Read the statement from our CEO:
"In August 2024, Save the Children UK commissioned a report on anti-Muslim hate and Antisemitism in response to feedback from colleagues following internal meetings stemming from the Israel-Palestinian conflict.
At a time when anti-Muslim hate and antisemitism have been rising in the UK, we believe it is essential to reflect and learn lessons to help us become a more diverse, equitable and inclusive organisation.
We are deeply sad and sorry that colleagues have experienced any form of hatred – whether anti-Muslim hate, Antisemitism or other - in the workplace. We recognise the personal and professional impact on individuals - Muslim, Jewish, people with faith and none.
All colleagues – Muslim, Jewish, people with faith and none - should feel valued and respected and able to offer their best with confidence and safety.
We are utterly committed to tackling all forms of discrimination, including anti-Muslim hate and Antisemitism.
We accept all the recommendations of the report and have set out our responses to all 20 recommendations to address anti-Muslim hate and Antisemitism as well as our wider approach to diversity and inclusion. In taking forward the action plan, we will liaise closely with staff and our Board and review progress annually."
Moazzam Malik, the CEO of Save the Children UK
Read the summary findings and recommendations of the review process.
In August 2024, Save the Children UK commissioned a review process into anti-Muslim hatred and antisemitism. This responded to feedback from colleagues in the context of the Israeli occupation of Palestine and the conflict in Gaza that was reignited after the Hamas attack on 7 October 2023. At a time when anti-Muslim hatred and Antisemitism have been rising in the UK, we believe it is essential to reflect and learn lessons to help us become a more diverse, equitable and inclusive organisation. In line with our commitment to our staff, we are now publishing the summary findings and recommendations of the review process.*
As the Executive Leadership Team, we are deeply sad and sorry that colleagues have experienced any form of hatred in the workplace. We recognise the personal and professional impact on individuals - Muslim, Jewish, people with faith and none. All colleagues should feel valued and respected in the workplace and able to offer their best with confidence and safety. We are utterly committed to tackling all forms of discrimination in our organisation, including anti-Muslim hate and Antisemitism. We are committed to unlearning biases and anti-racism, and ensuring that our policies, culture, and leadership actively challenge discrimination in all its forms. We will pursue our journey towards a diverse and inclusive workplace culture with renewed determination over the coming months.
We are grateful to everyone who participated in the review process – around 10% of SCUK staff, the majority neither Muslim nor Jewish. They shared their experiences openly, and, in the words of the reviewers, “vividly demonstrated the spirit of allyship”.
We accept all the recommendations of the review process and have set out our responses against each below. Some of the recommendations have already been progressed in the past year as part of our diversity, equalities and inclusion journey. For example, we have increased our use of Equality Impact Assessments, revised our social media policy, improved how we organise and facilitate online meetings, and refreshed our DEI action plan. We are proud that in the sector our Gaza response is cited as an example of a charity speaking in line with its values.
In taking forward the actions listed below, we will liaise closely with staff networks across SCUK, review progress annually as part of our wider effort to build a diverse and inclusive organisation, seek external advice as needed, and be overseen by the SCUK Board’s People Committee. These recommendations will be taken forward as part of a wider ongoing programme of organisational transformation in pursuit of our mission to advance the rights of all children, everywhere.
*For data protection reasons and to protect the confidentiality of staff who contributed to the review process in good faith, we are unable to publish the full report.
Recommendations
Review recommendations relating to Diversity, Equality and Inclusiveness | SCUK response [Agree / Partially Agree / Underway / Done] |
Review and revise the current DEI policy: The review should be independently undertaken with the aim of co creating (involving staff at all levels at SCUK) a DEI strategy that will impact the organisational structure. Ensure that that new approach is SMART. | Agree. A revised DEI action plan was agreed in summer 2024. We will review and refresh our approach with external advice. This will begin later in 2025 after the reconfiguration of the DEI team as part of our wider organisational restructure. |
Develop expertise in equality monitoring and analysis and Equality Impact Assessments.
| Underway. We have already taken steps to build and use this capability. |
Agree an Antisemitism definition that the organisation recognises, and it is suggested this is the IHRA definition.
| Agree. We will carefully consider appropriate definitions for all faith and race related hate including anti-Muslim hate and Antisemitism by December 2025 at the latest. |
Define racial harassment using clear examples of terminology and make sure this includes terms relevant to Antisemitism and clear examples of Antisemitism. | Agree. We will include terms relevant to all faith and race related hate as we consider definitions. |
Consider the DEI reading list and ensure it features texts as suggested by Jewish colleagues.
| Agree. We will include this in the refresh of our approach to DEI. |
Consider supporting Jewish events as employee initiatives, such as events to mark Holocaust Memorial Day and religious events in the Jewish calendar. | Agree. We will continue to support staff who want to mark faith events. |
Reconciliation: A call on leaders – through an intensive week-long training – to immerse themselves in guided, workshop-facilitated training in unconscious bias, AMH, antiracism, decolonisation, and other training. Once leaders have undertaken this education, a true statement of reconciliation can be made. Leaders will then buddy up with a Muslim colleague as a mentor and hold a fifteen-minute weekly check-in to discuss any observations, to share any thinking, and to develop ideas for further progress. The expectation is for leadership to genuinely show support to Muslim colleagues at future Muslim events and ultimately to attend a Diversity Dinner – where ten colleagues of mixed faith, background and seniority will join to break bread together. | Partially Agree. We will discuss this recommendation with our staff equality networks including the Islamic Society and agree how to follow this up as part of our DEI approach. |
Develop a policy and approach to achieve dignity and respect in the workplace.
| Agree. A policy is already in place and will be reviewed later in 2025. |
Allyship: Capture the spirit of allyship so vividly demonstrated in this review to provide a cornerstone from which to build the new strategy.
| Agree. We have sought to capture this in spirit and will continue to build on that through our staff networks. |
Review recommendations relating to external engagement | SCUK response
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The organisation needs to re-affirm its position on political matters and clearly articulate why it needs to take a neutral political stance, so all staff have a clear understanding of this and the rationale behind it. | Agree. We will agree a statement and circulate by June 2025 and incorporate it into our onboarding processes. |
People should resist the use of Hitler, Nazi and Holocaust metaphors, distortions and comparisons in debates about Israel-Palestine in particular. In this sensitive area, such language carries a strong risk of being regarded as prejudicial or grossly detrimental. | Agree. We will ensure staff abide by existing communications guidelines. |
It is not Antisemitism to refer to “Zionism” and “Zionists” as part of a considered discussion about the Israeli State. However, it should not be permissible to use “Zionist” as a code word for “Jew”. Employees should only use “the term `Zionist’ advisedly, carefully and never euphemistically or as part of personal abuse”. Such language may otherwise provide evidence of Antisemitic intent. | Underway. We do not use the term Zionist in line with existing communications guidelines. Where staff need to discuss political ideologies, we expect respectful discourse in line with our code of conduct. |
Social media policy: Initiate a review of the social media policy that addresses Employment Tribunal judgements in relation to employee rights and name the contact who will deal with complaints. | Done. We updated our social media policy in Jan 2025. |
Review recommendations relating to internal communications | SCUK response |
Communication: I strongly advise you to professionalise the way in which you communicate with all your colleagues, but especially with colleagues from different faiths and backgrounds. It is crucial – as part of your wider training – to learn about and respect others. I also advise that you learn to socialise information using standardised approaches to business comms. Being able to deliver communications through the right channels, in diplomatic ways, to diverse groups, at the right time, is a vital capability and one with which SCUK struggles. I advise you to take training in “difficult conversation” skills so that you become at ease with being honest and transparent over the hugely challenging topics that have beset the organisation over the past twelve months. | Underway. We have started training in difficult conversations to improve transparency and engagement with respectful feedback. All colleagues are expected to adhere to professional standards in line with our code of conduct and established channels for formal internal communication. |
Hosting events: Revise the guidance to hosting events to ensure that risk assessments are carried out and GDPR considerations are addressed. | Underway. Updated guidance will be in place by June 2025. |
I advise on a basic process for organising meetings, and – quite simply - I advise spending £2,000 on training twenty staff in Teams skills. | Underway. This will be addressed as part of our response on ‘Hosting Events’. |
Review recommendations relating to organisational development and learning
| SCUK response |
Complaints should be handled in a timely manner. Complaints processes should be impartial and make sure that there is no conflict of interest for those involved in the process. SCUK should be clear about their expectations around supporting evidence for complaints, and who is responsible for gathering this. Some employees may also feel more comfortable to have a report made on their behalf by a third party. It is important that expectations for online behaviour – and the sanctions for not following them – are clearly defined and communicated. | Underway. Work is underway to ensure the complaints process is improved and grievances are handled in a timely manner. This action will be completed by June 2025.
Underway. Expectations are being set regarding online behaviour through our social media policy, including consequences of disregarding good practice. |
Beyond telling staff what SCUK are doing, SCUK need to create spaces to learn and discuss matters, what people can and can’t say and the impact of this. This needs to be done in a proactive way rather than reactive, and consideration should be given to the execution of this. | Underway. We will continue to ensure internal meetings set clear expectations of conduct and are spaces to learn. |
Education: Leadership needs to be bold and willing to occupy difficult spaces that are necessary for challenging introspection and developing progressive action. The work that leadership does in educating itself serves as the pilot for a programme that all existing staff will be put through, and which will subsequently be packaged up into a single two-week-long induction training for new joiners. It will contain anti- racism, implicit bias, AMH and other trainings. It will additionally include training on the history of SCUK - the origin story – that will foster pride in the organisation and everything that it has achieved. This will also contextualise the new and agile approaches that it is adopting in a fast- changing aid environment. This must all be on-site, in-person, interactive training. Online self- paced learning has its place, but it is often more about numbers than knowledge. The aim is to create a confident cadre of employees – a new generation of ethnically and faith-diverse staff, with identified and fast-tracked leaders-in-the-making – possessed of the commitment to do what is right for their staff and the people for whom they work. | Partially Agree. We will reflect on the history of SCUK in developing our new approach to DEI.
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Develop into a Learning Organisation
| Underway. Our Refocus for Impact programme will enable better learning by fostering continuous improvement, knowledge sharing, and adaptive thinking. We will monitor and report progress. |