Introduction and Key Principles
Springfield is committed to being an actively anti-racist school. Our anti-racism commitment is an important and specific pledge to being proactively anti-racist in three main ways:
- Advocating for allyship
- Challenging biases that shape actions and decisions
- Empowering children with knowledge about systemic racism and how to combat it
Continual Commitment
We know that the work of anti-racism must be sustained over time. Part of our commitment is to continually respond to and participate in meaningful change. For this reason, our objectives will be reviewed regularly and new objectives may arise as we respond to emerging needs in our community.
| We commit to ensuring that: |
|---|
| Staff training and development includes how to be anti-racist. |
| Our PSHE curriculum and wider curriculum actively combats racial stereotypes. |
| Lessons on racism, allyship and anti-racism are embedded in our curriculum. |
| We share sensitive and anti-racist responses to local, national and international news relating to racist incidents. |
| We listen and learn by conducting pupil, staff and family voice surveys with questions directly related to racism. |
Anti-racism in other policies and documents
To be a truly anti-racist school, anti-racist framing must permeate all areas of school life. Our behaviour policy references a specific approach to incidents of racism and incidences related to race discrimination. Our curriculum has been designed to include a diverse range of voices and perspectives and to challenge triumphalist colonial narratives. This is responsive work – as new areas of reflection and debate arise, nationally and internationally, we respond because our children benefit from being part of the most current conversation. Our approach to monitoring and evaluating pupil attendance, attainment and progress includes analysis by race to ensure that we respond to any gaps with reflections on cause and actions to take.
Talking to pupils about race and racism
At Springfield, we share a belief that knowledge and understanding is power. Knowledge of systemic racism empowers all of our children, to advocate for their own rights and to be allies in the fight against racism. We follow guidance from The Key, including:
- Having regular conversations about racism – not one-off or infrequent mentions
- Talking to our children of all ages about race and racism
- Not taking a colour-blind approach
- Challenge stereotypes and prejudices without judgement
- Encourage children to ask questions
- Being honest about racism in Britain – past and present
Our staff team is trained in understanding the effect of unconscious bias and the need for an anti-racist approach. Training and resources support members of staff to have sensitive conversations about race and racism, with a shared understanding of key terms.
Responding to incidents of racism and race-related incidents
Racist incidents at Springfield are rare and always recorded. We review and analyse incident reports to spot patterns or trends that require direct action or further investigation. We maintain the highest possible vigilance and do not take an ‘it doesn’t happen here’ approach. We understand that children are learning and that microaggressions and comments based on stereotypes and misconceptions about different races are likely to occur. How we respond to these is crucial, so that all children are protected and that incidents result in learning that translates into future actions.
Our approach:
Always hear and validate
Nurture and support those who are affected
Teach perpetrators the impact and risk of their actions and how to make amends
Inform parents and carers so support and learning can continue at home
We are a proudly diverse staff team. Where a staff member may feel unfairly treated, misunderstood or discriminated against on the basis of their race, we commit to taking the following steps:
Always hear and validate
Nurture and support those who are affected
Talk with all people affected in pursuit of reflection and restoration
Identify lessons learned, escalate where thresholds are met (CoC) and keep detailed records