3 School policies and racialised outcomes
When you think about racism in schools, you might picture playground insults or unfair treatment in the classroom. While these individual incidents are important, racial discrimination also happens through school policies, daily routines, and systems that may seem neutral on the surface. This is sometimes called structural or institutional racism.
Unlike direct racism not in glossary (where someone deliberately treats someone badly because of their race), structural racism happens through systems, policies and practices that end up unfairly affecting students from certain racial or ethnic backgrounds, even when that wasn’t the intention.
Look at the following examples.
Uniform and appearance policies: Rules about hair, jewellery and clothing can often end up targeting students from ethnic minority backgrounds. For example:
- banning certain hairstyles that are protective styles commonly worn by Black students
- prohibiting jewellery that has religious or cultural significance
- dress codes that don’t account for different body types or cultural clothing needs.
See: Pimlico Academy pupils stage protest over ‘racist’ uniform policy
Could we also add a link to the Good hair interactive https://www.open.edu/openlearn/education-development/good-hair-perceptions-racism?
Behaviour management systems: Some schools use very strict ‘zero tolerance’ or ‘no excuses’ approaches to discipline. While these might seem fair because they apply the same rules to everyone, they can end up unfairly affecting students who:
- come from cultures where being more expressive or questioning authority is normal
- are dealing with racism or discrimination and may seem ‘angry’ or ‘defiant’
- don’t have the same understanding of unspoken school cultural expectations.
See: ‘Deep-seated problems’: Race disproportionality in Hackney school exclusions called out and ‘We’re punished for being different’: Black girls excluded from school at double rate of white pupils.
Curriculum content: Many secondary students learn about slavery and colonisation, but rarely get to explore the full richness of Black British history, global perspectives or resistance movements.
See: Black history: Can school curriculum help curb racism?
These experiences can build up over time, sending a message to racially minoritised young people that their identity is a ‘problem’ to be fixed rather than a part of who they are. These experiences build up over time. When young people repeatedly encounter policies and practices that seem to work against them, it sends a powerful message that their identity is a ‘problem’ to be managed rather than a valuable part of who they are.
This can affect:
- how confident they feel in school
- how much they trust teachers and school leaders
- whether they see education as something that’s ‘for them’
- their mental health and wellbeing
- their academic outcomes and future opportunities.
Spotting racialised assumptions can be challenging because they’re often embedded in everyday practices that seem normal or neutral. These assumptions might show up in how teachers interpret student behaviour, what’s expected in classroom discussions, or even in the examples used to explain concepts. In the next activity, you will practice identifying these hidden assumptions and consider how they might affect young people’s experiences in school.
Activity 2 Spot the racialised assumptions
Below are some statements taken from real conversations with secondary staff. Read each one and decide whether it:
- a) reflects a racialised assumption
- b) needs more context to assess
- c) is a constructive or inclusive approach
Statements:
- ‘He’s very articulate for a Black boy.’
- ‘Our curriculum is for everyone. We treat everyone the same.’
- ‘Girls like her just need more boundaries.’
- ‘I doubt he is Special Educational Needs or Disability (SEND), he is probably just badly behaved.’
Discussion
1. ‘He’s very articulate for a Black boy.’
Answer: a) reflects a racialised assumption
Explanation: This statement reveals a low baseline expectation of Black boys. It’s often intended as a compliment, but it carries the assumption that articulate speech is surprising for someone racialised as Black. This is an example of a microaggression not included in this session’s glossary so copied across from Session 3, is that OK?, reinforcing racial stereotypes about intelligence and communication.
2. ‘Our curriculum is for everyone. We treat everyone the same.’
Answer: a) reflects a racialised assumption
Explanation: While this may sound fair on the surface, colour-blind or colour-evasive approaches ignore the specific needs, histories and experiences of racially minoritised students. It assumes whiteness as the default and erases the impact of racism by avoiding conversations about race altogether.
3. ‘Girls like her just need more boundaries.’
Answer: b) needs more context to assess
Explanation: On its own, this could be a general behaviour comment. However, the phrase ‘girls like her’ raises concern. If used to refer to a racially minoritised girl, especially a Black girl, it can reflect adultification, misogynoir, or racialised notions of defiance or attitude. Context (tone, identity, patterns) is key here.
4. ‘I doubt he has Special Educational Needs or Disability (SEND), he is probably just badly behaved.’
Answer: a) reflects a racialised assumption
Explanation: This statement reflects a deficit-based perspective deficit lens in glossary - which is correct? that dismisses the possibility of neurodivergence or disability and instead labels the child as ‘badly behaved’. If the child is from a racially minoritised background, it risks compounding this bias that these children, especially Black boys, are often under-identified for SEND and over-identified for behavioural concerns (Gillborn et al., 2016). This response fails to consider how cultural differences, communication styles or trauma might influence behaviour, and shuts down access to appropriate support. Barnardo’s (2020) highlights how Black Caribbean and Mixed White and Black Caribbean pupils face disproportionately high rates of permanent exclusion compared to their white peers. These exclusion patterns contribute to the harmful assumption that behavioural difficulties in Black children reflect poor conduct rather than unmet SEND needs or other systemic issues.
Reflection prompt
After completing this activity, reflect on the following questions:
- Where might these assumptions come from?
- What impact could they have on a young person’s self-esteem, identity or school experience?
Understanding these patterns helps you see why individual support, while important, isn’t enough on its own. You also need to look at the systems and structures that shape young people’s experiences every day.