Equality, Diversity & Inclusion In School Practice
Intended Audiences:
All Staff (IRS1)
Primary & Secondary Parents (IRS2)
Description
This presentation is not delivered to parents because it is not meant to be a ‘stick’ to bash Senior Leadership Teams into submission for ‘abusing’ African & Caribbean students. Our short experience delivering this as a standalone presentation has indicated that it is the outstanding schools that are most interested in the content of this presentation, probably because they are in the secure position of not having to prove their effectiveness and can look ‘above and beyond’ the requirements of OFSTED.
A huge part of the problem of trying to deal with the unintentional systemic racism that is prevalent not only in schools but in almost every facet of society is the terminology. Consequently, many people believe terms like racial prejudice, racism, institutional racism and systemic or structural racism can be used interchangeably in the same way that many GCSE music students might believe that hip-hop & rap music, or opera & classical music are the same – which they are not.
Consequently, large parts of this presentation look at institutional racism in society, and how that might be unintentionally mirrored in our classrooms. Then, we look at changes that can be made to send the message to students, parents and stakeholders that the school is on a path of continual improvement to educate one another and make all staff and students ambassadors for positive change.
Objectives
The broad purpose of this presentation is fundamentally to raise awareness. From Senior Leadership Team level through to the classroom assistants, all staff should have an understanding of how institutional racism impacts students outside of the school grounds so that these experiences are not replicated within school.
Additionally, school staff should have an awareness of how they can challenge institutional racism in their subject/faculty area.
Learning Outcomes
By the end of this presentation, attendees should be able to:
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achieve a critical understanding of the ways in which race and racism has an impact on student academic attainment.
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have a basic awareness of how institutional racism can impact specific GCSE subject areas (school staff only)
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identify at least 3 changes they can make to counter institutionalised racism in school (for school staff), or in the home (for parents).
