How to meet the requirements of the Race Relations (Amendment) Act (2000)

The Race Relations (Amendment) Act (2000) requires all public authorities, including schools that are maintained by the local education authority, to promote race equality. This general duty applies to all authorities listed in Schedule 1A of the Act.

The information here explains how the Act affects schools and the curriculum, and includes the case studies above, which show examples of good practice.

The general duty
The specific duties
Race equality impact assessments

The general duty

The general duty is set out in section 71(1) of the Act. It requires schools and other listed bodies to:

• eliminate unlawful racial discrimination
• promote equality of opportunity and good race relations between persons of different racial groups.

There is more information about the general duty on the Commission for Racial Equality's website.

The purpose of the general duty is to make sure that race equality is central to the way schools and other public authorities carry out their functions. Promoting race equality should be a central part of the school’s policy development, curriculum and employment practice.

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The specific duties

To aid schools in meeting the general duty, the home secretary also issued an Order under the Race Relations (Amendment) Act (2000) detailing specific duties for schools to prepare, maintain and fulfil a race equality policy.

In addition to meeting the general duty, schools are required to comply with the following specific duties.

Schools must:

• prepare and maintain a written statement of their race equality policy by 31 May 2002, and have arrangements in place for meeting their duties as soon as reasonably possible
• assess the impact their policies (including their race equality policy) have on pupils, staff and parents from different racial groups. In particular, schools should assess whether their policies have, or could have, an adverse impact on the attainment levels of pupils from different racial groups
• monitor the impact of their policies on pupils, parents and staff from different racial groups. In particular schools should monitor the impact of their policies on pupils’ attainment levels
• take reasonably practicable steps to publish the results of its monitoring each year.

There is more information about the specific duty on the Commission for Racial Equality's website.

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Race equality impact assessments

Every school should assess how effective its race equality policy is using the arrangements it has already made to develop and review policies.

Assessing impact on pupils, staff and parents

When reviewing the impact of policies, schools could ask the following questions.

• Is the school making sure that its policies, for example on exclusion, bullying, the curriculum, parental involvement, community involvement, and race equality, are not having an adverse impact on pupils, staff or parents from some racial groups?
• How does the school help all staff to develop and reach their full potential?
• How does the school encourage all parents to take part fully in the life of the school?
• Does the school help all its pupils to achieve as much as they can, and get the most from what is on offer, based on their individual needs?
• How does the school explain any differences? Are the explanations justified? Can they be justified on non-racial grounds, such as English-language difficulties?
• Does each relevant policy include aims to deal with differences (or possible differences) in attainment between pupils from different racial groups? Do the policy’s aims lead to action to deal with any differences that have been identified (for example, extra coaching for pupils or steps to prevent racist bullying)?
• What is the school doing to raise standards and promote equality of opportunity for pupils who seem to be underachieving and who may need extra support?
• What is the school doing to:
  - prepare pupils for living in a multi-ethnic society?
  - promote race equality and harmony in the school, and in the local community?
  - prevent or deal with racism?
• Is the action the school has taken appropriate and effective? Are there any unexpected results? If so, how are they being handled?
• What changes does the school need to make to relevant policies, policy aims and any related targets and strategies?

To answer these questions, schools could consider:

• collecting and analysing relevant data
• talking to pupils, parents and staff to find out their needs and opinions
• carrying out surveys or special research.

Schools should use the results of these assessments to:

• rethink their race equality objectives (where necessary)
• influence and guide their planning and decision making.

When assessing the impact of policies on the curriculum, teachers could ask the following questions.

• How do teachers plan the curriculum so that it includes the principle of race equality, and recognises and values diversity?
• How do teachers make sure that pupils get the opportunity to explore questions of identity, race equality and racism?
• How do teachers monitor the curriculum and assess whether it helps all pupils to achieve their full potential?
• What do teachers do to give pupils the chance to experience other cultures?

Good practice examples 1 and 2 above demonstrate how this can be achieved.

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Curriculum content

The curriculum should draw on areas of interest for pupils from all ethnic groups. Teachers should make sure that:

• the curriculum draws on the cultural backgrounds and experience of all pupils
• the school supports and promotes the study of community languages
• the principal languages spoken by local ethnic minority communities are offered as part of the school curriculum.

Good practice examples 3 and 4 above demonstrate how this can be achieved.

Teachers should, in all areas of the curriculum, promote racial equality and ethnic diversity, and challenge racism and discrimination. They should make sure that:

• the choice of content in all subject areas actively contributes to a positive understanding of racial equality and cultural diversity
• prejudices, bias and discrimination are challenged across the curriculum
• the curriculum encourages and equips all pupils to identify, challenge and deal with racism, bias, prejudice and stereotyping
• pupils are made aware of relevant race-related legislation.

Good practice example 5 above demonstrates how this can be achieved.

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Using the right resources

The school should take active steps to ensure that resources in all areas of the curriculum are inclusive. Teachers should make sure that:

• the policy on purchasing and using resources refers to the need to check that resources are inclusive
• all books and other media are checked for their suitability for different groups of pupils
• non-inclusive teaching materials are used in an inclusive way and used to highlight and explore issues of stereotyping, ignorance and prejudice.

Good practice examples 6 above demonstrates how this can be achieved.

All areas of the curriculum should use resources that promote a greater understanding of cultural diversity, racial equality, and the importance of challenging racism and racial discrimination. Teachers should:

• display positive images of people from various ethnic groups and their cultural backgrounds in all subject areas and parts of the school
• use a wide variety of resources in all subject areas to promote racial equality and cultural diversity, and to challenge racial discrimination
• regularly review and evaluate the effectiveness of resources in promoting racial equality and challenging racial discrimination.

Good practice example 7 demonstrates how this can be achieved.

The school should make full use of the resources available within its local ethnic minority communities. Teachers should make sure that:

• the skills and experiences of parents, pupils and members of local ethnic minority communities are used to support the school
• pupils, parents and representatives from local ethnic minority groups are consulted about the curriculum.

Good practice examples 8 and 9 demonstrate how this can be achieved.

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