Children Young People and Skills Committee
Agenda Item 75
Subject: Anti-Racist Education Strategy Report on Progress
Date of meeting: 8th February and 7th March
Report of: Executive Director Families, Children and Learning
Contact Officer: Name: Camille Kumar
Tel: 01273 293533
Email: camille.kumar@brighton-hove.gov.uk
Wards affected: All
1.1 To update committee on the progress of the first year of the five-year Anti-Racist Education Strategy.
2.1 That Committee notes the progress made.
2.2 To agree updated version (3) of the strategy including road map.
3.1 The position of Education Adviser: Anti-Racism was recruited to in October 2021. The post holder has established a governance structure for the strategy. This structure is comprised of two bodies: a community advisory group and an education implementation group. These groups will have responsibility for allocating funds and making decisions about the direction of the strategy and will report to the Brighton & Hove Education Partnership and the Council’s Community Advisory Group. In addition, the post holder facilitated a one-off theory of change session in November 2021 to facilitate the development of a roadmap.
3.2 The draft version of the anti-racist education strategy was agreed by this committee in November 2020. In March 2021, £100,000 of funding for each of the five years of the strategy was agreed. The post holder updated the strategy to version 3, including additional sections and an overall vision, a set of outcomes and a roadmap for the delivery of the strategy mapping out activities term by term. This version is attached at appendix one.
3.3 Over the first year of the strategy, arrangements were made for members of the Brighton & Hove Educators of Colour Collective and equality leads in education settings to be released from their commitments via supply cover to support the development of aspects of the strategy.
3.4 A recruitment process will commence early in the summer term asking BHECC members and their non-BHECC colleagues to apply for a set number of seconded days in the new academic year (September 2022) to become part of the team delivering on the strategy alongside the Education Adviser: Anti-Racism.
3.5 Formal processes for contracting trainers and commissioning experts to support the strategy are being developed in partnership with the community advisory group.
3.6 We have included below a summary of the work that has been funded by the strategy. Building on this momentum, education leaders have independently commissioned training for their settings and have begun their own setting-based projects and developments. We have not included these developments in the report but want to acknowledge the rich and innovative work taking place in education settings across the city.
Engagement
3.7 The strategy was distributed to a wide range of stakeholders via email, training events and meetings and feedback was sought. Engagement activities including focus groups took place with headteachers, teachers, school staff, school governors, parents, pupils, the Standing Advisory Council for RE and community organisations. Engagement with some groups, including children and young people, was limited by the pandemic. In total, approximately 300 people were engaged with in the first year of the strategy.
3.8 The majority of feedback on the strategy was very positive. A sample of feedback is included here: “Ambitious and wide-ranging, aims for long-lasting impact rather than one-off or tokenistic work”. Secondary aged students consulted supported all aspects of the work and strongly expressed the need for the BAME support and staff training areas to be prioritised.
3.9 There was also a range of constructive critical feedback given on the draft strategy that has been addressed in the latest version. This includes a clarification of terms used, acknowledging the concerns raised about the term BAME for example. The updated strategy is explicitly inclusive of Gypsy, Roma and Irish Traveller and Jewish communities. The updated strategy is extended to include early years and post 16 settings.
3.10 The strategy is iterative, and we will ensure ongoing engagement with stakeholders over the course of the work, as well as providing support for education settings to engage meaningfully with their communities.
BAME child, pupil, and parent support
3.11 Pupil of colour workshop programmes were piloted in Patcham High and Varndean schools. The objectives of the programme are to support young people to be able to articulate their heritage and identity, to explore their lived experiences of racism in a safe space, develop skills to respond to challenges and know where and how to get support. Alongside the workshops, staff of colour were trained to continue delivery of this support. Feedback on the programme was positive:
“I felt relief to be here: everyone has gone through similar things. When there are groups of people similar to you, it’s easier to talk about these things”.
“It has helped me be more sensitive when others share their experiences.”
“It made me feel more at home in XXXX school.”
“More comfortable at school because I know there are some people that I can talk to.”
“I know more about racism and that makes things easier”
“My parents think it’s very good that there is a workshop and more support for people of colour.”
3.12. On hearing the student feedback, a member of staff said: “I found it challenging hearing some of the same things that were happening when I was at school in the 1980's, are still happening today. I felt helpless and that I need to do more to support them.”
3.13 The programme is being developed in response to feedback from staff and students and will be offered to other secondary schools, in partnership with the Black and Minority Ethnic Young People’s Project.
3.14 Cardinal Newman Catholic School piloted a peer mentoring project which is also under development with a view to further roll out.
3.15 Scoping is underway to determine levels of interest and appropriateness of a series of single or cross setting residentials for pupils of colour who have completed the workshop programme. The purpose of these residentials would be threefold: To further extend structures of support to pupils of colour and to deepen their skills, knowledge and confidence; To gather qualitative data about their experiences and needs to inform the strategy; To further develop racial literacy resources and lesson plans with direct input from pupils of colour. A similar scoping process is being conducted to determine levels of interest and appropriateness of a similar series of sessions for educators of colour, with similar objectives.
3.16 St Luke’s Primary piloted a similar support group for primary age pupils and opportunities are being explored to review and develop this practice.
3.17 A Seat at the Table, a community-based group advocating for parents of children with special educational needs and disabilities, was funded to work with a small group of children and young people to develop affirmation cards to support wellbeing. A resource will also be developed for education settings that shares lived experiences.
3.18 St Luke’s Primary and Elm Grove Primary were both supported to pilot innovative engagement activities with their BAME parent and carer communities.
Training staff and governors
3.16 The strategy has offered staff and governors in education settings regular online racial literacy training sessions delivered by Abha Aggarwal and supported by Ruth England from Race Matters. These introductory sessions build understanding of ‘race’ and racism, develop awareness of the experiences of children and young people in how they learn about ‘race’ and their racialised experiences, and supports the development of anti-racist practice. These funded sessions have been attended by 210 school staff and governors. In addition, a number of Brighton schools have commissioned training directly with Race Matters resulting in a further 400 participants across the city. In addition to the training, participants are offered practice development support through a series of online ‘drop-ins’. Feedback from participants is overwhelmingly positive. “The racial literacy training was a brilliant and clear introduction into how racism operates and the history behind it.”
3.17 In addition to racial literacy training, 24 early years staff from 17 settings attended Anti-Racism Early Years Action Training delivered by Amber and Greene. Feedback on this training was also positive: “I feel much more aware and educated now. I still have a lot to learn but feel able to start sharing with staff to ensure we start to embed anti-racism into our everyday practice.”
3.18 The racial literacy training will be further developed in response to feedback (making it more intersectional, more interactive, more practical) with a view to bringing all training in-house and supporting a cohort of educators across the city to deliver it. For more details on this please refer to the strategy and roadmap attached at Appendix 1.
Racial literacy for children and young people and decolonising and diversifying the curriculum
3.19 A draft racial literacy curriculum framework detailing learning outcomes by key stage has been developed in collaboration with subject leads and educators of colour. Education workers and secondary age students are currently reviewing the framework and we plan to co-develop and pilot resources alongside the framework in the summer term 2022. The themes identified in the framework are:
· Physical Features (skin colour, hair texture and other physical characteristics)
· Identity, Culture, Community, Ethnic Heritage & Religion
· Stereotypes, stereotyping and assumptions
· Prejudice and discrimination
· Historical context and structural issues
Activities to support review and development of the wider curriculum are outlined in the road map (Appendix 1).
3.20 Members of the Brighton & Hove Educators of Colour Collective were funded to produce materials for World Afro Day. These were disseminated to schools in September 2021.
3.22 Resources were shared with schools to support with the commemoration of Holocaust Memorial Daywhich included the promotion of the local online eventdeveloped by Brighton & Hove Holocaust Education Project.
3.21 The Chattri Memorial Groupand Patcham High School were funded to develop History lessons to enrich teaching of the First World War.
3.23 The Open Minds Projectworking with 18 Hourswere funded to deliver a Book Group for primary school teachers to enrich the diversity of resources used in schools and build confidence in talking about issues of race and racism.
Responding to incidents and issues
3.25 Racial Harassment Forum posters were funded and disseminated to all schools in April 2021.
3.26 A review of how incidents are recorded has begun with three secondary schools and an action plan is in place to review and develop the council’s guidance on recording and reporting bullying and prejudiced based incidents.
Schools of Sanctuary
3.29 Sanctuary on Sea wrote updated Guidance for Education settings on Welcoming and Supporting Seekers of Sanctuary. This was shared with education settings in January 2022.
3.20 The Schools of Sanctuary Programme has been extended to include Early Years and College settings. To date 27 settings have achieved the School of Sanctuary Award.
4.1 This strategy supports the council’s pledge to become an anti-racist council, taking the same approach to staff training and co-producing resources and guidance with local communities and stakeholders.
4.2 The funding has enabled the recruitment of the Education Adviser: Anti-Racism increasing the capacity of the council to provide support to education settings. The funding has also been used to increase capacity of staff in schools, who are already facing considerable challenges because of the pandemic. We also continue to consider how funding can be used to grow and make best use of the expertise we have in our local BAME communities / communities of colour.
5.1 Community engagement and consultation is ongoing. This will be supported through the Community Advisory Group and the education implementation group. Guidance will also be produced in the summer term supporting education settings to engage and consult with their local communities as they take this work forward.
6.1 Steady and thoughtful progress has been made in the implementation of the anti-racist education strategy. Engagement from education settings has been high, despite the extra challenges of the pandemic.
7.1 The report updates committee on the progress of the first year of the five-year Anti-Racist Education Strategy.
The draft version of the anti-racist schools’ strategy was agreed by this committee in November 2020 and in March 2021, £100,000 of funding for each of the five years of the strategy was agreed.
It is important that the financial position is reviewed regularly in line with the Targeted Budget Management Timetable (TBM).
The summary spend for the first year of the Anti-Racist Education Strategy is as follows:
|
Amount |
|
|
Staffing |
£12,800 |
|
Projects – support for schools to review and develop practice in own and others’ schools |
£36,323 |
|
Projects – funds for community groups to support |
£27,593 |
|
Training (including for development of pupil groups) |
£21,450 |
|
Miscellaneous (equipment, phones etc.) |
£1,834 |
|
|
£100,000 |
7.2 In the next financial year, it is expected that the staffing costs will increase both as the Education Adviser will be in post for the formal secondment arrangements will be made to bring education workers into strategy delivery roles.
Finance Officer Consulted: David Ellis Date: 28th January 2022
8.1 The Equality Act 2010 protects employees and services users (school pupils) on the basis of 'protected characteristics' which includes race. Local Authorities have a responsibility to ensure that they comply with the three 'needs' articulated in this law through the Public Sector Equality Duty (section 149):
(i) Eliminate unlawful discrimination, harassment, victimisation and any other conduct prohibited by the Act
(ii) Advance equality of opportunity between people who share a protected characteristic and people who do not share it
(iii) Foster good relations between people who share a protected characteristic and people who do not share it
8.2 Local Authorities will require schools to act in accordance with these three 'needs'. The anti-racist strategy for schools will assist the Council to fulfil this statutory duty.
Name of lawyer consulted: Serena Kynaston Date consulted 31/01/2022
The anti-racist education strategy supports education settings to meet their duties under the Equality Act. The strategy will take an intersectional approach, seeking to understand and respond to how all of our identities, including sex, gender, special educational needs and disabilities (SEND), economic disadvantage, refugee or asylum status, religion, English as an additional language (EAL) and lesbian, gay, bisexual and trans identities (LGBT) shape our experiences in education.
10.1 The anti-racist education strategy aims to promote healthy, safe and secure education environments.
10.2 This strategy aims to support and develop where possible expertise within local education settings and communities.
Public health implications:
11.1 The anti-racist education strategy will contribute to preventing mental health harm caused by the impact of racism on children and young people.
Supporting Documentation
1. Anti-Racist Education Strategy incorporating planned outcomes and the road map for delivery.