The Race Amendment Act 2000

This Act amended the the Race Relations Act of 1976 and its aim ‘is to make promoting race equality central to the way public authorities work’. It continues:

The general duty says that the body must have due regard to the need to:

■ eliminate unlawful racial discrimination; and

■ promote equality of opportunity and good relations between people of different racial groups. (DfES, 08.01.2004b)

Specific duties were also given to schools to improve the educational experience of all children, but in particular those belonging to ethnic minority groups. These duties are:

■ to prepare a written statement of the school’s policy for promoting race equality, and to act upon it;

■ to assess the impact of school policies on pupils, staff and parents of different racial groups, including, in particular, the impact of attainment levels of these pupils;

■ to monitor the operation of all the school’s policies, including, in particular their impact on the attainment levels of pupils from different racial groups; and

■ to take reasonable steps to make available the results of its monitoring. (DfES, 08.01.2004b)

These specific duties can be enforced by a compliance notice (a legal document) issued by the Commission for Racial Equality (CRE). The CRE have produced a Statutory Code of Practice with practical advice and also a guide for schools. OFSTED specifically looks at how well schools are progressing with developing these duties.

Discussion

■ Consider how many of these specific duties are in working practice in a known educational setting.

■ Were you aware that schools had these specific duties? How many of your colleagues are aware of them?