| "We believe that every child and young person should have equal rights to be included in their educational setting as a valued, responsible and equal member of the learning community, with other children of the same age." Bristol LA Inclusive Education Policy |
Race Equality
Over the last few years, there have been major developments in national legislation. The introduction of the Race Relations (Amendment) Act 2000, required schools and other education providers to be more proactive in their approach to race equality issues, and to adopt a Race Equality Policy and Action Plan. Schools now have a positive duty to avoid discrimination before it occurs and are required “to be proactive in promoting good relations between members of different communities before there is harassment or violence.”
There are also three specific duties for schools:
- to have prepared a written policy on race equality and cultural diversity by May 2002.
- to assess the impact of its policies on Black, Asian, and other minority ethnic pupils, staff and parents, with the principal emphasis being on the attainment of pupils.
- to monitor levels of attainment and the impact of race equality and cultural diversity policies on pupils, staff and parents.
The results of the monitoring and impact assessments should be published annually.
Disability Equality / Special Educational Needs
The SEN and Disability Act 2001, required schools and education providers to change their “policies, procedures and practices” to ensure they do not discriminate against disabled pupils, and to make “reasonable adjustments” for disabled pupils. They also had to put in place a specific Access Plan by April 2003, reviewed for 2006-9, which outlines actions they are taking to improve access to the curriculum, information and the built environment for disabled pupils.
Disability Discrimination Act 2005 (DDA)
Schools have to have in place an Access Plan for 2006–9 which shows how they increase access to buildings, the curriculum and information for disabled children (see the section on Access Strategy)
The new DDA places general duties on schools to:
From December 2006 all schools, nurseries and the Local Authority will have a general duty:
- To eliminate unlawful discrimination against disabled children and adults
- To eliminate harassment and bullying of disabled children and adults
- To promote equality of opportunity for disabled children and adults
- To take steps to take account of disabled children's and adults' impairments - even if this means treating them more favourably
- To promote positive attitudes towards disabled children
- To encourage the participation of disabled people in public life
The key responsibilities are that:
- All schools and nurseries should already have in place a new three year Access Plan required by March 1st 2006, (covering the period 2006 - 9). This should be reviewed annually by an Inclusion Group which includes disabled people, parents/carers etc. A copy should have been sent to the Local Authority (see contact on back page).
- All schools and nurseries will now need to be developing a Disability Equality Scheme (DES) through consultation with key stakeholders, and this must include disabled people. Secondary schools have to have this in place by 4 th December 2006 and nurseries, primary schools, special schools and PRUs by 3 rd December 2007.
- It is the responsibility of the governing body to ensure the DES is in place and monitored, but schools should expect this process to be led by the Head or a member of the Senior Leadership Team with input from the SENCo.
Further information and training on the DDA materials are available on the link on the left. For any further information on implementing the DDA in your school or training on the new duties contact Aoife McNally whose details appear at the foot of this page.
Other Equalities Issues
The DfES/DH Guidance on the Education of Young People in Public Care (2000) requires schools and the City Council to develop their policies and practices in relation to "Looked After Children".
Schools are bound by the Employment and Service Delivery sections of the Sex Discrimination Act which prevents unfair treatment of boys/girls or women/men and gender equality duties come in to force in 2007.
The repeal of the Section 28 which made illegal the “promotion of homosexuality” in schools should also lead to educationalists becoming more confident in challenging homophobic bullying and promoting the equality of Lesbians and Gay Men. See page entitled “Tackling Homophobia”.
2003 also saw the introduction of legislation relating to the prevention of discrimination in employment in relation to sexuality and religious belief, which schools need to be aware of, and this will be extended to protecting pupils and adults from discrimination in service delivery with the new Equalities Act.
There is new legislation relating to age that came into force in 2006, and the Equality Act 2006 will bring much of this legislation into line.
Ofsted Guidance
In addition to the legislative changes, the paper, “Evaluating Educational Inclusion” has led to Ofsted inspectors being trained to inspect for educational inclusion, and they are now expected to ensure that all relevant documentation, processes and monitoring procedures relative to equalities and inclusion are in place. They have specific duties in relation to race equality and must consider amongst other areas:
- whether there are significant differences in the standards achieved by pupils of different ethnic backgrounds
- how a school analyses the comparative attainment of different groups of pupils and how the school makes use of such information
- action taken by the school (a) to promote racial harmony, (b) to prepare pupils for living in a diverse and increasingly interdependent society and (c) specifically to prevent and address racism, sexism and other forms of prejudice and discrimination
- whether learning resources show sensitivity to a range of different groups and cultures, or whether, through the use of inappropriate images and stereotypes, they de-motivate or offend certain pupils or reinforce prejudiced views
- how a school teaches pupils to appreciate the cultural traditions of which they themselves are members, and the diversity and richness of other traditions
- what a school does specifically to prevent and address racism, and how it deals with, and monitors racist incidents that occur.
Contact:
Aoife McNally, Inclusion Coordinator
Children & Young People's Services
Woodward Community Resource Centre
Alexandra Park
Fishponds
Bristol
BS16 2BG
Tel: 0117 3533306
Fax: 0117 3533301
Email: aoife.mcnally@bristol.gov.uk