Suspensions for 'racism' on the increase in London

The number of children suspended from London schools for racist behaviour is on the increase, reports the Evening Standard

In 2016/17, 615 pupils in London were temporarily excluded for racism, compared with 440 in 2015/2016.  Government statistics show that “Fixed period” exclusions for racial abuse, bullying or derogatory comments increased 40 per cent last year.

Ged Grebby, of charity Show Racism the Red Card, said more needed to be done to help children excluded for such behaviour.

“Once a pupil is excluded from school it is much more difficult to influence their behaviour and Show Racism the Red Card are worried that this can then lead to that young person being labelled ‘racist’ for life,” he said.

“We call on the UK Government to look into increasing support for schools and to also look to put anti-racism on the national curriculum.”

2017 saw the equivalent of 127 exclusions a day for offences such as assault, sexual misconduct and disruptive behaviour, a rise of 10.5 per cent on the previous 12 months to 46,385.

A DfE spokesman told the Standard: “Racism has absolutely no place in our schools. We have made sure headteachers have the power to take swift action to tackle this sort of behaviour, including through exclusions where appropriate.”