Schools are required to submit a monthly report, a policy inherited from Strathclyde Region, which was forced to act in 1993 following problems at Shawlands Academy in Glasgow.

Further investigation showed that 133 of the alleged incidents involved “unintentional” racism and 84 were “intentional”. Six, all involving name calling, were said to have had no racial motivation. Name calling accounted for 119 of the unintentional incidents and for 67 cases of intentionally racist abuse.

Three allegations of racist comments in lessons were found to be intentional while four were unintentional. There were six well-founded cases of racist graffiti and one judged to be unintentional. Alleged ridicule over cultural differences was the subject of six complaints, four of which were said to be unintentional.

Only one case of a racist physical assault was reported which was regarded, following investigation, as intentional.

Strathclyde Region’s plan to tackle racist incidents within the education service, on which Glasgow’s policy is based, included a 28-point course of action schools are required to follow. Among the key points they should: * Establish effective communications between staff, parents, pupils and external bodies.

* Set up equal opportunities committees to put policy into practice.

* Provide effective training for staff to deal with race issues.