Race incidents in schools soar by 40%

RACIST incidents in Oldham schools have increased by more than 40 per cent, a new study shows.

An investigation by the BBC found that there were nearly 88,000 incidents of racist bullying — including name calling and physical abuse — in data from 90 areas with Oldham among those showing a sharp increase.

The figures were recorded between 2007 and 2011, the last year that head teachers had an obligation to record cases.

Luton, Croydon, Bedford and Middlesbrough also had increases of above 40 per cent, while Birmingham had the highest number of incidents with 5,752, followed by Leeds with 4,690, and Camarthenshire the lowest with just five cases.

A racist incident is defined as any situation perceived to be racist by the victim or any other person.

Following an inquiry into the murder of teenager Stephen Lawrence, the previous government said schools must monitor and report all incidents of racist abuse to their local authority. But the coalition Government changed that guidance so schools no longer have to record the data. Many local authorities say the increase is due to better recording methods.

Sarah Soyei, of anti-racism educational charity, Show Racism the Red Card, said: “Unfortunately, the numbers of recorded racist incidents is just the tip of the iceberg.

“Often teachers may not be aware of racism in classrooms because victims are scared of reporting them out of fear of making the situation worse.”

National Union of Teachers general secretary Christine Blower said: “These number are disappointingly high — we would really hope this is not the tip of the iceberg.”

A Department for Education spokesman said: “Racism needs to be rooted out wherever it occurs, and particularly in schools, where every child has the right to learn in an environment free from prejudice.

“It is teachers and parents - not central government - that know what is happening in their schools, and they are best placed to deal with racist behaviour when it happens.”