Racist bullying

The following information from the anti-bullying network gives an overview of racist bullying issues.

What is racist bullying?
Is racist bullying a problem in schools?
What can schools do?
Should racist bullying be treated differently from other types of bullying?
In the classroom
Dealing with incidents
Useful documents, guidance, links and the racist incident report form

What is racist bullying?

Racist violence, harassment and abuse are closely related to, and sometimes difficult to distinguish from, bullying. Racist bullying in schools can range from ill-considered remarks, which are not intended to be hurtful, to deliberate physical attacks causing serious injury.

Racist bullying can be identified by the motivation of the bully, the language used, and/or by the fact that victims are singled out because of the colour of their skin, the way they talk, their ethnic grouping or by their religious or cultural practices.

In most contexts, it is mainly people from black and minority ethnic communities who are subjected to racism, but concern has also been expressed about prejudice against other groups including English people and travellers.

The word 'bigotry' is often used to describe the attitude of some sections of the population towards members of certain religious faiths e.g. those with Roman Catholic or Protestant beliefs. This may also be the trigger for some incidents of bullying in schools.

top

Is racist bullying a problem in schools?

Racist bullying in schools can be a problem in two ways:

Children who experience it have their education disrupted. They may be unable to concentrate on lessons because of feelings of fear or anger. Their self-confidence may be damaged and, as a result, they may never fulfil their potential.

Schools that ignore it, or deny its existence, give the wrong message to young people. The success of our multi-cultural society depends upon the children of today growing up to be be adults who are prepared to speak out against racism.

top

What can schools do?

Many schools, particularly those in areas where there are large ethnic minority populations, have well-developed policies on multi-cultural and anti-racist education.

They have clear procedures for dealing with racist incidents, and the curriculum covers the knowledge, skills and values which children need to tackle racism when they meet it and to help them to become adults who respect different cultures.

However, there are also schools where there are few or no children from ethnic minorities and where little has been done to address racism. In such situations, while it may be true that there are few overtly racist incidents, racist attitudes can flourish if left unchecked.

As a first step schools may need to embark on an awareness raising exercise. SCRE Spotlight 54 is a useful reference for teachers and parents in such schools.

top

Should racist bullying be treated differently from other types of bullying?

Racism is a very serious problem that has the potential to destroy communities. It deserves its own response in schools. We cannot assume that every school which has an anti-bullying policy will deal effectively with all the issues relating to racism.

Racist bullying must be explicitly discussed in the classroom and there must be clear guidelines for dealing with incidents.

top

In the classroom

The work which schools do to tackle bullying can also be effective in reducing racism, child abuse and other related issues. Children can learn skills, such as assertiveness and empathising; they can acquire knowledge about relationships, rights and responsibilities; and they can develop values such as openness and respecting difference.

However, this learning will only be effective if the context in which it can be used is specifically discussed. If young people learn that a skill like assertiveness can be useful in tackling, say, child abuse they will not necessarily assume that it can be used in other situations in which they find themselves, such as racist bullying.

With regard to knowledge, they may not realise that some words which are in common use are perceived as being racist by black or Asian pupils unless this is openly discussed in the classroom.

top

Dealing with incidents

Racist bullying cannot be tolerated in schools. Guidelines are needed to help schools deal with racism. These should describe appropriate responses and they should cover bullying by, and of, all members of the school community- adult and children.

Some local authorities have issued schools with such guidelines. A common piece of advice is to monitor and record all racist incidents. Beyond this they usually list possible responses, which might range from a simple reprimand to exclusion or a referral to the police.

One local authority - City of Edinburgh Council - has combined its anti-racist and anti-bullying guidelines. This has pointed to the need to ensure that policies on racism do not conflict with policies on other issues such as child abuse or bullying.

Such a unifying exercise is not easy but it should help schools to cope with the many demands made upon them and to provide a rational and consistent response to bullying of all kinds.

top

Useful website links and documents:

Racist incident report form - pupils (word)
Termly report from chair of governors to the local authority (aggregated information). Please return to Patsy Prawl, Schools Service, Perceval House, 2nd floor.

Preventing racist bullying (pdf)
Kidscape guidance for schools.

Antibully.org
Extensive information on bullying with a detailed link list.

Bullying Online - racist bullying
Information on issues specific to racist bullying.

The Parent Centre
DCSF site on bullying. Information and contacts.

Bullying by race, gender, sexual orientation or disability
Definition of incidents, guidance and strategies.

Bullying Online
Advice for schools, pupils, parents and legal advice.

top