Jesters Kids Club Dealing with Racial Harassment Policy 

Jesters is committed to promoting tolerance and fairness towards all members of staff, students, volunteers, children and parents/carers. We fully and wholeheartedly adhere to both the spirit and detail of both the Race Relations Act 1976 and the Race Relations (Amendment) Act 2000, which outlaw discrimination against anyone on grounds of race, colour, nationality or ethnicity.

Jesters accepts its duty to try to eliminate discrimination and to promote equality of opportunity and good race relations. All staff and children at Jesters are entitled to an environment free from harassment and discrimination, as outlined in the Equal Opportunities policy.

Preventing Racial Harassment and Discrimination
Proactive steps can be taken to prevent racial harassment and discrimination, and Jesters believes that this is more effective than tackling a situation once it has already occurred. Therefore, alongside the procedures outlined later in this policy to deal with incidents of racial harassment and discrimination, Jesters will:

 Ensure that all children are valued, irrespective of their race, colour, nationality or ethnicity.

 Encourage individuals to treat each other with respect, regardless of their race, colour, nationality or ethnicity.

 Acknowledge the existence of racism in society and take steps to promote harmonious race relations in our community.

 Promote good relations between different ethnic groups and cultures within Jesters and in the wider community.

 Ensure that different cultural and religious needs are met, understood and communicated to all individuals involved in Jesters.

Examples of Racial Harassment and Discrimination
Racial harassment and discrimination can manifest itself in a variety of ways, some overt and others much less so. Some examples of unacceptable behaviour include:

 he use of patronising words or actions towards an individual for racial reasons – including name calling, insults and racial jokes.

 hreats made against a person or group of people because of their race, colour, nationality or ethnicity.

 acist graffiti or any other written insults or the distribution of racist literature.

 hysical assault or abuse against a person or group of people because of their race, colour, nationality or ethnicity.

All staff and children should be encouraged to take responsibility for promoting racial tolerance and for protecting each other from racial harassment and discrimination by reporting any suspected incident to the Team Leader or another responsible person.

Jesters as an Employer
As an employer, Jesters is committed to ensuring that the workforce reflects the multicultural community that it serves. To this end, Jesters will:

 dvertise job vacancies in a variety of media sources and outlets and in a variety of places.

 nsure that Jester’s human resource procedures prohibit racial discrimination and harassment, and investigate any concerns when this is suspected of failing.

 nvestigate any allegation of racial discrimination or harassment according to the provisions of the Staff Disciplinary Procedures and Behaviour Management policies.

 ollect and monitor information about the ethnic background of the staff team and children.

Addressing Racial Harassment and Discrimination
If a member of staff or a child becomes aware of an incident of racial harassment or discrimination occurring at Jesters, they will be encouraged to report the incident to the Team Leader or other senior member of staff.

Any allegation made against a member of staff or a child will be investigated thoroughly. The individual concerned will be told that such behaviour will not be tolerated at Jesters, and that steps will have to be taken to ensure that it does not happen again.

Each incident will be fully investigated and details will be recorded in a separate section of the Incident Record Book.

In the case of children, incidents will be reported to their parent/carer and a course of action agreed upon to resolve the situation, in accordance with the provisions of the Behaviour Management policy. However, if a solution cannot be found, then the Club may have to inform the child – and their parent/carer – that they are no longer able to attend sessions at Jesters, in accordance with the Suspensions and Exclusions policy.

In the case of staff, provisions within the Staff Disciplinary Procedures policy will be activated and a record of the incident will be kept and made available to statutory authorities if appropriate.

The Director is responsible for ensuring that all incidents are handled both professionally and sensitively. All incidents will be kept confidential, with initials being used in the place of names in the Incident Record book. In cases where the Manager is involved in an allegation, the Registered Person will handle the incident, or nominate a senior member of staff in their place.

In all cases, continued racial harassment or discrimination from any individual will result in exclusion from Jesters, where all other efforts have failed to provide a satisfactorily resolution.

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Jesters Kids Clubs, Main Road, Bicknacre, Essex, 
Main Office Tel: 01245 222384