To ask the Scottish Government what action it has taken to improve the reporting and recording of Islamophobia in schools, colleges and universities.
The Scottish Government is clear there is no place for Islamophobia or racism in our schools, colleges or universities. Discrimination or prejudice of any kind is unacceptable and must be addressed quickly whenever it arises.
A consistent and uniform approach to recording and monitoring incidents of bullying in schools was introduced in 2019. Guidance for local authorities and schools on recording and monitoring bullying incidents was produced to support the approach. The Bullying and Equalities Module on SEEMiS, the schools management information system, was updated to reflect the new approach. The list of characteristics that can be reported on within SEEMiS includes incidents where race or religion was a factor.
Our Behaviour in Scottish Schools research, which published on 28 November 2023, provides information on the frequency with which staff are dealing with racist incidents towards pupils or themselves. Our work on Racism and Racist Incidents, which is part of the Anti Racism in Education Programme, will provide further guidance for schools on recording and monitoring racist incidents, including incidents of Islamophobia.
The Scottish Funding Council (SFC) and the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) published a report earlier this year, which asks higher and further education institutions to address the most pressing persistent inequalities in the tertiary education system, including islamophobia, by contributing to a set of National Equality Outcomes (NEOs). We expect higher and further education institutions to prioritise, and demonstrate progress against these NEOs, in line with their reporting requirements under the Public Sector Equality Duty.
Additionally, in 2021-22, the Scottish Government supported the Fearless Glasgow collaborative in a pilot on the use of Report and Support, an online reporting system for incidents of islamophobia, gender-based violence and other issues, which is now in use at a number of universities across the UK.