Family leave Wales after girl faces racism at school

The teenager's mother said she had been left 'mentally scarred'

Her belongings are packed in boxes and black bags as the family prepares to leave Wales for good.

They say they are moving because racism towards their daughter at school made her "scared" and "withdrawn".

The 13-year-old has already spent some time at a new school in the north of England while the rest of the family pack up their home in Gwynedd.

Gwynedd council said all its schools take every case of racism, bullying and harassment seriously.

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The family is packed up, ready to move to the north of England

Mum Laura - not her real name to protect the family's identity - said they moved to the area with high hopes during the pandemic.

But they started to notice their daughter, who had been attending a local secondary school, was withdrawn and did not seem to have close friends. She was eating her lunch alone.

Earlier this year she told her parents that some older pupils on the school bus had been using racist words.

"She stood out so it's something she was very aware of and conscious of - her appearance and her look of being from a mixed race background", Laura says.

Laura said her daughter heard racist slurs and there was "taunting behaviour".

Children were playing rap music that included racist words, and asking her daughter how she felt about it.

She said senior staff were "very upset" when they were told about it, but the family was unhappy with the action they took.

Laura said that some pupils were excluded but only for a few days, and the effect they had seen on their daughter had been distressing.

"She's been really withdrawn, quite sad - there's been anger in her behaviour - you see it," Laura said.

"For a while she kind of stopped eating, she didn't want to eat, she wasn't sleeping very well at all - and she said 'I'm scared'".

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Laura said her daughter was still processing everything and "doesn't understand the hatred that's been directed towards her".

"Even though she hasn't been physically hurt, she's been mentally scarred," she said.

She said there was another incident, when a pupil was heard describing her daughter in an "unbelievably racist way".

By then the family - disillusioned and concerned about what could happen next - had already made the decision to move.

They made formal complaints to the school and the police.

A spokesperson for Gwynedd council's education authority said every effort was made to ensure all their schools were "inclusive and fair places" and there were clear policies in place.

"We are deeply concerned by any report of racism and we encourage pupils and parents to discuss with the school if they are victims of such behaviour or see another pupil targeted," they said.

They said that any discriminatory behaviour was dealt with according to their behaviour policy and could lead to steps including temporary or permanent exclusion.

'Picture of suffering'

"Our pupils and their families know that racism is a hate crime and racist incidents can lead to police prosecution," the spokesperson added.

North Wales Police said they were in contact with the family, and Insp Lisa Jones said schools were encouraged to record, report and respond to racist incidents.

"Our school liaison officers and local policing teams work hard to encourage children and young people to understand the impact of their words and actions, to respect difference and to promote community cohesion in the longer-term," she said.

Laura said her daughter showed her feelings in a drawing, which was a "picture of suffering".

She called for better education from a young age about "inclusiveness and multicultural and diverse attitudes".

"There should be no injustice - I get that bullying happens but it's how a school deals with it," she added.

Race Council Cymru said schools should take any racist behaviours or language "very, very seriously" because of the impact it could have on children "into adulthood".

Chief executive Prof Uzo Iwobi said organisations such as Race Council Cymru were there to help support schools and educate children and staff.

She said she was "heartbroken" to hear a mother say she had removed her child from a school, and from Wales because of their experience.

"We must stop at nothing until every child feels safe in their school environment to continue with their studies which is what they are there to do in the first place", she said.

"You can't be held accountable for what children do, you can be held accountable and must be held accountable for what they have done that you've failed to address."

The Welsh government published an Anti-Racist Wales Action Plan last month which included measures to tackle racism in school.

Ministers said there would be "a national approach" in supporting teachers with questions around race and racism, as part of education's key role in an "anti-racist Wales".

• If you've been affected by issues raised in this report, the BBC Action Line has a list of organisations who may be able to help.