Racism: Abuse being normalised in Wales' schools - report

Bowen says his school was good at dealing with racism when he was abused by fellow pupils

Racism was something Bowen experienced "quite often" at school.

He was once subjected to a tirade of racial slurs and had food thrown at his hair by a fellow pupil in Swansea and said it was "a tough time in terms of racism".

A new report by the children's commissioner for Wales said racist abuse happened regularly in schools and was "being normalised" by students.

The Welsh government said it would "carefully consider" recommendations.

Bowen, who is now studying for his A-levels in college, said his school "did know how to deal with it" when he was racially abused, and the incidents made him more resilient.

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He felt that not enough people were educated on hurtful and racist language, adding: "There was always something every day to be honest.

"Not something as big as what I just told you but little things. People being very uneducated - whether they mean it or not."

Bowen was not alone - the report highlighted cases of a Muslim girl being told "you're hiding a bomb in your scarf" and another girl being left in tears after her hijab was pulled off.

Other children said they had been called a terrorist and one child was told by another that they did not want to sit by them because of their skin colour.

Children said they felt racism was not taken seriously and some feared retaliation if they reported it.

Fatma Nur Aksoy says some school pupils "don't understand" why women and girls wear hijabs

Fatma Nur Aksoy, 18, from Newport, said despite not having a personal experience of racism, her friends had been abused and attacked because of their race.

"I think this stuff is disgusting because they don't deserve this. We choose to wear this on our heads because we're religious," she said.

"It's not because we have to, it's because we choose to and we're proud to put them on our heads."

She felt better understanding of different religions was needed in schools to educate children on things such as the hijab.

Children's commissioner for Wales Rocio Cifuentes said a stronger response to racism was needed in schools as there was an inconsistency with how they defined, recorded and responded to it.

She added: "There is a need for a whole culture change to really support schools to respond more effectively and more importantly to help young people and children feel safer and feel confident that their schools will take incidents of racism seriously and something will be done about it.

"There is a real need for a comprehensive approach to dealing with this, rather than at the moment where we have pockets of excellent practice but other schools are really struggling."

Children's commissioner for Wales Rocio Cifuentes believes there is need for "a whole culture change"

The report also describes pupils who said they did not get enough opportunity to learn about religious diversity, with others saying they only discussed racial diversity during Black History Month.

John Steinbeck's 1937 novel Of Mice and Men has also been removed from some schools' GCSE syllabus due to its use of the N-word.

Ysgol Gyfun Gymraeg Glantaf in Cardiff was among the schools to scrap the book.

Head teacher Matthew Evans said: "When our students came together, their views on Of Mice and Men were brutal.

"It's not a question of 'is this censorship?', it's a question about having a broad and balanced curriculum fit for the 21st Century."

This year Wales became the first UK nation to mandate the teaching of black and minority ethnic history, but Ms Cifuentes said the Welsh government needed to take the experiences of young people in schools more seriously.

Laura Doel, national secretary for school leaders' union NAHT, welcomed the report's recommendation that education staff also needed training and support on how to effectively take an anti-racist approach.

She said schools had "a unique and vital role to play" in order to help build "a truly inclusive society".

The Welsh government said: "Racism is unacceptable in our schools. While this report makes for difficult reading, it is vital that we listen to children and young people, and effectively address the issues they are facing."