Select Committee on Education and Skills Minutes of Evidence


Memorandum submitted by the Commission for Racial Equality

SUMMARY OF OBSERVATIONS

  1.  The Commission for Racial Equality and Ofsted have a shared interest in working together to embed the equality dimension within education, to ensure that the needs of ethnic minority children are met and that positive race equality outcomes are achieved.

  2.  Particular areas of concern for ethnic minority pupils are the persistently lower levels of attainment and the higher rates of exclusion from school.

  3.  The Inspector's proposal that there is scope for a more focused evaluation of how pupils progress in order to address differential attainment levels of ethnic minority children is welcome.

  4.  The early years sector should also consider how it can address the needs of ethnic minority children, including Traveller, asylum seeking and refugee children.

  5.  The new race equality duty framework is proving helpful in ensuring that education authorities and schools proactively identify and tackle differentials between children of different ethnic backgrounds.

  6.  Effective leadership in schools can ensure a climate where equality of opportunity and anti-racism are part of the ethos.

  7.  Schools should have strategies in place to meet the needs of children who are advanced EAL learners.

  8.  Effective interventions are needed to address the lack of engagement of traveller children in secondary education.

  9.  The Commission is concerned to note that the programme for citizenship is unsatisfactory in over half of the schools.

  10.  The development of links and partnerships between schools and their communities is important for the creation and maintenance of community and social cohesion.

  11.  There is a need to address poor practice in relation to harassment and bullying through appropriate training.

  12.  Effective parental/school partnerships will be enhanced by the use of appropriate communication methods.

  13.  Further education colleges need to implement race equality measures to address ethnic minority participation an achievement.

  14.  Attention should be paid to the disproportionate impact of education provision on ethnic minority youth in young offender institutions.

  15.  The needs of children in alternative education projects must be addressed.

  16.  Training providers should have in place strategies to recruit trainees from ethnic minority groups and address the training needs of teachers of English as an additional language.

  17.  LEAs need to improve the measures they have in place to combat racism.

1.  INTRODUCTION

  1.1  The Commission for Racial Equality (CRE) welcomes this opportunity to comment on the Report of the Chief Inspector on Standards and Quality in Education.

  1.2  The CRE was established under the provisions of the Race Relations Act 1976 as an independent statutory body. We work to eliminate racial discrimination and to promote equality of opportunity and good relations between racial groups.

  1.3  In 2000 the Act was amended to give public authorities a general statutory duty to have due regard to the need to eliminate racial discrimination and promote equality and good race relations. In addition to this general duty, specific duties apply to schools and colleges. Schools have to:

    —  draw up and periodically review a written statement of their race equality policy; and

    —  assess and monitor the impact of their policies on pupils, staff and parents of different racial groups, especially with regard to attainment.

  1.4  Colleges of further education have very similar duties and, in addition, they are required to monitor employment. The monitoring of employment in schools is the responsibility of local education authorities. In addition to the general duty, and in common with other government departments, Ofsted has specific duties to draw up a race equality scheme and carry out monitoring in employment.

  1.5  The Amendment Act provisions were government's response to the findings of the Stephen Lawrence Inquiry. They were intended to deal with the effects of institutional discrimination and to ensure that the benefits of public services are enjoyed equally, irrespective of the racial group of citizens.

2.  RACE EQUALITY IN EDUCATION

  2.1  The Commission and Ofsted have a shared interest in working to address racial inequality and embed the equality dimension in education. We value the relationship which has been established between us and look forward to working together to ensure that the needs of ethnic minority children in education are met and that positive race equality outcomes are achieved.

  2.2  While the report reflects the fact that progress is being made, areas of concern remain, particularly at school level, including the persistently lower levels of attainment and the higher rates of exclusion from school of certain ethnic minority groups.

  2.3  Evidence shows that:

    —  By Key Stage 3 it is estimated that only 15-20% of Gypsy and traveller children are registered or regularly attend school[12]

    —  Black Caribbean pupils are more than three times more likely and black "other" pupils are just under three times more likely to be permanently excluded than white pupils[13]

    —  28% of black Caribbean secondary school pupils, and 23% of Pakistani and Bangladeshi pupils were recorded as having special education needs compared to 18% of white pupils[14]

    —  Boys of Bangladeshi, black African, black Caribbean and Pakistani origin are far less likely to get five or more GCSEs than their white counterparts.

    —  While black Caribbean pupils have better than average levels of attainment at Key Stage 1, this declines so that they are one of the lowest attaining groups at GCSE where they are 28% below the national average; Yemeni and Somali pupils have the lowest attainment overall.

    —  In the FE sector all groups of minority ethnic learners have lower levels of achievement than white students[15]

  2.4  We understand that Ofsted is undertaking a thematic inspection for race equality in relation to schools and LEAs and look forward to the opportunity jointly to consider the findings.

3.  THE CHIEF INSPECTOR'S COMMENTARY

  3.1  The Chief Inspector reports an increase in the capacity to analyse how individuals and groups of learners are achieving and notes the finding that "groups from different minority ethnic backgrounds perform very differently". We welcome his proposal that there is scope for a more focused evaluation of how pupils progress.

  3.2  The commentary refers to asylum seeker pupils who often have needs which require specific interventions and responses. We would also add Gypsy and traveller children, who are particularly marginalised from the education system as Ofsted itself has reported.

  3.3  In the section on The work ahead we welcome the full-scale review of Ofsted's processes for inspecting schools and colleges. Inspectorates can be a powerful mechanism for raising quality standards and addressing institutional issues including those which may result in disadvantage for minority ethnic children in education.

4.  CHILDCARE AND EARLY LEARNING

  4.1  We are conscious of the importance of early years learning in establishing a basis upon which children can build as they move into the primary sector. We would encourage the sector to consider how it can address appropriately the needs of minority ethnic children, including traveller, asylum seeking and refugee children, as the provision of a high quality, accessible service in the early years will help these children to integrate more swiftly into the education system generally.

  4.2  It is not clear whether Ofsted has access to data by ethnicity for children in the childcare sector; this would be an important first step in determining the level of provision across communities as well as the gaps which may need to be addressed.

5.  NURSERY AND PRIMARY EDUCATION

  5.1  The gender gap in achievement referred to in paragraph 38 is an example of the importance of monitoring the progress of children across a range of variables. By doing so schools and educationalists can understand better the dynamics of the problem in order to design and deliver appropriate solutions. The race equality duty now provides a useful framework for proactively identifying adverse impact and tackling differentials between children of different ethnic backgrounds, and inspecting effectively for this.

  5.2  Leadership and management in primary schools are addressed on pages 20 and 21 of the report in respect of subjects, governing bodies, accommodation and resources. We consider that effective leadership can also play an important role in creating a climate where equality of opportunity and anti-racist strategies underpin and are integral to the ethos of a school.

  5.3  Equality of opportunity is addressed in paragraph 73 and it is encouraging to note that around 66% of schools are considered to "provide equality of opportunity well". This means, of course, that one third may not be doing so and this would need to be addressed as a matter of urgency.

  5.4  HMI appears to define equality of opportunity in the primary sector as having "full access to the curriculum" with "barriers to learning . . . identified and overcome." The report does not specify whether the steps taken to address barriers to learning include addressing differential levels of attainment of ethnic minority children, including traveller children. Further detail on the "vital contribution" of ethnic minority achievement grant staff would also be helpful.

  5.5  It is worrying to note that only "a minority of schools" have strategies in place to meet the needs of children who are advanced EAL learners (paragraph 75). This is particularly so given the report's acknowledgement in paragraphs 112 and 107 that in two out of three primary and secondary schools EAL speakers make at least good progress.

  5.6  We are encouraged by the finding that three quarters of schools covered by the report provide good or better extra curricular activities and would suggest that, if not already in place, ways be found to share the examples of the good practice referred to in paragraph 81.

6.  SECONDARY EDUCATION

  6.1  The report identifies the differential attainment levels of some ethnic minority children and white boys from poorer socio-economic backgrounds (paragraph 105). It goes on to mention "as a matter of serious concern" the lack of engagement by traveller children in secondary education. In this, as in other areas, we would welcome the opportunity to discuss with Ofsted the types of interventions and strategies which may help to address these issues. (paragraph 115)

  6.2  The report considers the race equality duty at paragraph 162; the addition of an analysis of schools' responses to their obligations and, in particular, what steps are being taken to address long-standing and well substantiated areas of concern for ethnic minority children would have been particularly helpful here and we would welcome a stronger focus on this in future reports

  6.3  Note our comments in 5.2 about leadership and management.

  6.4  The report makes it clear that more work is needed both in relation to cultural development, particularly in schools without pupils and teachers from a range of backgrounds, and in the study of citizenship. The Commission is concerned to note that the programme for citizenship is unsatisfactory in over half of the schools (paragraph 144); this needs to be addressed as a matter of urgency.

  6.5  We see the development of links and partnerships between schools and their communities as important for the creation and maintenance of community and social cohesion (paragraph 152). Schools have a significant role to play here and have much to gain from developing a better understanding of the communities in which they are located. The report states that ". . . fewer schools evaluate the benefits of these links" and it may be that the provision of guidance on ways to undertake such an analysis would encourage more schools to do so.

  6.6  We are encouraged by the progress which is being made to combat harassment and bullying (paragraphs 160 and 161); however the findings point to the need to address poor practice through the provision of appropriate training for inexperienced and temporary staff.

  6.7  We have already pointed to the opportunity which the race equality duty provides to address seriously the persistent racial inequalities that the Chief Inspector notes in his report. And while the report contains some evidence of the response of schools and colleges to the race equality duty (see paragraph 162), we look forward to the opportunity to consider in more detail how the sector is using this lever to improve education outcomes for minority pupils.

  6.8  The features of effective parental/school partnerships (paragraph 166) provide a useful checklist against which schools can assess and then improve their relationship with parents. The use of appropriate communication methods is particularly important when English is not the language spoken in the home or where levels of literacy are low, as is found among the traveller community.

7.  POST-COMPULSORY EDUCATION

  7.1  The Chief Inspector reports that "generally colleges have developed race equality policies . . . and most have made at least satisfactory progress in the initial stages of implementation." Importantly, this includes monitoring in relation to ethnic minority participation and achievement. However, given the Chief Inspector's concerns that not enough is being done in a number of areas, it would appear that many colleges have yet to move beyond the process stage of implementing equality measures to identify the outcomes to which these measures are directed and monitor progress towards their achievement. This will need to be rectified if real change is to come about.

  7.2  The report is critical of the quality of education in young offender institutions. It should be noted that such failings have a very disproportionate impact on some ethnic minority groups and is for the CRE a significant concern.

8.  EDUCATION IN SPECIAL SCHOOLS AND PUPIL REFERRAL UNITS

  8.1  Paragraph 302 talks of the unsatisfactory nature of alternative education projects, the use of unqualified teachers and the inability to promote reintegration into mainstream education for children who have dropped out or been excluded. We consider that particular attention needs to be paid to the needs of these children; otherwise they will only be further marginalized and disadvantaged.

9.  TEACHER TRAINING, DEVELOPMENT AND SUPPLY

  9.1  Paragraph 361 points to the need for training providers seriously to address how they recruit trainees from ethnic minority groups. Equal opportunity training for recruiters should be required, steps should be taken to ensure that providers understand what is permitted under the positive action provisions of the Race Relations Act, and race equality action plans should set out the measures to be taken to encourage more ethnic minority recruits.

  9.2  It is clear from the report that there is a need for training providers to address the training needs of those who will teach pupils for whom English is an additional language (paras 366 and 376), including taking account of skills and experience acquired outside the training environment. The importance of doing so is reinforced by the Chief Inspector's earlier observations at paragraphs 42 and 107 on the progress EASL pupils can make.

10.  LOCAL EDUCATION AUTHORITIES

  10.  While it is somewhat encouraging that nine out of 10 LEAs inspected were determined to be "satisfactory" or better in how support was provided for minority ethnic pupils, including travellers, the fact that only one quarter were deemed to be "good" in their provision (paragraph 455) indicates that a lot more needs to be done in this area.

  10.2  This is supported by the Chief Inspector's comments in paragraph 477 in relation to measures to combat racism, where he finds it "seriously worrying that in a quarter of LEAs inspected support was unsatisfactory". Clearly, work needs to begin as a matter of urgency to remedy this situation and to address issues such as the reporting of racist incidents and consultation with representative groups.

February 2004





12   Ofsted The education of Traveller children: a survey of educational provision for Travelling children (1996). Back

13   DfES National Statistics First Release, SFR 16/2003. Back

14   DWP Opportunity for all, 2003. Back

15   Challenging Racism: further education leading the way. Back


 
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