THE Church of England’s education office, the National Society, has updated its recent anti-bullying guidance for church schools to incorporate a bit on stopping and tackling race-based bullying in schools.
The guidance, Flourishing for All, first appeared last July (News, 12 July 2024) and replaces the 2014 document Valuing All God’s Children. It is split into sections, the primary of which focuses on tackling homophobic, biphobic, and transphobic bullying, and includes advice on support gender-questioning pupils (News, 27 September 2024).
Feedback is being invited on the brand new section, published last week, Part C: Guidance for stopping and tackling race-based bullying, before 12 May.
Topics covered for schools include definitions and forms of race-based bullying of each children and adults, the challenge of addressing these in church schools, prevent and respond, ensuring psychological safety, and specific guidance for primary and secondary schools and diocesan boards of education.
The section introduction says: “As with bullying typically, race-based bullying can occur in various forms, including directly through physical violence or not directly through continuous hateful remarks around an individual’s racial group.
“Whether intentional or not, when actions are undertaken to cause continual offence, exclusion, harassment or harm, schools are required to guard adults and pupils inside their care.
“Race-based bullying can overlap with some types of faith-based bullying. . . While the intersection of religion and race are discussed briefly, this section of the anti-bullying guidance will primarily give attention to race.”
The guidance emphasises that “difference needs to be embraced not erased. It is crucial for church schools to embrace and have fun differences, as failing to recognise diversity (colour-blindness) may cause harm.”
It acknowledges that race-based bullying — including “persistent microaggressions” — “stays prevalent inside society” and that pupils and adults from particular ethnic groups are at the next risk of being bullied at school settings.
Church schools should “be attuned to their local context and communities”, it says, and the response should “emanate” from its Christian vision, including a “clear message” of welcome and inclusion. Policies and training needs to be in place to guard the physical, emotional, and psychological safety of all its pupils and adults.
Four more sections (D-E) are because of be published on further protected characteristics.
Give feedback at: churchofengland.tfaforms.net/f/FFAPartC
