School racism must be tackled – Steve Cardownie

Shocking allegations about racism at St Augustine’s RC High School must be investigated and the findings made public, writes Steve Cardownie.

St Augustine's RC High School is facing accusations about racism from more than 30 students (Picture: Ian Georgeson)

I was disappointed to read in Monday’s paper that racist slurs were fairly common in the corridors of St Augustine’s RC High School in Broomhouse Road but what was more disturbing was the accusation that senior staff at the school were, according to Miguel Chui, a former pupil, “ignoring reports of racism and thereby allowing racist incidents to continue”. He went on to say: “As a result of the school’s approach to handling racist incidents, pupils are not afraid to be racist towards other students of colour, knowing that they will be protected by the system.”

The accusations have been endorsed by a teacher at the school who said that “I have witnessed parents who have come into school over issues of racial bullying after the issue has been initially swept under the carpet as ‘normal chid fallout.’”

If true, this is a shocking indictment of the attitude of some teachers who would appear to have adopted a nonchalant attitude to what can only be described as horrendous accounts of racist behaviour within the ranks of the pupil population and as such have abrogated their responsibility to protect those in their charge.

It was just under a month ago when I used my column to laud the anti-racism work being undertaken in our schools and in particular St Thomas of Augustine, where my son attends. I extensively quoted the headteacher, Christopher Santini, who sent out an email to parents addressing the issue of racism.

He wrote: “We want all our children and young people to thrive and lead in a diverse and complex world. We do not underestimate the challenge of this deep-rooted problem. We are fully committed to making a difference, harnessing the compassion, energy and creativity of our children, young people, families and staff to make Edinburgh a city where there is no place for discrimination and injustice.”

In the same column, Edinburgh’s Education Convener Councillor Ian Perry said: “It is an important time to reaffirm and strengthen our commitment to tackling the issue of racism and systematic inequalities for people of colour.”

So there we have it, a clear statement of the City Council’s intent on playing its part in eradicating racist and discriminatory behaviour in our schools.

All the more worrying therefore that it would appear that teaching staff at St Augustine’s have failed to get the message. More than 30 pupils have asserted that there is a “lack of support from senior leadership” within the school which allows racism to flourish.

Surely it is incumbent on teachers and senior staff to intervene and investigate accusations of racist behaviour and not just to shrug their shoulders and put it down to “normal child fallout”.

However we may derive some comfort from the words of Councillor Alison Dickie who acknowledged that although “there is a lot of positive work taking place across our schools, we fully realise that much more needs to be done. This involves listening to young people who have experienced racism...” Well, young people who have experienced racism at St Augustine’s have spoken out and have condemned the inaction of senior staff when it has been brought to their attention. Policy statements are all well and good but what these pupils are crying out for is action – that is why nothing short of a full investigation into these accusations will suffice.

If the Council is serious about tackling this issue, and I have no reason to doubt that it is, then it would be a dereliction of duty if these young people’s plea for help is ignored. Current and future pupils deserve to know that their concerns are being addressed and if that means certain teachers being brought to book, then so be it!

So let’s have an investigation and make the findings be made public – we deserve no less!

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