REDBRIDGE: Racism in schools 'cover-up' fear

8:30am Wednesday 9th April 2008

TEACHERS in Redbridge could be covering up the true extent of racism in schools despite a record number of reported incidents.

The suggestion comes after 11 schools in the borough said they had no racist incidents at all last year, a claim which has been met with scepticism by some councillors.

At a meeting of the council's children's services scrutiny committee, Cllr Ralph Scott said: "Some schools like to believe about themselves what they want."

Cllr Scott, who sits on the Redbridge Racial Equality Council, added his own theory about why the schools did not report any racial abuse.

"Racist incidents, whether physical or oral, get put down as bullying - if they get put down at all," he said.

Cllr Dev Sharma said he was equally perplexed at the figures. "Have these schools achieved complete equality? I am wondering about that."

Last week the Guardian reported how the number of racist incidents in the borough's schools had risen to their highest levels since records began, with 297 cases compared to 278 the year before.

However, council officers argue that the increase is down to better reporting by schools.

At the meeting, Colin Moore of the Children's Services Department said the figures needed "to be taken with caution."

He added: "We believe that we are making good progress both in raising the attainment of different groups and we also believe that we are making very good progress in the many ways in which schools record incidents that take place on their premises."

A council spokeswoman said it could not reveal the names of the 11 schools which did not report any incidents because they had a confidentiality agreement with them.

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