively.

Appendix A

RACIST INCIDENT RECORDING FORM

The Hope Service Incident No:
Person reporting incident: Position:
Signed:
Date of incident: Time: Location:
Details of perpetrator(s)
Specify category of perpetrator(s):
Young person, staff, parent, other adult
Name / Year group / M/F / Ethnicity
Name / Year group / M/F / Ethnicity
Name / Year group / M/F / Ethnicity
Details of victim(s)
Specify category of victim(s):
Young person, staff, parent, other adult
Name / Year group / M/F / Ethnicity
Name / Year group / M/F / Ethnicity
Name / Year group / M/F / Ethnicity

Description of incident

Description
Action Taken
/ Top of Form
Bottom of Form

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