Commenting on the publication by the Scottish Government of interim guidance for schools on responding to racism and racist incidents, Matt Wrack, Acting General Secretary of NASUWT-The Teachers’ Union, said:

“The publication of this interim guidance is welcome, and is particularly timely given the increasing spread amongst young people of far-right populism and extremist rhetoric influenced by online discourse and from political leaders globally.

“Currently we know that many pupils and staff members in schools lack confidence to report racist incidents due to a belief that no effective action will be taken, or that they will be blamed or accused of overreacting.

“Successful approaches to tackling racism in schools are rooted in proactive work led by senior leaders to create a culture where everyone in the school community knows that racism and racist language and attitudes are unacceptable and where there are clear and consistent sanctions in place if racist incidents do occur.

“This must be the expectation and schools must be supported and challenged to make sure this becomes the reality.”

Mike Corbett, NASUWT Scotland National Official, said:

“This interim guidance primarily focuses on tackling racist incidents among pupils. School staff are equally exposed to racism at work and we are working with the Scottish Government to ensure that the experiences of staff are not overlooked in the final guidance.

“Our recent Behaviour in Schools survey found that teachers from black and minority ethnic backgrounds were more likely to experience physical and verbal abuse from pupils. Teachers also reported pupils using racist language towards them.

“No school will be able to effectively tackle racism among pupils if it does not equally tackle racism towards its staff and this must be reflected as the guidance is finalised.”