Race equity and anti-racism: introduction
HFL Education strives to support schools to create equity in opportunities to ensure that every young person succeeds. We are committed to this measure of success as a fundamental right as we believe that all our young people - regardless of their racial background, family situation and upbringing - must be supported to reach their potential. Schools play a vital role in this.
Racism exists in society and therefore also in our schools; acknowledging this is necessary before we can begin to address it. This acknowledgement allows us to identify and tackle the inequalities that impact Black, Asian and global majority ethnic groups within our society and education system and make important changes to the lives and outcomes of those we educate and care for.
HFL Education is an anti-racist organisation which is helping schools to grow in this regard. Our approach is to support schools to increase their understanding of these issues and help them eliminate practices which discriminate. We seek to support schools to become better informed and equipped to be able to incorporate and celebrate the contributions of Black, Asian and global majority ethnic groups to the whole school environment and curriculum, our shared culture, society and history.
We recognise that to be truly anti-racist we must increase our awareness and understanding about racial inequity in all its forms. We must remain conscious and proactive about the disproportionate impact of racism on specific groups. We need to strive to address inequality and challenge unfairness.
"Anti-racism is the conscious, pro-active and deliberate striving to address and eliminate inequality based on race, ethnicity and/or colour."
Source: HfL Wellbeing Team
To support schools in their anti-racist work, we advocate:
- A whole school approach
- Engagement and wellbeing (pupil, parent and carers, staff and governors)
- Staff CPD (increasing awareness, understanding, knowledge and empathy about race and racism, as well as its intersections across society)
- Curriculum audit and review (diversification and decolonisation)
- Policies and practices audit and review
- Recruitment, retention and professional development (for all staff and governors)
- Monitoring, evaluation and impact
Find out more about HfL’s anti-racist stance from our BLM statement June 2020
Find out more about the government’s guidance on the Equality Act 2010
Gov.UK: Equality Act 2010 guidance
Visit the Grid pages on Equality and Diversity
Get in touch with the HFL Education Wellbeing team on wellbeing@hfleducation.org or visit the HFL Education website for our training packages and support.
Every care has been taken to ensure the information and any recommendations on race equity and anti-racism resources are accurate at the time of publishing. Schools must make their own judgements when sharing our recommendations with staff, parents, and carers and, where appropriate, always risk assess with their pupils and whole school community in mind. Please also refer to the Grid: Terms and Conditions of Use