Education and
Training
Racial
discrimination in education is unlawful. It directly contravenes Section
17 of the Race Relations Act1976 (RRA) for the responsible body for an
education establishment to discriminate, either directly or indirectly:
-
In the terms on
which it offers admission to the establishment.
-
In refusing to
accept an application for admission.
-
In the way it affords
its pupils or students access to benefits, facilities or services.
-
By refusing to
afford its pupils or students these benefits, facilities or services.
-
By excluding a
pupil or student from the establishment.
-
By treating a pupil
or student unfavourably in any other way.
The educational
establishments covered by these provisions include:
-
LEA maintained
schools and educational establishments (including FE colleges).
-
Independent and
special schools.
-
Universities.
-
Establishments
which receive grants from the Dept for Education and Employment.
Section 71of
the RRA places a general obligation on local authorities to:
-
Eliminate unlawful
discrimination, and
-
Promote equality
and good relations between persons of different racial groups.
In addition,
Sections 18 and 20 RRA impose a general duty on LEAs to provide their services
without unlawful discrimination. This would include:
-
School meals provision,
-
School transport
services,
-
School place allocations,
and
-
Educational Welfare,
liaison and psychological services.
LREC aims to
work in partnership with the education authority and educational establishments
to identify positive measures that can:
-
Ensure that unlawful
racial discrimination does not take place.
-
Provide a means
of redressing unlawful discrimination that has occurred.
-
Improve the quality
of education service provided to the diverse communities of Leicester.
-
Ensure that the
achievement of racial equality is placed at the heart of mainstream education
and training.
-
Address the existence
of racial harassment and bullying in schools, colleges and universities.
In this we work
through training, support advice and advocacy with:
-
Head-teachers.
-
Governors.
-
Teachers.
-
Parents.
-
Young people excluded
from or refused a place at a school or college.
-
LEA officers.
-
Local Authority
members.
-
Our general intentions
are carried out against the background of continual change in the national
and local educational sector.
In recent years
we have had to accommodate alterations to the structure of management of
schools, the introduction of national curriculum and national standards
for literacy and numeracy teaching.
The responsibilities
of governors of educational establishments has increased over the years,
it is therefore important that governing bodies discharge their responsibilities
without racial discrimination, especially in relation to:
-
Employment,
-
Admissions,
-
Exclusions,
-
Resource Allocation,
-
The implementation
of the National Curriculum.
Locally, the
LEA has had to come to terms with a damning report of OFSTED's inspection
of the authority. Moreover, OFSTED itself has come under criticism for
failing to implement its lead responsibility for monitoring strategies
for preventing and addressing race inequality in schools. In the light
of these developments, LREC has worked with its partners to identify positive
steps to take and commitments that can be made.
A standard for
Racial Equality in Education, "Young Gifted and Equal" was launched in
February 2000. Over 150 head-teachers, governors and LEA staff attended
the launch and subsequently took part in workshops to engage with the process
of implementing the strategy. By March 2001, a number of schools had adopted
the standard, carried out an audit of their facilities and produced action
plans for preventing discrimination.
The Commission
for Racial Equality Racial Equality Means Quality (REMQ) standard, which
is a tool-kit to assist LEA Education Departments', assess their services
and the fair delivery of those services, is being promoted.
Officers
from LREC continue to attend vital educational committees and groups, including:
-
LEA education committee
-
School Adjudicating
Committee
-
School Admissions
Forum
-
Post Partnership
Conference Group
-
Race Equality for
Education in Leicester (REEL).
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