One child every school week is suspended for racist abuse in Richmond upon Thames, a report has revealed.

Data from the Department for Education (Dfe) shows that of the 740 children given a fixed term exclusion in Richmond in 2015, 30 of them, or 4.05 per cent, were suspended for racism.

This is the highest percentage of children excluded for racist abuse in the country, according to analysis from the New Schools Network, though a Richmond councillor said this was inflated due to the low number of overall exclusions.

The next highest London borough was in Islington, where 30 of the 960 exclusions were for racist abuse, or 3.13 per cent.

Richmond’s cabinet member for communities, Councillor Pamela Fleming, said any form of racism either in schools or the community was unacceptable.

She said: “Bullying in all forms, including those motivated by prejudice, is totally unacceptable and should not be tolerated.

“Our schools take a very strong stance against any forms of racism. We know that in many cases, the children don’t understand the consequences of what they are saying.”

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The report fails to take into account the fact that comparatively fewer children in Richmond are excluded from school than in other boroughs, according to Cllr Fleming.

1,390 were excluded from neighbouring Hounslow borough in 2015, 20 for racist abuse, and in Sutton 1,300 were suspended, 20 for racism.

The highest number of exclusions for racist abuse in the country was in Kent, where there were 180 incidents in 11,050 exclusions.

Cllr Fleming added: “Richmond does not have the highest number of children suspended in the country for racism.

“The figure has been calculated using the total number of children suspended for all reasons. As our overall number is low compared to elsewhere – the percentage appears to be higher.”

Sarah Pearson, interim director of New Schools Network, said free schools were already breaking down barriers between children from different backgrounds, cultures and ethnicities.

She said: “The addition of a ‘social need’ category in the free school criteria opens the door further for schools, charities and other community organisations to come forward with ideas to create schools designed to build community cohesion.

“We are already in discussion with a number of groups who have particular interest in community integration, and we anticipate that more will now follow in their footsteps.”

A Dfe spokesman said: “Racism has no place in our schools and any incident, however rare, is unacceptable.

"No pupil should experience harassment or abuse, least of all on school premises.

"That is why we’ve given headteachers more powers to tackle poor behaviour and exclude pupils if necessary, as well as introducing new training for teachers to help manage and support disruptive children.

“All schools must promote the fundamental British values of mutual respect and tolerance for those of all backgrounds, faiths and beliefs, and they are required by law to have measures in place to prevent bullying – including racist bullying.”