Legal definitions and duties

Summary by Ofsted

In its thematic report Race Equality in Education, published in November 2005, Ofsted summarised the statutory position as follows:

‘The legislation, administrative guidance and inspectors’ expectations … signal to schools and local education authorities the need to put in place systems for handling and recording race-related incidents. Beyond that, the number and range of types of incident reported to inspectors in the survey, and the adverse impact of racist abuse on victims’ attainment and attitudes, show clearly the need to deal with such incidents effectively and proportionately.’

This summary is cited from Race Equality in Education: good practice in schools and local education authorities. The survey to which it refers is described in detail in the full report, which can be downloaded from http://www.ofsted.gov.uk/publications/index.cfm?fuseaction=pubs.summary&id=4095.

Education Act 2005 and school self-evaluation

Schools are required to evaluate the extent to which learners feel safe and adopt safe practices and as part of this are prompted to consider whether learners feel safe from bullying and racist incidents, and the extent to which learners feel confident to talk to staff and others when they feel at risk.

Inspectors will routinely seek views from pupils about their experience, including whether they feel free from bullying and harassment.

Department for Education and Skills

In Schools’ Race Equality Policies: from issues to outcomes, published in 2004, the DfES states that ‘all racist incidents must be monitored and reported to the LEA – there should be
no under-reporting.’ The document mentions the importance of both quantitative and qualitative data and in this connection says that ‘in reviewing your school’s handling of racist incidents you will need to consider how many incidents there have been in any given period and how satisfied the groups most affected are in how they are dealt with.’

The goal, the document says, is a school which ‘recognises and values diversity’ and in which ‘all have a sense of belonging.’ In such a school ‘there are few racist incidents and these are dealt with effectively: pupils from different ethnic backgrounds mix and get on well with each other. The school has positive relations with the wider community – including different faith groups – and the community is actively involved in the life of the school.’

Children Act 2004

The Children Act 2004 introduced multi-inspectorate joint area reviews of children's services. The reviews will seek evidence that services implement and monitor policies on combating bullying, and that services take action to challenge and reduce discrimination by and of children and young people.

Audit Commission

Within the framework of best value performance indicators (BVPIs), local authorities must collect figures from schools each year on the numbers of recorded racist incidents and must report to the Audit Commission the numbers of racist incidents per 100,000 residents (BVPI 174) and the numbers of incidents in which follow-up action was taken (BVPI 175).

Codes of practice

The Commission for Racial Equality’s Code of practice on the duty to promote race equality, made under the Race Relations Act 1976 as amended, indicates that, in assessing schools’ policies, regard should be paid to steps to prevent racist bullying. The Home Office’s Code of practice: reporting and recording racist incidents recommends that schools should record all racist incidents.

School Standards and Framework Act, 1998

The act requires head teachers to ‘determine measures… to be taken with a view to… preventing all forms of bullying among pupils. The measures… shall be publicised … in a written document … and [be made] generally known within the school and to parents … at least once in every school year [and be brought] to the attention of all such pupils and parents and all persons employed, or otherwise engaged to provide their services, at the school.’