Dealing with Discriminatory Behaviour Policy

Dealing with Discriminatory Behaviour Policy

This may form part of your Inclusion and equality policy rather than a standalone policy. This policy also links to Safeguarding children and child protection, Prevent duty and radicalisation and Whistleblowing policies.

At Rabbit Patch Day Nursery, we do not tolerate discriminatory behaviour and take action to tackle discrimination. We believe that parents have a right to know if discrimination occurs and what actions the nursery will take to tackle it. We follow our legal duties in relation to discrimination and record all perceived or actual incidents relating to discrimination on any grounds and report these where relevant to children’s parents and the registering authority.

Definition and legal framework

Types of discrimination

• Direct discrimination occurs when someone is treated less favourably than another person because of a protected characteristic
• Discrimination by association occurs when there is a direct discrimination against a person because they associate with a person who has a protected characteristic
• Discrimination by perception occurs when there is a direct discrimination against a person because they are perceived to have a protected characteristic
• Indirect discrimination can occur where a provision, criterion or practice is in place which applies to everyone in the organisation but particularly disadvantages people who share a protected characteristic and that provision, criterion or practice cannot be justified as a proportionate means of achieving a legitimate aim
• Harassment is defined as ‘unwanted conduct related to a relevant protected characteristic, which has the purpose or effect of violating an individual’s dignity or creating an intimidating, hostile, degrading, humiliating or offensive environment for that individual’
• Victimisation occurs when an employee is treated badly or put to detriment because they have made or supported a complaint or raised grievance under the Equality Act 2010 or have been suspected of doing so.

Protected characteristics

The nine protected characteristics under the Equality Act 2010 are:

• Age
• Disability
• Gender reassignment
• Race
• Religion or belief
• Sex
• Sexual orientation
• Marriage and civil partnership
• Pregnancy and maternity.

Incidents may involve a small or large number of persons, they may vary in their degree of offence and may not even recognise the incident has discriminatory implications, or at the other extreme their behaviour may be quite deliberate and blatant.

Examples of discriminatory behaviour are:

• Physical assault against a person or group of people
• Derogatory name calling, insults and discriminatory jokes
• Graffiti and other written insults (depending on the nature of what is written)
• Provocative behaviour such as wearing badges and insignia and the distribution of discriminatory literature
• Threats against a person or group of people pertaining to the nine protected characteristics listed above
• Discriminatory comments including ridicule made in the course of discussions
• Patronising words or actions.

Our procedures

We tackle discrimination by:

• Providing inclusive early years practice where all staff are able to identify, understand and break down barriers to participation and belonging and create an ethos of equality
• Consistently promoting the British values of democracy, the rule of law, individual liberty, mutual respect and tolerance of different faiths and beliefs to all practitioners, children and families in the setting. We value diversity and celebrate differences in children and families
• Providing training and support around this subject to support staff understanding and confidence in challenging discriminatory practice
• Challenging any observed instances of inequalities, discrimination and prejudice as they arise in play, conversation, books or other contexts from practitioners, children and families and follow this policy, as outlined below, to ensure that discriminatory behaviours against the protected characteristics are not tolerated within our setting
• Ensuring all children and families have a sense of belonging and they can see themselves and their family’s identity reflected in the setting
• Expecting all staff in the nursery to be aware of and alert to any discriminatory behaviour, stereotyping, bias or bullying taking place in person or via an online arena
• Expecting all staff to intervene firmly and quickly to prevent any discriminatory behaviour or bullying, including behaviour from parents and other staff members
• Expecting all staff to treat any allegation seriously and report it to the nursery manager. Investigating and recording each incident in detail as accurately as possible and making this record available for inspection by staff, inspectors and parents where appropriate, on request. The nursery manager is responsible for ensuring that incidents are handled appropriately and sensitively and recorded appropriately. Any patterns of behaviour should be noted. Perpetrator’s and victim’s initials may be used in the record.
• Ensuring any online bullying or discriminatory behaviour is tackled immediately
• Informing the parents of the child(ren) who are perpetrators and/or victims of the incident and of the outcome, where an allegation is substantiated following an investigation
• Excluding or dismissing any individuals who display continued discriminatory behaviour or bullying, but such steps will only be taken when other strategies have failed to modify behaviour. This includes any employees where any substantiated allegation after investigation leads to disciplinary procedures (please see the Disciplinary procedures).

We record any incidents of discriminatory behaviour or bullying to ensure that:

• Strategies are developed to prevent future incidents
• Patterns of behaviour are identified
• Persistent offenders are identified
• Effectiveness of nursery policies are monitored
• A secure information base is provided to enable the nursery to respond to any discriminatory behaviour or bullying.

If the behaviour shown by an individual is deemed to be radicalised, we will follow our procedure as detailed in our Safeguarding children and child protection policy and the Prevent duty and radicalisation policy in order to safeguard children and families.

Nursery staff

We expect all staff to be alert and seek to overcome any ignorant or offensive behaviour based on fear or dislike of distinctions that children, staff or parents may express in nursery.

We aim to create an atmosphere where the victims of any form of discrimination have confidence to report such behaviour, and that subsequently they feel positively supported by the staff and management of the nursery.

It is incumbent upon all members of staff to ensure that they do not express any views or comments that are discriminatory, or appear to endorse such views by failing to counter behaviour, which is prejudicial in a direct manner. We expect all staff to use a sensitive and informed approach to counter any harassment perpetrated out of ignorance.