Woodmill Building
Mark Walker
Neckinger
London SE16 3QN
Email –
[email address]
By Email: request-24772-
[email address]
Tel: 020 7525 5249
Fax: 020 7525 3955
Website - www.southwark.gov.uk
29 January 2010
Dear Mr Walker,
Re: Your request for information: 4517
Thank you for your request for information received on 18 December 2009 in which you
requested:
Please provide the following information under the Freedom of Information Act 2000.
1) What evidence is there that schools’ equal opportunity policies are effective in
combating racism?
2) What are schools in your area doing to promote racial equality and promote
community cohesion? Examples of measures deemed to be good practice and
recognised as being successful would be useful.
3) Can you provide me with any evidence that the measures listed above have been
effective (if this has not already been done)?
4) Are further measures required to either maintain trust in the teaching profession or
protect children and young people?
In answer to your questions:
1. Schools in Southwark report all racist incidents. I have attached a spreadsheet
showing reported racist incidents for 2004 to 2009, which shows a decline over this
period. It is of course not possible to determine how much of this was due to Southwark
Council’s policies and how much to other factors.
2. All schools are required to evaluate their performance in the areas of racial equality
and social cohesion through their Self Evaluation Form. School Improvement Partners
validate these judgements. Ofsted (the Office for Standards in Education, Children’s
Services and Skills) also scrutinises the evidence given, seeks parental views and
issues reports on individual schools. Ofsted reports on schools in Southwark have
been very positive on these points. In particular each school is required to report and
has been judged on:
The extent to which pupils feel safe
•
the extent to which pupils feel safe from different forms of harassment and bullying,
including those related to faith, race (including Gypsy / Roma and Travellers of Irish
Heritage) gender, sexuality or disability
•
Whether or not pupils know how to complain and ask for help
The effectiveness with which the school promotes equal opportunity and tackles
discrimination
•
The extent to which the school has regard for the Human Rights Act by promoting
respect for human rights through developing understanding about differences and
valuing diverse experiences
•
the emphasis the school gives to processes and provision to promote equality and
eliminate discrimination and ensure that stereotypical views are challenged
•
How the school manages incidents and complaints
The effectiveness of safeguarding procedures
•
The extent to which the school encourages and enables pupils to report any
concerns or complaints including concerns about poor or abusive practices.
The extent to which the school promotes community cohesion
•
The extent to which leaders and managers have placed due emphasis on each of
the three strands of religion, ethnicity and socio-economic dimension in shaping the
school's response to its analysis.
Southwark Council also works with schools to promote social cohesion through the
Ethnic Minority Achievement Team. The work of this team is described on the
Southwark Council website here.
3. In addition to the figures on racist incidents in schools, I am attaching a copy of the
Audit Commission’s 2009 Area Assessment for Southwark. This rates Southwark as
exceptional for social cohesion. Again, it is not possible to determine how much of this
was due to the council’s policies. However, in March 2009 Southwark Council was
awarded beacon status for its community work by the Improvement and Development
Agency for Local Government (IDeA).
4. This question is requesting an opinion, rather than specific information. It is however
Southwark Council’s policy that all schools should remain vigilant to ensure incidents of
racism are recognised and addressed, as well as having a programme in place to
prevent racist incidents in the first place.'
This information is being provided as a statutory obligation under the Freedom of
Information Act 2000 and the Data Protection Act 1998.
You are free to use the information provided for your own purposes, including any non-
commercial research you are doing and for the purposes of news reporting. Any other
re-use, for example commercial publication, requires the permission of the copyright
holder. You may apply for permission to re-use this information by submitting a
request to [Southwark Borough Council request email]; you can find details on these arrangements
at http://www.southwark.gov.uk/YourCouncil/Copyright. Detailed advice about the
Reuse of Public Sector Information Regulations (PSI) 2005 is available from the Office
of Public Sector Information at:
http://www.opsi.gov.uk/advice/index.htm.
If you have any queries or concerns then please contact us using the above details.
If you are unhappy with the service you have received in relation to your request and
wish to make an appeal for a review of our decision, you should write to the Corporate
Freedom of Information Manager at:
Corporate Freedom of Information Manager
Southwark Council
160 Tooley Street
PO BOX 64529
London
SE1P 5LX
Email: [Southwark Borough Council request email]
If you are not content with the outcome of your appeal you may apply directly to the
Information Commissioner for a decision. Generally, the Information Commissioner
cannot make a decision unless you have first exhausted our internal appeal procedure
and you should contact him within 2 months of the outcome of your internal appeal.
Further information on the Freedom of Information Act is available through the
Information Commissioner at the:
Information Commissioner's Office
Wycliffe House
Water Lane
Wilmslow
Cheshire.
SK9 5AF
Telephone: 01625 545 700
Internet: www.informationcommissioner.gov.uk
Yours sincerely,
Sean Harrington
Information Governance Officer – Children’s Services
