Contact: John Clarke, Deputy Director of Children's Services Tel: 01962 846464
Email: [email protected] or Ian Massey, Intercultural Inspector, Fleet Local Office. Tel: 01252 814772 Email: [email protected]

1 Summary

1.1 This report provides an overview of the work of Children's Services in relation to its statutory duty to promote race equality in schools, including the annual data on racial incidents in schools.

1.2 There continues to be considerable progress in embedding this aspect in the educational agenda and this is reflected in the practical actions from training to curriculum development.

1.3 The percentage of schools making a return to the Local Authority (LA) this year is down slightly from 99% last year to 97%. A contributory factor may be the comparatively large numbers of new headships in the county.

1.4 There has been a slight decrease in the total number of incidents recorded from 657 for 2004 year to 646 for 2005. The majority of incidents, 89%, relate to name calling or comments in discussion. with more serious incidents of physical assault accounting for 2%.

1.5 For the first time the 2005 Pupil Attitude Survey contained questions on children and young people's experience of bullying and racial abuse in and out of school. This suggests many more pupils perceive this happening to them than most schools suppose.

1.2 This supports aim 1 of the Corporate Strategy (maximising life opportunities) and aim 4 (building strong and safe communities) by supporting race equality development in Hampshire

1.3 This supports the county council's overarching responsibility, under the Children Act (2004), to ensure that all children achieve the five outcomes. It is essential that race equality is further developed in our schools so that children from black and minority ethnic backgrounds do well and, particularly, that they stay safe.

2 Race equality development

2.1 Last year we noted that there were still 10 schools in Hampshire that were without a Race Equality policy, contrary to their legal obligations under the Race Relations Amendment Act. The Deputy Director wrote to these schools and there are now no schools without such a policy.

2.2 For the second year we have monitored a sample of incidents from schools. The process was agreed with headteacher representatives. A sample of 10 schools, who had recorded at least one racist incident, were asked to return documentation showing how the incident was handled. This resulted in a sample of incidents, which included name calling to other children or staff, and persistent offending. The scrutiny revealed:

· all the incidents were dealt with appropriately and professionally

· most schools make use of the Hampshire guidance and suggested recording format or had adapted it to their own context

· two schools had made use of the latest version of the recording form, which includes a `victim satisfaction' box. This was recorded as good in both cases, indicating that the victim felt that the incident had been well resolved

· there was more inconsistency in how schools had adapted the recommended form for themselves this year. In several cases they were not recording enough information about the incident to ensure compliance with recommended practice. This will be brought to their attention with a clarification of what is required

· the full range of sanctions are being used from reprimands to exclusion

· headteachers or senior managers usually took the lead in resolving incidents

· incidents were dealt with in context and the sanctions used were appropriate to that context

· younger pupils always had the reason for the reaction to their inappropriate language explained

· schools were successful in focusing on the incident rather than just the perpetrator

· parents were usually informed of the incident, either by phone or letter. Some schools made use of the template letters available for schools on the Intercultural website.

3 Promoting cultural diversity

3.1 Ofsted inspection reports are monitored for references about how well schools are providing opportunities for pupils' intercultural education. For the period September 04 to July 05, there were 71 Ofsted reports available on Hampshire schools. Of these, 65 were included in the review. There are no national comparisons that can be made on this aspect which appears within the section on pupils' SMSC development. Our analysis of Ofsted judgements on cultural diversity is arrived at through scrutiny of either the full or summary reports. It focuses on where there is a clear judgement on cultural diversity and not just cultural development. Far more schools receive a good for cultural development.

Sept 2004 - July 2005
	Good or better	Satisfactory	Unsatisfactory/ Underdeveloped	Focus for Improvement
Primary	55%	20%	24%	8%
Secondary	30%	40%	24%	-

Special schools are not included in the table this year as only one school was inspected.

· 75% of primary schools are judged as satisfactory or better in terms of cultural diversity provision compared with 68% last year. Of these 55% are judged good or better with 8% of primary schools having very good or excellent provision. (5% last year)

· 70% of secondary schools have satisfactory or better provision, although the number with good or better is a little down on last year from 36% to 30%

· there has been a slight decrease in the number of primary schools for whom this is an aspect for immediate improvement

· reports tend to suggest that many schools are aware that this aspect is `underdeveloped'

· six schools were involved in the piloting of the new inspection framework. Four of these reports contained no reference to cultural diversity provision, only SMSC in general. (Only two out of the 59 reports using the previous framework omitted reference to how well pupils were being prepared for life in a diverse Britain)

· only two of the 65 reports featured any reference to race equality. One of these highlighted the need for the school to monitor its race equality policy. It was the only report to do so, but at the same time it omitted any reference to cultural diversity. These failures will be communicated to Ofsted and the Commission for Race Equality (CRE).

3.2 We have scrutinised Ofsted reports for many years and Appendix 1 gives a summary over time. These figures compare very well with our urban neighbours and reflect the strength of the guidance and support given to schools, schools' commitment to preparing pupils for a diverse society and the availability of resource support.

4 Resource support

4.1 Schools in Hampshire continue to benefit from intercultural resource provision provided by the Intercultural Centre. Schools subscribe to this service and it is part of a wider resource provision which includes the History, Maths and Religious Education Centres. It is also open to Portsmouth and Southampton schools. The centre offers resources for schools to borrow from a range of cultural traditions in and beyond the UK. Resources range from books, to textiles and musical instruments. It includes special topic boxes covering common topics in the primary curriculum.

4.2 An indication of Hampshire schools' commitment to promoting cultural diversity is the usage of the centre. There has been a decline in the number of subscribers from 464 schools to 370. Some of this has been due to confusion over the new subscription rates and dates and new schools continue to subscribe each month. Despite the decrease in subscribers, the number of loans to schools increased from 3,795 last year to 4,911 in the last financial year, a 22% increase. The centre can also be used as a venue for in-service training as a stimulus to integrate this dimension into the curriculum and 10 training sessions were held during the year. This is an increase on last year, and there was a considerable increase in the number of visitors from 95 to 214, who came to access resources or seek support on their curriculum plans. The centre also responded to 426 telephone requests for advice on resources or contacts for a range of artists.

5 Continuing professional development

5.1 Intercultural professional development is offered to schools via a mixture of school based in-service or centre based training. It covers aspects of race equality and cultural diversity. As with any Hampshire Inspection and Advice Service (HIAS) training, school based training is geared to the specific needs of the school staff. It may include twilight sessions, whole day training, work with a co-ordinator and a possible follow up evaluation of impact. Over the past year we have worked with 12 schools on aspects of policy or training on classroom practice. In addition we have also contributed to the University of Winchester education courses for trainee teachers on aspects of diversity and meeting the needs of pupils with English as an additional language.

5.2 There are also two-day centre based courses aimed at schools where cultural diversity has been identified as a weakness and at new co-ordinators for whom this is a new development. There is a further course for those schools that wish to develop their policy and practice further. Other centre based in-service focused on the provision of promoting race equality and responding to racial incidents.

5.3 In order to keep schools up-to-date the intercultural website offers schools ongoing advice on changes to requirements and expectations. It is also home to examples of practice, such as school race equality policies and exemplar curricular materials. We are offering our schools the unique opportunity to download new Hampshire in-service material which enables them to run their own training on dealing with racist incidents.

6 Curriculum support

6.1 This year we have completed the material developed for KS3 and upper KS2 with a focus on Years 3 and 4 using literacy texts to address issues of similarities and difference. The results of workshop trials have been very positive from headteachers and teachers and this will be made available to all schools during the summer.

7 Links to Rights, Respect and Responsibilities (RRR)

7.1 The promotion of race equality is now set within the context of wider LA developments on RRR. The work above is now being set within the framework of the United Nations (UN) Convention on the Rights of the Child. This means that this issue features within the county training on RRR.

7.2 To further promote principles of Rights, Respect and Responsibilities in primary schools, we have teamed up with a storytelling company, `Gripping Yarns'. They have adapted a piece of work with us which has been successful in many authorities. It is a story which deals with racist bullying and exclusion issues and now incorporates principles of rights and responsibilities. About 60 schools have made bookings with the company.

8 Support and progress of ethnic minority pupils

8.1 Over the last 12 months there has been a significant increase in the ethnic minority pupil population from 4.8% to 7.89%. Ethnic minority children and young people now make up 7.89% of the Hampshire school population. Children and young people for whom English is an additional language make up 2.2%. At least 84 languages other than English are spoken as a month tongue.

8.2 A progress report on the educational achievements of ethnic minority children and children for whom English is an additional language was presented to Policy Review Committee on 15 March 2005.

The recommendations were:

1. The achievement of ethnic minority children and children for whom English is an additional language is seen as a priority for the county council and all schools.

2. Data analysis is extended to include tracking of ethnic minority cohorts, analysis of value added of schools, issues arising from different contexts including school places, admissions, asylum seekers and refugees, and attendance.

3.A policy is prepared to consider best options for raising ethnic minority achievement in the light of
- proposed Children's Services
- proposed introduction of single school improvement grant
- the currently stretched nature of the EMA service.

Progress on the recommendations:

Data analysis has been extended to provide targets by ethnic minority group for 2006-2007using individual achievement as a baseline for the first time. Data tracking to show value added in relation to cohorts across the county and in schools has yet to be developed including the issues arising from different contexts in 2. above. There has been a 25% increase in new arrivals referred to the Ethnic Minority Achievement (EMA) service between April 04-March 05 and April 05 and March 06. There has been 267 Nepali speaking new arrivals (Ghurkhas, ex-Ghurkhas and asylum seekers) between April 05 and March 06. When they first arrived these children and young people were in five schools in the Fleet, Farnborough and Aldershot areas. They are now in 49 Hampshire schools as far away as Eastleigh. Representations have been made by EMA service to the Ministry of Defence (MOD) Children's Education Advisory Service and DfES to indicate the need for information about army deployment and for funding. There are also significant increases in the number of children and young people speaking Malayalam and Eastern European languages. Bangladeshi, Black Caribbean, Black African and Pakistani children and young people continue to attain below county averages at the end of some key stages.

A policy has still to be prepared to consider best options for raising ethnic minority achievement in the light of a Children's Service, introduction of single school improvement grant and the stretched nature of the EMA service.

8.3 The EMA service has asked schools if they wish to continue to receive provision in 2006-2009 for children speaking core languages or to retain devolved funding ranging from £0-£1,672 for 2006-2007. The proposed EMA service structure for 2006-07 takes account of workforce remodelling, makes a shift from management points to teaching and learning responsibilities (TLRs) for teachers and incorporates a bilingual children's development officer role to maintain and develop partnerships with all the Children's Services agencies.

9 DfES national guidance on countering racist bullying

9.1 Last year our contribution to the DfES work on national guidance on countering racist bullying was mentioned in the race equality report. As a result we were asked to host one of the regional launches of these new guidelines. This was held on March 27 with over 80 delegates including many Hampshire headteachers, youth service, governor service, colleagues from other authorities and a group of year 10 students from a local school.

9.2 We will now reflect on the content and suggested approaches to ensure that we maintain best practice on this sensitive issue within Hampshire Children's Services.

10 Racist incidents

10.1 The annual collation of data on racial incidents again made use of the on line form on the Hampshire Intranet.

10.2 The data for 2005 are in Appendix 2. There are several elements worth noting:

· The percentage of schools making a return for 2006 is down slightly from 99% to 97%. When analysed by phase of school, it shows that 100% of infant, 94% of junior, 99% of primary and 86% of special schools made a return. The number of secondary schools making a return is down from 98% for 2004 to 97% for 2005.

· There has been a decrease in the total number of recorded incidents from 657 in 2004 to 646 for 2005.

· `Name calling' and `comments in discussion', still account for the majority of incidents at 83%. Those incidents which involve a more physical element are still comparatively low at 2% and mainly confined to secondary schools.

· Secondary schools account for 46% of all racist incidents and are the place where most of the more serious incidents take place. Junior schools make up 28%of all incidents.

10.3 For the first time this year, the pupil attitude survey asked questions about pupils' perceptions of being bullied or racially abused both in and out of school. The number of pupils involved was 34,428 in primary and secondary schools from Years 2 and 6 in primary schools and Years 7 and 9 in secondary. Whilst the incidents of perceived racial abuse might seem very low, the numbers of pupils from black or minority ethnic backgrounds are also small. Across all the primary schools in the county, 4.42% of this age of pupil originate from a black or minority ethnic background, or has a travelling or Romany heritage. For secondary age pupils, the figure is 3.31%. An interpretation of the responses of the survey of pupils' perceptions of racial abuse is that all these children have suffered such abuse sometime in the twelve months to June 2005. See Appendix 3.

11 Legal implications

11.1 None.

12 Financial implications

12.1 None.

13 Personal implications

13.1 None.

14 Impact assessment

14.1 This report contributes towards the authority's race and equality policies.

15 Crime prevention issues

15.1 The work done by schools in fostering good relationships between children and young people of different ethnic backgrounds is a crucial part of the community's prevention strategy, in respect of race-related crime and disorder. Generally, the work of schools in this area is good, but this report makes clear that the issue is one for everybody and that all adults who work with children and young people need to be sensitive to it and to maintain their vigilance.

16 Views of the Local County Councillor

16.1 Not sought in the drafting of this report.

Recommendations

1 The work of schools and teachers be commended.

2 Schools not making a return for 2005 be contacted to remind them of their obligations.

3 Data from the pupil attitude survey be monitored each year and schools to be reminded of the support available in the county for supporting further investigation into their response

4 A report based on the 2005 data be sent to all schools and made available electronically.

Section 100 D - Local Government Act 1972 - background documents

The following documents discuss facts or matters on which this report, or an important part of it, is based and have been relied upon to a material extent in the preparation of this report.

NB: the list excludes

1. Published works

2. Documents which disclose exempt or confidential information as defined in the Act.

Ofsted reports and cultural diversity in Hampshire schools 2005

Hampshire schools' racial incidents - by phase and type Year end 2005

Appendix 1

OFSTED reports on cultural diversity in Hampshire schools

Appendix 2

HAMPSHIRE schools racial incidents - by phase of school and type of incident- Year end 2005

Percentage of schools making returns

Appendix 3

Pupil attitude survey summary of bullying and racial abuse

question responses