Responding to racism and violence in current events: Practical advice for discussions
Establish clear discussion agreements. For example:
- respect
- listening
- no harm
Ensure that learners understand they can speak to staff if they are concerned, anxious, or affected by current events. This is particularly important for learners from Black, Brown, migrant, refugee, or minority ethnic backgrounds. They may be experiencing heightened feelings of vulnerability or uncertainty.
Reiterate the pastoral support available within the setting.
Staff should be alert to instances where individuals or groups of learners are blamed, stereotyped, or targeted because of their race, ethnicity, nationality, migration status, or faith. When incidents arise in connection with current social, political, or cultural events, staff may wish to support learners in understanding that communities or groups of people should not face collective blame or scapegoating.
Provide opt-out or alternative reflective activities for learners who may feel overwhelmed.
Digital discourse initiative
Use structured dialogue formats where possible. The Digital Discourse resource from Time for Inclusive Education (TIE) and Institute for Strategic Dialogue (ISD) includes a free professional learning course with strong strategies for this, such as the PEACE framework:
Pause: Before responding - pause. This allows for a short moment of silence, which acts to situate you in control of the dialogue while providing space for a calm response.
Empathy: Address the behaviour or comments and don’t ‘label' the person - remind them of their positive qualities that behaviour or language like this contradicts.
Ask: Questions to encourage critical reflection. Using open-ended questions invites the person to think deeper on their own, reflect, and sows seeds of doubt: “Why did you say that?”
Correct: disinformation if you can by providing facts that directly challenge misconceptions
Encourage: respect for others and fact-checking information
Calling in and calling out
Educators can use calling in and calling out to respond to harmful language or behaviour. Calling in focuses on curiosity and learning, helping someone understand why their words or actions may be harmful when there is openness to change.
Calling out is used when harm is more serious or ongoing, requiring a clear, immediate response to challenge behaviour and maintain a safe environment. Both approaches aim to address harm while supporting respectful, anti-racist learning spaces.
Pastoral care
Engage with pastoral care teams and networks to support wellbeing where possible.
The Scottish Association of Minority Ethnic Educators (SAMEE) offer support for educators and learners.
Whole school approach
Use the whole school approach to racism and racist incidents (Scottish Government). This offers Strategic guidance on prevention, response, and recording of racist incidents.
Schools may want to call on relationships with local organisations and areas, including:
- faith establishments
- youth groups
- community learning and development teams
- community police
The Community resilience resource contains extensive guidance on a developing a community approach.
Teachers may wish to consider if planned learning provides opportunities to explore:
- stereotypes
- prejudice
- discrimination
- scapegoating
- inclusion
The national approach to anti-bullying and the curriculum can provide a meaningful context for critical thinking, empathy, and understanding rights and responsibilities.
