Suspensions for racism rose from 7,403 in 2021 to 15,191 last year. Figures are “unacceptable”, say Government officials, who are working to tackle the problem with teachers
The number of children being sent home from school due to racist behaviour has soared to record levels. Reception class children as young as four were included in 15,000 reports which led to pupils sent home in disgrace.
Suspensions and expulsions due to racist behaviour rocketed in schools post Covid. Suspensions for racism went from 7,403 in the school year ending in 2021, to 15,191 in the academic year which concluded last summer. Government officials admit the figures are “unacceptable” and are working with teachers to reduce the problem.
In most cases the offences are believed to be unacceptable behaviour such as using racist language. In others, it covered physical racist attacks and race-hate vandalism including obscene graffiti.
Teachers and campaigners have stressed that reception age children would not understand that their language was racist. But older children are getting in trouble at school for racist postings on social media platforms TikTok, Instagram, X and Facebook.
Last year saw 15,191 suspensions for racist behaviour, around 80 every single school day. The figure compares with 11,619 in the previous 12 months and 9,452 in the school year before that. Incidents have increased by more than 50 percent in just two years.
A total of 2,485 of the suspensions in the last year relate to children who were still at primary school. Five incidents were logged against Reception Class pupils, who start the year aged four. One head teacher, who declined to be named, stressed that children of that age did not ‘fully comprehend’ racist terms. “It is a reflection of changes in society, not in schools,” they added.
Campaigners pointed out that standards of behaviour were hit by the Covid pandemic, when they were unable to attend school. Lack of social contact has had a ‘long lasting impact’ on their ability to interact, they said. Reports of racism are part of a rise in anti-social behaviour overall, though the way the incidents are recorded has changed. Since 2020, there has been a greater onus on reporting specifically racist incidents.
The group that gets in most trouble for racism is Year 8, which is the second year at secondary school where pupils are typically aged 12 and 13. There were 70 cases where a child was permanently expelled from school because of their racist behaviour last year, up from 45 three years before.
Pupils were caught by teachers calling each other the N-word and the P-word. Christopher McGovern, Chairman of the Campaign for Real Education, said: “In secondary school there should be zero tolerance of racist behaviour, including anti semitism, provided the evidence of it is clear.
“A second offence should normally lead to permanent exclusion. Pupils will, then, soon get the message about what is not acceptable. Our anti-racism teaching strategies are clearly failing. Teachers must not, however, act as ‘thought police’ and pursue witch hunts against pupils who say something in error or without thinking.”
Chris Zarraga, director of the campaign group Schools North East, warned that deprivation also hits behaviour. “Due to the pandemic, children are struggling in terms of regulating emotions, and ability to express themselves,” he added. “We try to help schools address issues before children get into schools.
“The waiting lists for speech and language therapists are obscene. We have certainly seen a rise in exclusions and suspensions in the North east. There was an increase after 2019 and that was seen as a massive impact of Covid. Support services for young mothers were hit and access to health visitors have greatly reduced and dramatically dropped in England. Access to support has massively dropped.”
From the academic year 2020/21, up to three reasons could be given for each fixed term suspension and exclusion. The number of racist incidents is the highest since that system came into place. In Carlisle, Cumbria, parents protested outside after a video circulated on social media in March, 2024.
It showed a black pupil at a school in the town being taunted, pushed and punched by a white boy who made him kiss his filthy shoes. The attacker, 15, was convicted of racially aggravated common assault last year, with the court hearing that he told his victim: “Kiss my shoe or you are getting whacked”.
In 2023 a violent attack on a 15-year-old black girl outside a school in Ashford, Surrey, went viral. The video showed the victim being punched and kicked while having her hair pulled. Her attackers were encouraged to commit the violence by nearby adults. Two 16-year-old girls later admitted their part in the assault while 41-year-old Winne Connors was given a 20-month prison sentence for egging on the attackers. Experts fear children isolated during the pandemic may have developed racist views.
A spokesperson for the Department for Education, which released data under FOI, said: “These figures are unacceptable. We are clear that racism and discrimination have absolutely no place in our schools and we will always support our hard-working teachers to provide safe and calm classrooms.
“The Education Secretary is committed to a comprehensive programme of behaviour support for schools, starting with new attendance and behaviour hubs They will directly target the schools with the highest need as well as wider support for schools in all corners of the country.
“More broadly, our Plan for Change places a relentless focus on giving every child the best start to tackle root causes of behaviour, including establishing free breakfast clubs in every primary school and providing access to mental health support in every school.”
Last year the Mirror revealed that thousands of pupils had been sent home for racism, some as young as four. In all, 11,619 children were suspended for racist behaviour in 2023, up 25% on the previous 12 months, and equivalent to almost 60 suspensions a day. Shockingly, 1,413 were still at primary school, with seven incidents logged against kids as young as four.
Local councils with the most suspensions and expulsions for racist behaviour in the 2023/24 academic year:
- Essex 556 suspensions, 0 expulsions
- Kent 521 suspensions, 4 expulsions
- Hampshire 423 suspensions, 1 expulsion
- Hertfordshire 381 suspensions, 1 expulsion
- Lincolnshire 362 suspensions, 3 expulsions
- Surrey 351 suspensions, 0 expulsions
- Birmingham 327 suspensions, 3 expulsions
- Lancashire 296 suspensions, 3 expulsions
- Bradford 292 suspensions, 1 expulsion
- Nottingham 287 suspensions, 1 expulsion
‘Racism in schools is not just bad behaviour’ – Maryam Javaid
Writing for The Mirror, parenting expert Maryam Javaid explains that it is not just ‘bad behaviour’ and how parents can help.
When we talk about racism in schools, we’re not just talking about “bad behaviour”. We’re talking about the emotional safety of children as young as four. A child being called a slur, or targeted for their skin colour, doesn’t just “bounce back”. It creates shame, fear and a message that they don’t belong, wounds that can carry into adulthood if left unaddressed.
As a proud mother of three, raising my children in a Black and Brown household, I see first-hand how deeply racism in schools cuts into a child’s sense of self. Many Black and Brown children come home quiet, withdrawn or angry. They just don’t have the words to describe what happened. The responsibility to address this can’t sit on children’s shoulders alone. Schools need clear policies, swift accountability and staff trained to spot and challenge racism.
Normalising conversations about race – not avoiding them – is key. Parents can start by naming racism when it happens, and reassuring children that it is never their fault.