Just finished talking to Nicola, a friend of mine who works at the Runnymede Trust. She did a sterling job of editing a publication, ‘Complementing Teachers’ which describes itself as ‘A Practical Guide to Promoting Race Equality in Schools’.

The press release for the book says:

With pupils from minority ethnic backgrounds now forming 11% of the student population, the book will give teachers practical strategies for raising the awareness of different cultures in the classroom.

and

…also provides strategies for less diverse schools who have a duty under the Act [Race Relations (Amendment) Act 2000 – ed.] to promote race equality and nurture respect for the different cultures that exist in wider society.

which is then followed by a comment by the Director of The Runnymede Trust,

“Every Pupil should be helped to develop a sense of personal and cultural identity and to study in an environment that is respectful towards other identities. Complementing Teachers is a practical resource to help teachers raise the achievement of all pupils by developing the right environment for students of all ethnic groups to learn and ensuring that all cultures are represented equally in the curriculum.”

So now that you know, go get a copy.

(On a personal note, I once went to the Director’s birthday party, as Nicola’s guest, and have to say that Michelynn [the director] has a lovely house and grows the most fragrant roses I’ve ever sniffed in any garden in the Docklands. Okay, they’re the only roses I’ve ever thrust my nose at in the Docklands but I’m sure that they’re amongst the best there. Not that my recollections of the party are all that clear, apparently, during the course of the evening I destroyed her cats’ feeding bowls and tried to chat up one of her friends. This would have been fair enough, except that it was, rather unfortunately, in front of the said friend’s husband. I’m reliably informed that I rounded off the evening by falling down the stairs … or was I pushed?!).

Anyway, this undoubtedly useful resource costs just ??30 (plus VAT) and can be ordered from Granada Learning.