More than a dozen suspensions for racial abuse in Luton schools

School notebooks, pens and bag. Picture: Pixabay via Pexels

Schools in Luton recorded more than a dozen suspensions for racial abuse last year, new figures show.

Department for Education figures show there were 14 suspensions at Luton schools for racial abuse during the 2022-23 spring term – in line with the same period the year before.

Nationally, there were 3,779 suspensions for racial abuse – a 21% rise from spring 2021-22. In Luton schools, pupils were suspended on two occasions during this period.

Becca Rosenthal, hate crime lead at Victim Support, said schools are working harder to protect young people impacted by racial hate.

“So, this increase in suspensions and exclusions could be an indicator that schools are clamping down on this behaviour, rather than reflecting an actual rise in racist abuse.”

She added: “Racist abuse has a devastating impact on young people, affecting their mental health and overall wellbeing.

“It can cause the breakdown of friendships and disrupt children’s learning, making victims unwilling to come to school. It’s vital that schools and youth services have the tools to tackle racist abuse and staff are confident in having challenging conversations.”

Across the country, 20 pupils had to look for a new school after being permanently excluded for racial abuse – none of them in Luton.

There was a total of 973 temporary suspensions in the area – a 48 per cent increase compared to the year before. On average, those suspended missed 3.7 days from school. Pupils were also suspended for bullying eight times.

Pepe Di’Iasio, general secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders, said these cases are linked to wider societal issues such as access to hateful and prejudiced online content.

A Department for Education spokesperson said: “Racism, discrimination and violent behaviour have no place in our schools, nor in society.

“The Government is very clear it backs head teachers to use exclusions where required, so they can provide calm, safe, and supportive environments for children to learn in.

“We are providing targeted support to schools to help improve behaviour, attendance and reduce the risk of exclusions with an investment of £10 million in our Behaviour Hubs programme, and our mental health teams who will reach at least 50% of pupils by 2025.”