racial harrassment policy
2003
Section 1: Guiding principles
Westbury school is committed to creating a positive climate that will enable everyone to work free from intimidation and harassment and to achieve their full potential. Therefore:
- it will use all the powers and resources at its disposal to eliminate racial incidents;
- it will ensure that any complaint of racial harassment is promptly investigated and that everyone is aware of his/her responsibility and the procedures to challenge and report it when it occurs;
- it will work with parents, communities and other agencies to ensure that it is clearly understood that racial harassment is unacceptable.
- aims to provide on atmosphere where everyone is valued and any discrimination is always challenged.
Section 2: Racism and racial discrimination
Race is a term that is commonly used when identifying groups of people who share a common origin or heritage. The Race Relations Act 1976 (including its amendment in 2000) defines racism as follows:
- Direct racial discrimination occurs when a person is treated less favourably than another on racial grounds. The comparison must be with a person whose relevant circumstances are more or less the same. It is not necessary to prove that there was an intention to discriminate; what is relevant is that the outcome was discriminatory.
- Indirect racial discrimination occurs when
- a person is subject to a requirement or condition that is applied equally to everyone, but which in practice disproportionately fewer people from their racial group can comply with
- the requirement or condition cannot be justified on non-racial grounds
- it is a detriment to the person because they cannot comply with it.
- Victimisation occurs when a person is treated less favourably than another because they have complained of racial discrimination, given evidence or otherwise assisted another person’s complaint of racial discrimination, or because it is known that they intended to do so.
Section 3: A definition of racial harassment incidents
“A racist incident is any incident which is perceived to
be racist by the victim or any other person”
The Stephen Lawrence Inquiry Report
by Sir William MacPherson of Cluny, February 1999.
The term “racial harassment incident” is used here to describe all those unwanted actions by a person or a group of people directed at people of different ethnic origin which cause humiliation, offence or distress or interfere with their performance or create an unpleasant working environment and are motivated by racial considerations. As such they may:
- comprise of remarks or actions associated with a person's race, nationality (including citizenship) or ethnic or national origin;
- inappropriately emphasise a person's race, nationality (including citizenship), ethnic or national origin over his/her other role such as a pupil, member of staff or parent/carer.
A racial motivation is to be regarded as an aggravating factor which will result in many incidents of misbehaviour or misconduct being taken more seriously than where this motivation is absent.
For the purposes of these procedures it includes:
- any incident in which it appears to the person reporting or investigating that the complaint involved an element of racial motivation;
- any incident that includes an allegation of racial motivation made by any person.
Racial incidents can involve:
- physical assault or the threat of physical assault where race appears to be the motivating force;
- name calling, insults and jokes;
- graffiti;
- provocative behaviour such as the wearing or displaying of racist badges or insignia on the person or on clothing;
- bringing racist materials such as leaflets, comics or magazines on to the premises;
- verbal abuse and threats;
- incitement of others to behave in a racist way;
- racist comments;
- attempts to recruit pupils, students or staff to racist organisations and groups;
- ridicules of cultural preferences e.g. food, music, dress, faith;
- discriminatory working practices: refusing to work with or co-operate with others because of their ethnic origins / ignoring or paying undue attention to others because of their ethnic origin.
The school staff is defined as anyone who is working at the school whether employed or on a voluntary basis.
