Deliver an equality workshop for teachers, to help promote equality and protect children's rights in schools.
In today’s schools many children and young people are harassed because of who they are. Here are two examples: a) Disabled and LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender) pupils bear the brunt of bullying, even in schools where other forms of prejudice-based bullying are more effectively dealt with. Ofsted says this happens because staff often dismiss offensive language as banter (“No place for bullying”, Ofsted 2012); b) Racist incidents in schools have recently increased. ChildLine reports that last year more than 1,400 young people contacted the charity about racist bullying, an increase of 69%, with young Muslims reporting that they are being called "terrorists" and "bombers". Such harassment can have a detrimental effect on young people's learning and, therefore, their future life chances.
In addition, schools can help reverse widespread prejudice and discrimination in society. For example, the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) has found that hundreds of thousands of disabled people regularly experience harassment or abuse, but a culture of "collective denial" allows this to continue ("Hidden in Plain Sight, EHRC, 2011). There is a moral imperative for society to reverse this; the EHRC says that schools should help pupils understand disability and the prejudices disabled people face ("Out in the Open", EHRC, 2012).
We have produced a simple guide to help schools address equality holistically. It may take a long time to improve the lives of all marginalised pupils in all schools, but for those that it reaches the effect can be decisive. We know of no other initiative addressing all aspects of equality in schools, in such an effective and user-friendly way.
The guide has been developed in close collaboration with schools and is specifically designed for today's educators. It is a succinct set of reference cards which offer practical advice and links to further support (http://www.csie.org.uk/news/index.shtml#06032015). This is proving very popular with teachers; Equality Officers from NASUWT, one of the larger teachers’ unions, have described the guide as: “Brilliant”, “Very impressive”, “Stunning contribution”, “Excellent”, “Well laid out, easy to access”, “Very thought-provoking”.
This project will enable schools to benefit from the new guide. We will show schools in another region how the new guide can help them build on understanding and promoting equality. CSIE has an excellent track record of improving equality in education and currently has a qualified teacher at the helm. Feedback from recent CSIE equality workshops includes: "Excellent! All very clear, interesting and varied" and "This course is a must for all working in schools."
Money raised through crowdfunding will be used to cover the cost of running the workshop: venue, refreshments, materials and trainers' time and travel. Exceeding our target will enable us to run workshops in more regions. Please give generously, to help make equality real in schools.