15/01/2010

Dear Mr Walker

Re: Your request for information

Thank you for your e-mail dated 29/12/2009. As the information you requested is not personal or environmental it has been processed in accordance with the Freedom of Information Act 2000.

I have investigated your request and the answers to your questions are as follows.

1) What evidence is there that schools' equal opportunity policies are effective in combating racism?

The monitoring of racist incidents is carried out by the Common Monitoring Project (CMP) which is part of the Racial Equality Council (a voluntary organisation). Nottingham City Council's Children's Services do not collate information regarding these incidents. Therefore in accordance with section 1 of this act this information cannot be provided as it is not held by this authority.

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.

There is no central record of what initiatives schools are taking in this area. The Local Authority provides advice and guidance around community cohesion which schools access as appropriate. I have attached two documents - a) guidance on the duty to promote community cohesion, and b) schools community cohesion toolkit.

3) Can you provide me with any evidence that the measures listed above have been effective (if this has not already been done)?

As per the above answer, this is not something that would be recorded by the Local Authority, so again in accordance with section 1 of this act this information cannot be provided as it is not held by this authority. Because schools are effectively responsible for their own data control, it would be advisable to approach the schools directly to find out if any measures they have taken have had an effect on the number of incidences reported.

4) Are further measures required to either maintain trust in the teaching profession or protect children and young people?

Please see answer to Q3.

Most of the information that we provide in response to Freedom of Information Act 2000 requests will be subject to copyright protection. In most cases the copyright will be owned by Nottingham City Council. The copyright in other information may be owned by another person or organisation, as indicated in the information itself.

You are free to use any information supplied for your own use, including for non commercial research purposes. The information may also be used for the purposes of news reporting. However, any other type of re-use, for example, by publishing the information or issuing copies to the public will require the permission of the copyright

owner.

For information where the copyright is owned by the Council details of the conditions on re-use can be obtained by contacting the Information Governance Office of Nottingham City Council at The Guildhall, Nottingham, NG1 4BT or by telephoning us on (0115) 9154155. For information where the copyright is owned by another person or organisation, you must apply to the copyright owner to obtain their permission.

If you should have any questions please do not hesitate to contact me on the above number quoting your personal case reference which is IGO/09-6479.

If you are not satisfied with the response provided or any exemptions applied you should write in the first instance to Stephanie Pearson, Information Governance, The Guildhall, Burton Street, Nottingham, NG1 4BT stating the reasons for your dissatisfaction. If you remain dissatisfied after receiving a response to your initial complaint you can request an independent review from the Information Commissioner's Office at FOI/EIR Complaints Resolution, Information Commissioner's Office, Wycliffe House, Water Lane, Wilmslow, Cheshire SK9 5AF. You may also contact the Information Commissioner's Office by telephone on 01625 545745 or by email at [email address].

Yours sincerely

Kieran Williams

Information Governance Officer

Information Governance

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