Reporting and Logging a Racial Incident
Accurate reporting and recording are essential to ensure that racial incidents are responded to appropriately, patterns are identified, and children, young people and staff are supported effectively.
Recording should not be viewed as an administrative task only. It is an important part of safeguarding, wellbeing, prevention and whole-school anti-racist practice.
Why Reporting and Logging Matters
- Supports children and young people affected by racial incidents
- Helps schools identify patterns, repeated incidents and emerging concerns
- Supports safeguarding and wellbeing planning
- Provides a clear record of actions taken and outcomes
- Helps inform preventative work and professional learning
- Supports a consistent whole-school approach to anti-racist practice
Recording at School Level
Schools should ensure that racial incidents are recorded promptly, accurately and proportionately through appropriate school recording systems.
- Be factual, neutral and objective
- Distinguish between what was witnessed and what was reported
- Avoid assumptions, personal opinion or judgemental language
- Include actions taken by the school
- Include any follow-up support or outcomes
- Identify whether similar incidents have happened previously
Use wording such as “X reported that…” or “Y stated that…” rather than presenting unverified information as fact. If quoting a child, young person, parent or carer, use quotation marks.
Using SEEMiS / Pastoral Notes
SEEMiS Latest Pastoral Notes should be used to record relevant and significant events relating to children and young people, including wellbeing concerns and incidents that may impact on the child or young person.
- Is this event likely to impact on the child or young person?
- How might this event make the child or young person feel?
- Has a similar event happened previously?
- Is there a pattern of behaviour or repeated concern?
- Does this increase risk or wellbeing concerns?
- Are further actions, support or referrals required?
Health & Safety Reporting
Health & Safety colleagues have advised that schools are expected to report racial incidents through the Health & Safety Portal in certain circumstances.
This includes racial abuse directed towards staff and may also include pupil-on-pupil incidents. Health & Safety advice received indicates that all forms of racial abuse, including verbal, written and physical abuse, should be recorded.
Schools should use professional judgement when determining appropriate reporting arrangements and should ensure that recording through school systems and the Health & Safety Portal is accurate, proportionate and avoids unnecessary duplication.
Recording through SEEMiS / school systems and reporting through the Health & Safety Portal may both be required, depending on the nature of the incident and who is affected.
When Should Police Scotland Be Involved?
Police Scotland should be contacted where the school believes that a hate crime or hate incident may have taken place.
Hate crime: Any crime motivated wholly or partly by malice or ill-will based on one or more actual or perceived protected characteristics.
Hate incident: Any incident where a crime has not been committed, but where it is perceived by the reporter or any other person that the incident was motivated wholly or partly by malice or ill-will based on one or more actual or perceived protected characteristics.
- A hate crime or hate incident may have occurred
- There is violence, threats, intimidation or harassment
- There is an escalating or repeated pattern of behaviour
- There are safeguarding concerns
- There is a serious incident
- There is a risk to the safety or wellbeing of children, young people or staff
Not every racial incident will meet the threshold for police involvement. However, incidents should still be recorded and advice should be sought where staff are unsure.
Working with Parents and Carers
Parents and carers should be informed in line with school procedures, unless there are specific safeguarding reasons not to do so.
Where Police Scotland is involved, schools should notify families of police involvement where appropriate. Questions about a police investigation should be directed to the enquiry officer to avoid sharing confidential information or compromising the enquiry.
Monitoring and Review
Schools should use recorded information to monitor patterns, identify repeat incidents and inform preventative action.
- Individual support for children and young people
- Staff wellbeing and support
- Early intervention
- Whole-school planning
- Professional learning
- Development of anti-racist practice
Suggested Reporting Pathway
- Racial incident occurs or is reported
- Immediate safety, wellbeing and safeguarding needs are considered
- Incident is recorded through SEEMiS / appropriate school recording systems
- Staff consider whether Health & Safety Portal reporting is required
- Staff consider whether Police Scotland involvement or advice is required
- Parents/carers are informed where appropriate
- Actions, support and outcomes are recorded
- Patterns and trends are monitored to inform prevention and whole-school practice
- All racial incidents should be taken seriously and recorded appropriately
- Recording should be factual, neutral and objective
- SEEMiS / school systems and the Health & Safety Portal may both be relevant
- Police Scotland advice should be sought where a hate crime or hate incident may have occurred
- Repeated incidents and patterns should be monitored and acted upon
Visual Summary
Download the flowchart below for use in schools, staff meetings and professional learning.
