Cultivating inclusion

Our Commitment to Preventing and Responding to Racism

At Cranbourne South Primary School, we are committed to creating a safe, respectful, and inclusive environment for everyone. We follow a statewide policy from the Victorian Government that helps schools prevent and respond to racism and religious intolerance.

This policy supports the Child Safe Standards and requires all Victorian government schools to take action in three key areas:

1. Preventing RacismWe work to create a culturally safe and welcoming environment for all students and families.
2. Responding to RacismIf racism does occur, we have clear, respectful, and timely processes to address it.
3. Reporting RacismAll incidents of racism should be reported to the school leadership team and a plan put in place to support all students and families.

All schools are required to share the policy on their websites and provide information on how to report racism, both to the school and through the Report Racism hotline. The Report Racism hotline is available 9am to 5pm, Monday to Friday (excluding public holidays) on 1800 722 476.

As a school, we are building a culturally safe school with inclusive learning for everyone by working with staff, students, families, carers and communities. We will:

• provide programs that teach about and celebrate diversity, inclusion and the impact of racism to build understanding and empathy
• use practices that support all students to thrive
• implement anti-racism efforts to prevent and address racism effectively
• make sure everyone feels safe, with clear and accessible pathways to report racism

When you report a racist incident, we will:

• take your report seriously and act quickly
• investigate and respond safely and appropriately 
• provide support
• keep you informed, while respecting privacy
• review the incident to help avoid it from happening again.

The statewide policy from the Victorian government schools: https://www2.education.vic.gov.au/pal/preventing-addressing-racism-schools/policy

This policy applies to all staff, contractors, volunteers, and anyone working with students in government schools.

Racism is not tolerated in Victorian government schools. It can seriously affect a student’s wellbeing, learning, and sense of belonging. We are dedicated to making sure every student feels safe, valued, and respected.

For more details on this policy or how to report racism, please contact the school or visit the Department of Education website https://www2.education.vic.gov.au/pal/preventing-addressing-racism-schools/guidance/responding-to-and-reporting-racism

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PREVENTING AND RESPONDING TO RACISM

While many of us think of racism as a direct attack from one student to another, racist comments can take other forms. This could include offensive jokes, hurtful stereotypes, the drawing of symbols, or general slurs that create a hostile or unwelcoming environment for everyone, even if no one is individually targeted.

More information about key terminology and examples of forms of racism can be found on the following sites:

Preventing and Addressing Racism in Schools - Key Terminology

Human Rights Definitions of Terms - Racism 

Our school and the Department of Education has a zero-tolerance policy for all forms of racism. This means that racist comments, in any form, are not acceptable. Our goal is to create a school environment where all students and staff feel safe, respected, and included, regardless of their cultural background.

To address this, our policy focuses on three key areas:

• Education: We actively teach students about cultural diversity and why these types of comments are harmful, helping them understand how their words can affect others.
• Reporting: All staff are required to report every instance of racism they see or hear. This ensures that we can officially document and address the issue.

• Response: We have clear procedures for handling these incidents. Our response is not just about punishing the student involved, it’s also about providing support to anyone who was affected and using the incident as a learning opportunity to prevent it from happening again. 

   

We ask that families please continue these conversations at home and ensure students are aware of the definition and negative impacts of racial biases. 

Advice on how to talk to your children about racism can be found here:

Raising Children Network - How to talk to Children about racism 

For more information, you can read the full policy here:

DET Policy - Preventing and Addressing Racism

Cranbourne South Primary School Preventing and Addressing Racism Policy