School racism: Mum angry over 'soft punishments' for abuse

A mother has accused a secondary school of not taking racism claims seriously enough after her son was subjected to name-calling and bullying.

Claire - not her real name - said her 12-year-old son, who is of black heritage, was repeatedly called racist slurs at a school in southern England.

She said incidents were either not acted upon, or the punishments given to the offending pupils were too lenient.

The school said all forms of bullying, including racism, were never tolerated.

Claire said the first incident followed a disagreement between her son and another pupil, whose siblings then got involved.

She said they had used a racist slur against her son, adding: "He also got a bottle of drink poured over his head. He burst into tears when he got home."

Claire said other children called him similar names on "at least eight to 10" occasions, at times claiming they had "a pass" because they had friends from similar ethnic backgrounds.

She said on one occasion, when a child used a slur in front of the class, they were given a day of isolation - the same punishment for wearing the wrong uniform.

She also believes her son is sometimes treated differently because of his ethnic background.

Recounting one such incident, the boy said he and a group of pupils watched a fight involving two others.

"Because they could only recognise me on the CCTV out of everyone who was there, I got suspended with the two boys who had the fight," he said.

The boy said his parents asked to see the CCTV but the school refused.

His mother said a video taken by another pupil showed her son had been a bystander, along with several other students. She sent that video to the school, but said nothing was done.

The school, which the BBC is not identifying, said it had a clear anti-bullying policy and such allegations were treated extremely seriously.

"While it would not be appropriate to comment on an individual child, the comments made do not accurately represent the full picture," a statement said.

The school said the safety and wellbeing of pupils was its "absolute priority" and its safeguarding and child protection policies were followed "consistently and equally".

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