Nearly six in 10 leaders say pupils or staff have faced racial harassment in their school in the past year, according to research.
Some 38 per cent of school leaders also reported students and staff fearing that they or their families were at risk of racial harassment or attack in their community during that time.
In a survey by the Association of School and College Leaders (ASCL), 36 per cent of respondents said students or staff in their school had experienced racial harassment while travelling to or from school.
Some 40 per cent of the 567 school and college leaders in the poll said that racist incidents affecting students or staff at their school had increased over the previous year.
Sixty per cent reported that staff or students had been racially harassed in school, while 11 per cent said there had been physical attacks.
In a speech at the ASCL annual conference today in Liverpool, Pepe Di’Iasio, general secretary of the union, will say that “the insidious return of prejudice and division in our country” has left families living in fear of racial harassment or attack in their local communities.
Anti-immigration rhetoric
Tensions fuelled by social media content, anti-immigration rhetoric in domestic politics and campaigns to display St George’s Cross and Union flags on lampposts were commonly cited concerns in the ASCL survey.
Some 59 per cent of leaders called for stronger government guidance for schools on responding to community tensions, and 90 per cent said tighter social media regulation would help to ease tension. More than 80 per cent of leaders called for politicians to take greater care with the language they use around immigration.
In response to the survey, education secretary Bridget Phillipson told reporters at the ASCL conference: “I believe we’re a tolerant, diverse nation where we have shared values and where we celebrate our national identity.”
She added that this “should be inclusive” and that “we should all be able to celebrate our national identity, the flags that represent the nations of our union”.
Sexism and misogyny
Meanwhile, in the survey, 81 per cent of respondents reported that students or staff had experienced sexism, including misogyny, over the previous 12 months.
Some 48 per cent reported sexual orientation-based discrimination, and 45 per cent religious discrimination, including Islamophobia and antisemitism. More than one-third of respondents said pupils or staff had faced discrimination around special educational needs and disabilities, while 29 per cent reported class-based discrimination.
Mr Di’Iasio will say in his speech: “I do not pretend that there are easy answers to these challenges. But I do believe there is a role for government to play in discussing with the profession how we respond. And I certainly think that social media platforms must take far greater responsibility for policing their platforms and removing toxic content.
“If they are not going to do that voluntarily, they should be made to do so through regulation.”
Attitudes no longer ‘hidden in shadows’
Mr Di’Iasio will add: “Perhaps these attitudes never really disappeared - but simply remained hidden in the shadows. However, it feels that things are now said and done in plain sight that would not have been said or done a few years ago.
“I worry when I see some politicians speaking about immigration as a problem that needs to be solved, indulging in some sort of arms race about how tough they are going to be on those who come to our country seeking asylum.
“I worry when I see flags tied to lampposts - as we did last summer - something which seems more like a brand of provocative nationalism than of proud patriotism.”
Mr Di’Iasio will call on everyone to “take care with the language they use”, adding that “words and actions have consequences in the real world”.
“They create an environment in which we see many of our students, staff and families living in fear, and facing racial harassment or even violence,” he will say.
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