Reacting to racist incidents

From the point of view of another pupil or adult witness, or the teacher reviewing the incident, it might help to treat it as racially motivated and for it to be investigated as such, if:

• it involved explicitly racist insults or abuse

• the offenders belong to a different community, culture or ethnic group from the victims

• it is targeted only or primarily at members of specific groups or communities

• the offenders are known to have engaged in racist abuse previously

• the offenders have previously been warned that their behaviour causes distress, and the incident has the appearances of being racially motivated

• its effect is to make the victim feel that they have been attacked or threatened because of their ‘race’, colour, nationality, ethnic or national origins. As a result, they may feel less safe going about their daily business within school or on the way to and from home.

This does not mean that, after thorough investigation, the incident will be treated as racist. Nor does it mean that the above is an exhaustive list of ‘prompts’ in treating an incident as racist.