1

Explain how to promote anti-discriminatory practice in work

with children and young people

In AC1.5, we looked at what anti-discriminatory practice is. To recap:

Anti-discrimination practice is the encouragement of tolerance, fair treatment, and

understanding and ensuring that at school, children should never be discriminated

against, at any time, for any reason.

Anit-discrimination policies and practices.

2

Policies and practices

Some of the main practices around anti-discrimination should be built-in to the way in

which schools function, so, for example, the school's policies and procedures should

not disadvantage anyone from any of the key groups of protected characteristics.

For example, admissions policies should not make it more difficult for some people to

access the school. An example of one way in which this could happen is where an

admissions policy requires the parents to be registered on the electoral roll for the local

area. It may seem like a straightforward requirement, but if traveller families move into

the area, they are unlikely to be on the electoral register as they do not have a postal

address. Therefore traveler children may be discriminated against, under a policy such

as this.

Full participation

Practices at school should also promote participation across the curriculum and in the

school's social calendar, regardless of background or perceived ability, and they

should also clearly value diversity. For example, a charity cake stall at a primary school

that has lots of different cultures available to it, could make a special request that

people donate cakes that come from their cultures as well as traditional British ones.

Another example of valuing diversity could just be in ensuring that while during the

year, all the children get a chance to take the class stick insects home; that includes

the disadvantaged or disabled children as well as all the able children. The teacher

may fear for the lives of the stick insects with certain children, but it may not be a less

able child who accidentally kills them.

Inclusion and inclusive practice

Practicing inclusion is one of the kindest ways in which to encourage participation,

especially when some children can become quite quickly aware of their differences

from other children. They may expect to be treated differently from others, and it can

come as a happy surprise when the teacher and support staff treat them just the same

anyway. They may need extra help with certain aspects of learning, but that doesn't

mean they should be given less attention and less courtesy than other children.

That sense of belonging mentioned in a previous section is an important part of a

child's ability to settle and feel valued, and behaviour in a classroom should start with

the adults, rather than with the children, since we are there to guide and teach them

and give them learning opportunities.

One of the most important elements of promoting anti-discriminatory practice is in

being able to challenge it effectively, so that it does not incubate unabated.