Information for schools

The race equality impact assessment considers the likely effects of a proposed reorganisation of support for pupils from minority ethnic groups in Medway schools. It follows a format prescribed in guidance by the Commission for Racial Equality.

It sets out the previous arrangements for support, along with the legal context in which the council works. It also describes the aims of the proposed changes. It goes on to describe the options for change and the early consultation process with Medway schools.

The report examines the likely impact of the proposed changes and describes a detailed consultation process in which the council sent out questionnaires to almost 4,000 minority ethnic families in Medway. Nearly 700 responses were received and these are analysed in the report.

The conclusion is that the existing service arrangements are not adequately meeting the needs of Medway’s minority ethnic pupils and that a reorganisation is required. This should focus more on giving a strategic direction to schools and the council, as well as advising on good practice and monitoring performance. It also makes clear that, while most families are happy with the support for learning provided in schools (and in fact, pupils from a number of minority ethnic groups consistently perform above the Medway average) there are more concerns about the degree to which schools take account of religious and cultural issues. There are also concerns about how schools deal with bullying and racist behaviour.

To take account of these findings, the original proposals for reorganisation were modified to give the new strategic service a wider brief, so that it can deal with these issues.

Race equality impact assessment - support for pupils from minority ethnic groups in Medway schools (pdf 136KB) is available to be downloaded. To use this file, you will need Adobe Acrobat Reader. If you do not have this on your computer, please use our advice page.

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