To think a school can change the culture when it comes to anti-redhead bullying?

[Absofruitly]

My son has recently started secondary school (we're in Scotland) and in the small number of days he has been at the school so far, he has on numerous occasions been threatened by other children that it is 'kick a ginger day' (he has red hair) and has also been kicked once by an older child (so much for looking out for the young new starts). This all came out after school today. He has been teased about his hair colour his whole life by ignorant little so-and-sos (while being roundly admired by all the little old ladies), but it seems to have stepped up a notch now he is at secondary school.
Is anti-redhead bullying taken seriously by schools, I wonder? I have told him to speak to his registration teacher (key adult) in the morning, and I will also contact the school separately, but I wonder what can really be done. Anti 'ginger' sentiment seems so ingrained in certain quarters here, and this is a country with the highest number of redheads in the world!
What can I really expect the school to do to deal with this kind of nastiness? I really don't want my son to feel negatively towards his hair. I think it's beautiful!

I’m a red head and was picked on hugely for my hair colour... sad to see this is still going on.

It’s a deeper issue than red hair. There are children in the school who are frankly, monsters. My ds was bullied during first yr secondary by a kid that tortured him mentally every day. Kick a ginger day, kick a kid with glasses day, it’ll be anything they can come up with. They just want to bully and that is the real issue. I hope you can stop your ds getting bullied, it’s very very difficult. I would go into school, see if any of the kicking is on CCTV. Keep a log of everything, dates times details of incidents and witnesses. You need to get on it right away imo and sadly you do need to try and get your ds to have strategies to deal with it. Telling them to fuck off is no good because then your ds has used offensive language and they’ll go moaning that they’ve been sworn at and your ds will be in trouble. It’s a really difficult problem.

My DD2 gets this a bit and she isn’t even ginger! A few reddy bits through her hair but she’s also got glasses so she gets the speccy and ginger thing. DD3 is ginger beautiful dark red hair it’s stunning and the thought of her being teased for it makes me so sad (she’s P7).

Even sadder is older girls who now dye their red hair as they hate it because of bullying. About 5 I know of.

I am ginger and have comments throughout school and throughout work.

Really lazy crap and seemingly unavoidable.

When my dd crowned at birth she got her first negative comment from the midwife!

My daughter's are redheads. I have used the word ginger to describe their hair from babies, and how beautiful it is.
This worked for a while, when children or adults made comments about ginger, my girls looked blank and didn't even understand it had negative connotations.

Unfortunately, my eldest is eight and it's ramping up at school. A group of children surrounded my daughter chanting ginger and laughing at her.

I emailed the headmaster, I asked what the school was doing to protect my daughter inline with anti bullying policies. The school reacted very well, but it's knocking my child's confidence.

My childhood was full of this, and I had beautiful hair. The school did nothing, even when it was public. I knew my XMIL would never even try to be nice when she told me redheads were unlucky (one of many insults). I hope your school does something. I once read that having red hair is the closest you can get to experiencing racism if you're white, while I think that's a exaggerated I do know what they mean.

Sadly, I think there is a lot of truth in what you say Kaddm. I have given him some strongly worded comebacks to use in the past (he suffered bullying in primary school as well), and he doesn't want to use them because 'then the boys will just tell on me for shouting and swearing, mum'. The kids who are bullies are wise to any 'out' they can use to turn it around on others.
That's interesting that there may be CCTV of the kicking incident though. I didn't realise schools had it. I will try to find out exactly where it happened and let the school know.

Ah yes, bad luck/ terrible temper/ filthy in bed and one memorable moment when a woman in Sicily made a sign with her hands and called me a name! Friends explained she had called me a whore as prostitutes used to dye hair red?

I have red hair and got the “collar and cuffs” type comments too - tbh I think it’s less about red hair though and more about anything that is different, bullies look for an angle and this is one of them.

I’d not so much be talking to the school about red hair prejudice so much as what actions they are going to take to keep my child safe at school - as is their legal duty.

Schools aren’t any good at changing any culture of bullying.

I'm a redhead. Hate the term ginger, probably because of bullying at school. I went blonde at 14 and stayed that way until college. I love my red hair now though.

Oddly, redheaded DD never had this issue so I thought things had improved but clearly not. I guess it depends on the kids involved I was a terrible nerd too and had pretty low confidence. I didn't blossom till my late teens whereas DD was lovely looking. Kids are pretty shallow.

Bless him, DP has bright orange hair. I'd love my kids to get it but do worry about this. Apparently DP was never teased once about it but they certainly bullied the ginger at my school.

It's the most beautiful hair colour ever btw. If DP ever left me I'd have to go hunting for another redhead... tis very handsome on a man.

It’s seems to me that picking on redheads is still acceptable somehow. My DH is ginger and I’m ashamed to admit I was relieved when my children were born without red hair as I was worried about bullying in the future. It’s a disgrace OP and school should be tougher on the bullies.

I don't think there is anti redhead culture to be honest, more than some kids can be misjudge humour/banter through to being unpleasant through to outright bullying. Anything that marks someone's different can be enough.

I won't believe any school/teacher who says bullying and nastiness doesn't happen in their school, but I judge a school and teachers by the way they respond to bullying and unpleasant behaviour.

Is this still going on? 😞 I've got a red headed son, the thought of him going through what your son does breaks my heart: I'm so sorry. The school need to crack down on this. If it were a range of other demographics I feel as thought it would be treated exceptionally seriously x

Red hair is beautiful, my favourite hair colour. I am biased, although my hair isn't red I come from a red-haired family, Grandmother, mother, 2 daughters, 1 grandchild and uncle and a cousin all redheads.

I agree with PP who said that any bullying for personal characteristics should be treated the same as racism. Schools would be sure to make an example of bullying because of skin colour, to me it is the samething.

A a ginger this makes me sad, i always thought Scotland and Ireland were more accepting since they had a greater percentage of us.

It also makes me angry, ffs, 5% of the population in the UK are red heads. What percentage are natural blondes.

Sorry, posted to early. My post should have read at the end"Schools would be sure to make an example of bullying because of skin colour, quite rightly, to me it is the same thing"

My dd has ginger hair and there’s another boy in her class who has really bright ginger hair. She gets so many compliments and no children have said anything to her or the other boy.
Strangely the only comments she’s had have been from adults and then I’ve been very sharp and given a filthy look and a blunt response.
I’d expect the school to take this seriously especially as he’s been kicked! It doesn’t matter the reason they need to put a stop to it.
Sorry your son has had this! Kids can be utter shits!

It is horrible that your Son is enduring this treatment from children in his school. These kids have obviously learnt it from somewhere and I blame the adults who find it funny to make derogatory comments. I find the supposedly 'joke' greetings cards that take the piss out of ginger haired people disgusting. Also the sketch shows, Catherine Tate being one just give kids the ok to target red haired kids. Often watching chat shows like Jonathan Ross or Graham Norton they make offensive remarks towards gingers.

Red hair is indigenous to Scotland. Apparently on a genetic level, the west of Scotland is one of the very few places in the world where red hair actually 'comes from'. I should find a citation...what's annoying me on this thread is the diminishing of red headed experience 'please don't compare it to racism' . Seriously? It's a characteristic of race. It is. The bullying of anyone for this is disgusting and there should be zero tolerance of it in schools.

My daughter is a redhead (from Edinburgh too OP) and she loves loves loves her hair and is very bolshie about it. Thank goodness. I'm so sorry that your son is suffering. I do hope the school respond appropriately.

Comparing it to racism is abhorrent and if you can't see that you need to take a look back through history and see the atrocities that have been perpetuated against black people. Are you seriously comparing slavery and racism to bullying over ginger hair? Neither is right, but to say hair colour is on a par with skin colour is disgusting and honestly, pretty offensive. How many people have been killed due to their hair colour? Lynched? Not allowed to sit in restaurants? Banned from certain kinds of accomodation? Removed from their families (aborigines in Australia). I could go on...

Another redhead here. So sorry your son is having to deal with this, absolutely the school need to step in and stop the bullying but in my experience most schools are crap at dealing with bullying.

While your son is not at fault, for his own sake I'm afraid he is going to have to find a way to stand up for himself. I know it's hard, I am naturally painfully shy myself and had the additional factor of being an army brat during school years so was also often the suspiciously regarded new girl.

It was bloody hard but I had to adopt a tougher persona at school or I'd have been ripped to shreds!

It needn't involve swearing but he does need to have some stock phrases to use and he needs to not be backwards in reporting any actual violence as that's completely unacceptable.

Regarding "it's not racism" - frankly some on this thread do need to educate themselves on the history of the treatment of scots and redheads. We may not have had the extremes of awful treatment that other races have had but please don't be ignorant and claim we haven't had ANY bad treatment! Have you not even heard of the highland clearances? Even in recent years Scotland and scots are treated appallingly by Westminster with policies designed to "keep them in their place"

Racism is NOT just about skin colour (though I accept the worst examples have been perpetrated against those who aren't white) it is also about power and control and the ridiculous thinking that because a person has certain physical characteristics due to their heritage they are less worthy of decent, humane treatment.

But yes op absolutely you are right to expect the school to do all they can to stop bullying of any kind.

@LolaSmiles oh there is. I'm 35 and it started at birth "you've got a girl and she's a redhead. Shame"
Bullied all through school. If it wasn't the red hair it was the pale skin. At 35, they're still using the same insults which does make me eye roll

I love red hsir myself. I hope your ds is ok. A bully will always ve a bully and it should be dealt with by school.
Red hair is certainly not seeb as a bad thing here. My 6 year old wants red hair like her friend. She called it orange but you get the idea.