Playgrounds full of racial abuse

Many ethnic minority pupils in mainly white schools suffer a constant stream of racist abuse and "hurtful" name-calling, according to government-sponsored research.

A study for the Department for Education and Skills by researchers at Luton University shows the worst cases of abuse take place in areas where race-hate groups such as the British National Party have been active.

It reveals more than one in three children from ethnic minority groups were the victims of verbal abuse either at school or on the way home.

Asked if they had suffered race-related name calling during the past week, 26 per cent replied: "Yes."

Researchers surveyed a total of 34,000 pupils in 35 local education authorities where between 4 and 6 per cent of the pupils were from ethnic minority groups.

The researchers concluded the most persistent racial abuse was likely to be suffered by ethnic minority pupils in schools with a working-class catchment.

"Some children and parents had suffered racially motivated physical attacks in the areas where they lived, but this was rare," said the report.

"Most informants saw their school or class as trying to treat all children equally and playing down ethnic and cultural differences."

None of the schools surveyed had a fully developed strategy for preparing its pupils for life in a multi-cultural society. Many parents said they would prefer to rely on an older brother or sister to protect a child suffering from racial abuse.

Baroness Ashton of Upholland, the schools minister, said: "We cannot ignore the fact that the education service as a whole is clearly still not meeting the needs of many ethnic minority children."