Racism forced my daughter to move primary schools, mum says

The number of incidents of racism or racist bullying recorded in Scotland’s schools increased by 50% last year, figures obtained by BBC Scotland News reveal.

According to Freedom of Information (FoI) requests to all 32 councils there were more than 3,600 incidents last year, compared to 2,400 the year before.

Campaigners say the true figure will be far higher as councils are not complying with Scottish government guidance to log all incidents properly.

The Scottish government said one of the reasons for the increase could be improved reporting.

Ekta’s daughter Anisa was only seven when she started getting taunted for the colour of her skin.

Her mother says Anisa became quiet and withdrawn at home and she could not understand what was the matter.

It was only months later that Anisa broke down in tears and alerted her mother to what was going on.

Ekta says she immediately went to the headteacher and a child was asked to apologise to her daughter.

She says the school asked her daughter to accept the apology but in the following months the bullying and racism continued.

Ekta told the BBC she offered multiple times to work with the school to help with their understanding of racism but they never took her up on those offers.

Last October, two years after the initial incident, Anisa told her mother she could no longer go to the school and she was moved.

Their experience is not an isolated one.

Figures obtained by BBC Scotland News show a large increase in incidents of racism and racist bullying recorded in schools.

Campaigners said some issues are not recorded at all and others are logged as bullying instead of racism.

In its FoI response, Highland Council admitted that not all its schools were recording racist incidents on the school recording system, SEEMIS.

Research by watchdog Education Scotland also previously suggested many schools were also not using SEEMIS properly for recording bullying incidents.

Ekta told BBC News that before the incidents her daughter was “bubbly, confident and outgoing”.

“When the racism began she started questioning things – why am I being told I’m different? Why am I being told the colour of my skin means people don’t want to talk to me?,” Ekta said.

“I don’t send my child to school to be abused or be a victim of racism. I send her to school to learn and be safe.”

When Ekta approached the school she says she was told they had not had to deal with racism before and were not clear how to handle it.

Ekta said a child who had made a number of racist comments was asked to apologise but the school did not seem to think wider learning was necessary.

She thinks the school failed to meet its legal and ethical duties.

For Ekta it brought back memories of the racism she faced when growing up in Bearsden, north of Glasgow, decades ago.

“I thought that 30 years down the line it would have stopped or at least that the systems would be better to address some of these things,” she said.

She said she felt the school managers failed to take the issue seriously and the bullying and racism continued.

Ekta says she later found out that the school logged the incidents as bullying not racism.

She raised an official complaint with East Dunbartonshire Council, where the school is located, and received a partial apology.

But she feels they have not changed their approach, training or systems and not properly understood the problem.

She is now pursuing her claim through the Scottish Public Services Ombudsman (SPSO).

Meanwhile, her daughter is at a new primary school with a new group of friends and her mother said she is happy.

The Coalition for Racial Equality and Rights (CRER) in Scotland says statistics from other organisations including the police suggest there has been an increase in racist incidents.

But they have also found evidence that many incidents in schools are not recorded.

Last year they set up AdRESS – Advocates for Race Equality in Schools Scotland – to support parents and carers who have a child going through racism at school.

Kwaku Adjei, the education advocacy officer for CRER and head advisor for AdRESS, said hate crime reports had gone up but it was also apparent from research that the true figure should be a lot higher.

“Our previous research in 2022 indicated that 85% of schools are not reporting incidences that have been reported to them,” he said.

“If we’re not recording them, how do we know that the incident is being dealt with in any way?”

Mr Adjei said that just asking a child to apologise would not help tackle the underlying problem.

He said: “We need to ensure that they are educated and told about why it was wrong to display that kind of behaviour, the impact it can do and see from there if there’s any form of reconciliation.

“Then people will learn why it’s wrong and how to not exhibit those behaviours.”

Mr Adjei said one of the reason incidents were increasing could be that racist behaviour is “not being challenged”.

Another factor could be some of the toxic content on social media, he said.

“We need to ensure that they are challenged if you’re hearing anything,” Mr Adjei said.

“It could something as like a joke. It could microaggressions.”

CRER are calling for mandatory logging of racist incidents and bullying in schools. They say there is not enough training available for teachers.

In Glasgow’s east end, pupils at St Francis of Assisi Primary School have written their own anti-racism charter and set up their own equalities group.

They wrote their own charter after realising the council charter wasn’t in “child friendly language”.

The work came about after head teacher Ciara Henderson decided to attend a new course in leading an anti-racist establishment at the University of Glasgow.

She said: “We had a small number of racist incidents last year and speaking with colleagues across Glasgow and across my learning community I had recognised there was an rise in racist incidents.

“We were hearing language and terminology that we hadn’t heard for a very long time.

“I thought I really want to tackle this head-on. It’s not acceptable. I don’t want this for the children in my school.

“The first starting point was looking at the professional development I could do around that in order to be able to empower the children in my school.

“Racism is a systemic, cultural, societal issues that we all need to be involved in order to instigate change and empower change.”

The Scottish government said improved reporting could be a factor in the rise but added there was “no place for racism” in schools.

A spokesman said: “It is deeply concerning that so many people in Scotland continue to face racial discrimination.”

He added: “Diversity and equality are at the heart of policies that underpin education in Scotland.

“Incidents of discrimination or prejudice must be addressed whenever they arise.

“It is important that we are vigilant in challenging any racist behaviour in Scotland’s schools.

The Scottish government will publish new guidance for schools on responding to racist incidents, including guidance on recording and monitoring in the coming weeks.

Ann Davie, the chief executive of East Dunbartonshire Council, where Anisa went to school, said it takes racism and bullying very seriously.

She said there was a standardised approach to ensuring educational establishments create safe and inclusive learning environments that celebrate diversity for all children and young people.

“Teachers and school staff are offered very clear guidance and professional learning relating to Bullying and Equalities and there is a clear expectation that all staff have a shared understanding of bullying, including racism, and the skills to respond effectively,” Ms Davie said.

“We work with schools to ensure these incidents are reported timeously and action is taken to address any needs identified.”

Local government body Cosla said racism in schools in any form was “unacceptable” and councils are committed to “ensure everyone is able to learn in a welcoming and safe environment”.

A spokesperson said: “In recent years, awareness of what constitutes a racist incident has increased, as has our understanding of the impacts.

“As work within schools has progressed in recent years, there is now a greater confidence in reporting, and councils will continue in their efforts with staff, children, young people, families, partners and their wider communities to make further progress.”