More Than Words: Promoting Race Equality and Tackling Racism in Schools

210 Pages·2022·5.522 MB·English

by  Sarah Soyei, Kate Hollinshead

More Than Words
of related interest
Overcoming Everyday Racism
Building Resilience and Wellbeing in the Face of Discrimination and Microaggressions
Susan Cousins
ISBN 978 1 78592 850 5
eISBN 978 1 78592 851 2
Safeguarding Black Children
Good Practice in Child Protection
Edited by Claudia Bernard and Perlita Harris
ISBN 978 1 84905 569 7
eISBN 978 1 78450 011 5
How to Transform Your School into an LGBT+ Friendly Place
A Practical Guide for Nursery, Primary and Secondary Teachers
Dr Elly Barnes MBE and Dr Anna Carlile
ISBN 978 1 78592 349 4
eISBN 978 1 78450 684 1
MORE THAN
WORDS
Promoting Race Equality and
Tackling Racism in Schools
Sarah Soyei and
Kate Hollinshead
First published in Great Britain in 2023 by Jessica Kingsley Publishers
An imprint of Hodder & Stoughton Ltd
An Hachette Company
1
Copyright © Sarah Soyei and Kate Hollinshead 2023
The right of Sarah Soyei and Kate Hollinshead to be identified as
the Author of the Work has been asserted by them in accordance
with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored
in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means without
the prior written permission of the publisher, nor be otherwise circulated
in any form of binding or cover other than that in which it is published and
without a similar condition being imposed on the subsequent purchaser.
A CIP catalogue record for this title is available from the
British Library and the Library of Congress
ISBN 978 1 78775 812 4
eISBN 978 1 78775 813 1
Printed and bound in Great Britain by TJ Books Limited
Jessica Kingsley Publishers’ policy is to use papers that are natural,
renewable and recyclable products and made from wood grown in
sustainable forests. The logging and manufacturing processes are expected
to conform to the environmental regulations of the country of origin.
Jessica Kingsley Publishers
Carmelite House
50 Victoria Embankment
London EC4Y 0DZ
www.jkp.com
Contents
Preface .................................................. 7
1. Why Is This Work Important? ............................. 9
2. Starting the Journey ...................................... 31
3. Embedding Race Equality in Teaching Practice .............. 53
4. Educating Young People about Race and Racism ............. 75
5. Diversifying the Curriculum ............................... 101
6. Effectively Challenging Racist Incidents .................... 123
7. Creating Whole-School Change ............................ 155
References ................................................ 177
Subject Index ............................................. 195
Author Index ............................................. 199

Preface
Sarah Soyei and Kate Hollinshead are the co-founders and executive
directors of EqualiTeach, a not-for-profit equality and diversity training
and consultancy organization which works primarily in education. Sarah
has an MA (distinction) in Equal Opportunities and Society and has been
working in the field of equality in education since 2004 when she joined
anti-racism education charity Show Racism the Red Card. Kate has an
MA (distinction) in Managing Equality and Diversity; she started her
career in the field of equality in 2007, working for the United Nations
High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).
EqualiTeach’s mission is to inspire and empower people to create
equal, diverse and inclusive environments where everyone feels safe,
valued and able to succeed. The organization delivers workshops to
young people and staff, and governor training, provides educational
materials, and offers consultancy services. EqualiTeach also runs the
Equalities Award, an online audit tool which allows schools to bench-
mark and showcase their commitment to equality. Since its conception
in May 2013, EqualiTeach has delivered workshops to over 50,000 young
people and staff training to over 8000 educators in over 500 settings.
In 2020, we were approached by Jessica Kingsley Publishers to write
a book where we could share our experiences of working with schools to
promote race equality and tackle racism. We wanted this book to pro-
vide a practical tool giving educators a solid understanding of the issues
of race inequality in schools, with examples of good practice that will
equip people to undertake this work more effectively in their settings.
We recognized that, alongside our experiences, it was hugely impor-
tant that the voices of educators of diverse ethnicities were heard. To this
end, we approached educators and asked them to share their thoughts in
a questionnaire. Eleven educators also gave up their time to take part in
7
MORE THAN WORDS
semi-structured interviews and share their experiences in more depth.
Quotes from these contributors are displayed throughout the book and
are invaluable in bringing the lessons to life. We are extremely grateful
for the time they have given up and the insights they have shared.
This book would not have been possible without the learning that we
have gained from the incredible young people and educators with whom
we have worked over the years; without the people who provided us with
invaluable constructive criticism and questions on the initial drafts;
without the patience of our families; and without the support and input
of the amazing EqualiTeach team. We thank you all wholeheartedly.
All profits from this book will be donated to EqualiTeach’s Investing
in the Future Fund, which allows EqualiTeach to work with young peo-
ple and staff completely free of charge where settings cannot afford to
pay for these interventions. You can find out more about EqualiTeach
and the Investing in the Future Fund at: www.equaliteach.co.uk.
In addition, we are offering readers of this book a free 14-day sub-
scription to EqualiTeach’s Membership Service. This will provide access
to template policies and procedures, video guidance, consultation mate-
rials and activity plans that will assist educators to implement positive
change in their settings. Please visit www.equaliteach.co.uk/more-than-
words and use the code MoreThanWords2022 to redeem this offer.
With thanks to: Arbury Primary School, Helena Blake, Nasreen
D’Agostino, Melissa Davies-Olivek, Rachel Elgy, David Hermitt, Jennifer
Johnson, Liffy McDonnell Bond, Talycia Nayee, Chinwe Njoku, Loushaé
Pratt, Shahida Rahman, Sufian Sadiq, L’myah Sherae, Jason Tait, Rachel
Timms, Marissa Tomkins, David Tweats, Gwyneth Tweats, Hannah
Wilson, Tracy Wilson, Ebanie Xavier-Cope and Mike Yule. (Where
there are contributions from these people in this book, their names are
abbreviated to their initials.)
8