Morningside Primary School is a rights respecting school. This means we put the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) at the heart of everything we do. There are 54 articles in the convention; as a school we promote children’s rights and empower them to become global citizens. The UNCRC recognises that all children around the world are entitled to these rights.
As Hackney Headteachers, we jointly affirm our full commitment and continued action to the best possible safeguarding of every child in our care, ensuring a safeguarding first approach always applies. We know that we have already been doing work to eliminate racism in our schools, but recognise that there is much work to be done. We recognise that Black and Global Majority children face racism in Hackney and beyond: we are committed to and will act on taking forward anti-racist practice.
In Hackney we are ambitious, caring and inclusive in working for every child. As educationalists we will work jointly, with our children, their families, our staff and with other professionals, particularly with our Black and Global Majority stakeholders, in building on the strong work already in our schools, towards being a beacon of excellence in inclusion and anti-racism.
We are committed to revisiting staff training and guidance to ensure that all staff:
-feel confident that their duty to safeguard the children in our care comes above any other need,
– understand, and are able to counteract, any assumptions or actions that may lead to children being treated unfairly or unjustly.
– are able to act to protect children in crisis as if they were our own, seeking senior leader support if needed.
We are committed to supporting and challenging each other to ensure this happens.At Morningside, we are committed to creating an equitable environment, where all cultures and identities are recognised and feel empowered to explore and express what matters to them. Through an anti-racist approach, we work with our staff, parents and children to ensure our provision responds to the diverse needs of our learners and their communities. Our aim is to support the children in understanding their own rights and the rights of others; show tolerance and celebrate diversity in society and understand the consequences of racism and have the ability to challenge it.
Staff Professional Development
We are dedicated to improving the racial literacy of our staff through discussion and recognition of racial inequalities. In turn, our staff have the awareness and confidence to explore race within the classroom; challenge racial inequalities, assumptions and racism.
Ongoing anti-racist professional development we offer our staff are:
- Unconscious Bias Training
- Anti-Racist Training Workshops
- Diversifying literature in EYFS
- All staff provided with copies of “Black and British,” by David Olusoga to enhance their understanding of Black British History
- Parental Involvement
- We seek to actively engage our parents and carers in our anti-racist approach, through listening and valuing their insight into how our school can promote racial-literacy and anti-racism. We also provide support to our parents to ensure the work we are doing in the classroom is continued at home, so our children are confident advocates of tolerance, empathy and racial-equality.We involve our parents and carers in the following ways:
- Talking to Parents about Race and Racism
- Parent Steering Group
- Online safety meetings with parents on how to keep children safe online