Schools are required by law to log all cases of racist abuse, so the Head is not responsible for any problems.

Scenarios I have known.

A child from a non-indigenous group, supported by his father, made numerous reports about a wide variety of other children, most of whom were not known for abusing other children. It appeared he used other insults in order to elicit abuse he could report. Playing the race card as a form of bullying.

A child from a home where racist language was common, who made rude comments about a number of children about a number of features - glasses, red hair etc. Dealt with in discussion as he did not realise the situation, and the racially abused child agreed that he abused others. He agreed to desist, the abused child being aware that if it happened again they could report it and the process with kick in. No further reports.

Red haired child not understanding why what he had to put up with was not seen as as serious as what the non-indigenous had to put up with.

The school does attempt to deal with ALL bullying, but there is this extra requirement to report racist abuse. Possibly because it is more likely to be linked to external racism from adult groups in society. After all, there is a notable absence of political parties with policies against red-heads, people wearing glasses, fatties and people who smell.

Teachers are well aware of the pitfalls of the policy.

Penny