To ask what my sons school is doing to educate against racism

[upintheloft]

As the title says. Would I be unreasonable to ask the headteacher what they’re doing to talk to the kids about racism? With the rise in hate and intolerance I strongly believe this message starts at home, at school and from a young age. We live in a predominantly white British area and I want to know what they’re doing. I know they have PSHE but I think this topic needs more focus and whilst I can help my own kids I think this is a broader topic that needs to be addressed. Would I be unreasonable to email the head to ask him what they plan to do to address this?

I am sure the school will have a policy and curriculum on the subject of racism. They should be happy to share those with you by email if you request them. If you read those and feel that they are inadequate then I don’t think it’s unreasonable to ask for a discussion with the Head about this.

Alternatively you could teach him instead of expecting the school to do everything.
Personally I think it’s too late by the time they get to school, children pick up opinions from home.

They are required to teach/uphold 'British values', which includes tolerance. They are likely to have info on their website about how they do this but if it's not there it's fine to ask.

I don’t expect the school to do everything. I’m asking because I don’t know and I don’t think enough is being don’t in general but I’m more than happy to teach or share knowledge/resources where relevant

Sadly doesn’t feel like a value we have anymore

Has there been any incidents at the school which make you doubt they are?

There are only a handful of mixed heritage, black or Asian kids in our school. I don’t know of their experiences directly. My kids are mixed heritage white but haven’t experienced it but my husband has (obviously not at the school). But just because our kids haven’t experienced it, it doesn’t mean it shouldn’t be taught. I don’t want the school to be passive as it doesn’t affect many kids there.

Not unreasonable to ask how they are covering it as part of the curriculum.
Totally unreasonable to ask that they do more because you are worried about it. If you are worried, cover it at home. You don’t get to set the agenda at school, and nor should you.

IMO the best way for schools to do this is to model tolerance themselves. My kids school do this really well. When a child mentions their traveller community or that they are celebrating Hannukah at home, the teachers show an interest and encourage them to share with the class if they want to. I think it's important that this is child-led though. Occasional racist incidents are dealt with robustly.

I think there is a risk if you go overboard that it sounds forced and even insincere. Once they decided to go big into celebrating Black History Month but there was only one black kid in the whole school and she (obviously!) felt singled out.

I wasn't saying the school shouldn't teach it

But if they had given you reason to think they weren't teaching well enough/were letting incidents pass

You just seem to have gone all guns blazing for something that may not be the case

It certainly is not too late by the time they reach school. The idea that people are unable to be reformed by school age has society well and truly fucked.

Jesus. Aren't you worthy. Why stop at racism? Why not make a list of other stuff that you think they should teach as well? They probably haven't thought about anything at all.

I teach my son that it is NOT okay to be racist, but I also expect schools to touch on why racism isn't okay, at the very least. Yes, it starts at home, but schools need to encourage these conversations too.

This topic is covered by legal requirement.

Otherwise, the best kind of education they can receive is through direct involvement with other cultures and the messages they receive at home. What are you doing to ensure their exposure? What are you saying at home / showing them on TV (news etc) to ensure their broadmindedness?

Your school should have a statement /policy on thier website thats called Equalities Informatiin and Objectived.

It should tell you what they are doing.

You can always feedback areas they coukd improve on ready for thier next set of objectives.

Before troubling the headteacher, have a look at the school website. There will all sorts of policies for you to read as well as details about the PSHE and RE curriculum. You could also volunteer as a school governor so you can gain a clearer understanding of what happens in the school.

I raised it with my dc head of year.

Dd has fallen out with a long standing friend because she used the n word and dd called her out. The child’s mum said “it’s just a word and everyone uses it” then called dd a bully for saying her dd was using racist language. I pointed out it is racist language and there’s no debate, it’s a word that shouldn’t ever be used by a white person. Apparently I need to get over myself. She went on to criticise my parenting and said she was best friends with her dd and she’s sad that I don’t have that with my dd and don’t know her at all. I then kicked her out of my house. (Dd and I are very close but no, I’m not her friend, I’m her mum. Dd also tells me a lot but she’s a teen and I accept I might not know everything. She’s mostly at home so I’m fairly sure she’s not up to too much mischief.)

What has you arguing with another parent got to do with your child's Head of Year?

The general use of the N word in her year group and the fact that clearly parents are not providing appropriate education 🤷🏻‍♀️ (and the bullying accusations from the other parent about my dc). The incident occurred in school. Which part would a head of year not be interested in? (FYI, head of year was interested and it was included in pastoral classes later that term).

Most schools have a policy

I think valid to ask the question, find out as suggested from the school website and perhaps at parents' evening first. Even more appropriate to ask given that it seems racism is just if not more likely to happen in areas where there are few people of colour.

Teach it to them yourself, it’s not the responsibility of a school to do this. They can reinforce social values via policies but they have enough to do without taking on parental responsibilities too.
I’m married to a teacher before you ask.

I’m a teacher- I can assure you this is a massive focus in schools currently and they have a statutory duty with regards to promoting equality and an anti-racist agenda. Have you checked the school website if you want more detail? There will be a policy there and possibly more information. So no personally, I wouldn’t be emailing the HT about this as unless you have reason to have concerns that this isn’t happening-if not, then it will be.