The Independent reported today that the children's charity ChildLine said it had seen a large increase in the number of children and young people contacting it for help after suffering racist bullying.
The charity said 2013 saw a 69 per cent increase in those seeking help compared to 2012. An increase that the Independent notes coincides with "rising political hostility to immigration."
The head of ChildLine, Sue Minto, told the Independent: "There's so much more of a focus in the news at the moment about immigrants... it's a real discussion topic and children aren't immune to the conversations that happen around them."
She continued: "Some children are being told, even if they're UK born, to pack your bags and go back where you belong. It is very worrying, it's a big increase. This past year, it really seems to be something children and young people are suffering with."
A spokesman from Show Racism The Red Card also spoke to the Independent on the impact of the immigration debate on children.
He said: "We are doing work on the impact of far-right groups such as the English Defence League on children's attitudes. Often children are picking up language at home and from parents and taking that to be fact. The rhetoric at the moment around immigration is incredibly pervasive. The prominence of the immigration debate may have had a knock-on effect, filtering down in classrooms."