Racism in schools: the response
Updated on 24 May 2007
'We have a zero tolerance to racism in schools.' Councils respond to our findings.
Below is a selection of unedited replies from councils to the finding the Channel 4 News online investigation into racist incidents in schools across England.
Birmingham
Birmingham City Council spokesman said: "Any racist incident reported in any Birmingham school is taken extremely seriously, and as an authority we actively encourage school pupils and staff to ensure they report any incident however minor.
"By actively monitoring all types of incidents we are in a better position to advise and support schools.
"We have a zero tolerance to racism in schools and every incident involving race is investigated and necessary action is taken in all cases. Whilst we are determined to reduce the number of incidents, any interpretation of the statistics needs to recognise that in Birmingham we have approximately 180,000 pupils, 10,000 teachers and almost 500 schools.
"To assist in managing the process we issue guidance to schools to report, record and monitor racial incidents, through the 'Together We Can Stop Bullying' publication, written in conjunction with the NSPCC and Childline, which has been praised by the DfES."
Bolton
Bolton Metropolitan Borough Council spokesman said: "In response to the significant increase in the number of racial incidents reported in 2005/06 compared to the previous year, the local authority carried out a sample survey of 26 schools. These schools, whilst acknowledging that there should not be any complacency, did not consider that the increase reflected deterioration in race relations or racial attitudes.
"The early start to the summer term in 2005, the late finish of the spring term in 2006 and the changeover to half termly reporting intervals increased the number of school weeks in the reporting year from 36 to 42, compared to the previous year.
"In addition, the locally authority received a 100 per cent reporting return from schools for the first time, compared to 49 per cent in 2004/05. This enabled a full analysis of racial incidents in schools.
"The local authority aims to continue working with schools to maintain a 100 per cent reporting of racial incidents. We will continue with training programmes on race and other equality issues and develop further links with Bolton Race Equality Council.
"We have also pledged to provide financial support for, participation in and promotion of an interactive 'World Race' DVD to be used with young people in schools and other settings. A working group of primary head teachers/schools is currently investigating opportunities for increased linking of schools with different pupil ethnicity profiles."
Coventry
Chris Shearsby, head of minority group support services, said: "Coventry City Council and the city's schools are extremely proud of their work in combating racism wherever it exists. Rather than ignore or play down the issue the local authority is working very successfully in partnership with schools to both identify incidents of racism and then tackle them.
"In the last few years a particular focus has been placed on encouraging schools and making it easier to record every racist incident that occurs.
This work has naturally led to an increase in the number of logged incidents which is important as it allows us to see the true picture and also allows us to monitor particular patterns.
"It is important to recognise also that incidents are not just recorded and forgotten. Each and every one is followed up and schools are given the full support of the local authority, which provides a 24-hour response service to schools who request support. We also work in partnership with organisation such as the Coventry Anti-Harassment Forum, Coventry Community Safety Team, Refugee Centre, local housing associations, the Primary Care Trust and the police to provide a co-ordinated response to victims of hate crime.
"Schools with the support of the local authority also address issues of racism through the curriculum.
"Coventry is proudly known as a multi-cultural city of peace and reconciliation and we are keen to make sure the message that racism will not be tolerated is shouted loud and clear."
Derby
Derby City Council spokeswoman said: "The number of incidents recorded has gone up because we have been pressing schools over the last two to three years to record more incidents in this way, so that we can deal with any problems.
"We have a range of initiatives in place to tackle this problem, for which we have recently been awarded Beacon Council status. "
Dudley
John Freeman, director of children's services, said: "Dudley Council takes all racial incidents seriously, as we need to understand them to promote community cohesion. We have worked with schools on these issues and part of the increase is due to better and more effective reporting.
"There is also some evidence that local and national events have a part to play in relationships between children of different cultures. I am pleased to say that almost of the reported incidents are relatively minor and are dealt with as internal school matters.
"On no occasion in 2005/06 did we need to involve the police. To put the numbers in proportion, we have 110 schools and 50,000 pupils."
Lancashire
Lancashire County Council spokesman said: "Lancashire County Council's procedures for reporting and dealing with racist incidents in schools have been in operation for some time and have been recognised by both the Local Government Association and Ofsted as good practice - in fact Ofsted rated our support for schools' race equality policies as 'outstanding'.
"We have been monitoring racist incidents in schools in Lancashire for 18 years, longer than most other local authorities, and have built up a strong database and practice history. We have a strong collaborative relationship with the police.
"There are a number of reasons why figures have risen: local head teachers and governors have growing confidence in the LA's strategic role in monitoring and combating racist incidents; the Race Relations Amendment Act made it compulsory in 2001 for all schools to have race equality policies and to monitor and collate statistics; there is strong support for monitoring and reporting incidents from staff and governing bodies, head teachers' and teachers' professional associations and from church authorities. A rise in figures does not, in fact, imply a rise in incidents.
"High-profile cases such as those of Stephen Lawrence and Anthony Walker have heightened the importance of a 'zero tolerance' approach to racism and have spurred head teachers to be particularly conscientious in dealing with any incidents. The OFSTED inspection process has also been important in raising expectations about what schools should do to promote race equality. The Department for Education and Skills (DfES) has also urged schools to monitor and report racist incidents.
"The vast majority of incidents in Lancashire schools are concerned with verbal abuse and both perpetrators and victims are given proper support and closure."
