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Teachers warn extremism policy prevents open debate | |
(about 13 hours later) | |
Teachers have warned that the government's anti-extremism strategy is "shutting down" open debate in school. | |
The National Union of Teachers conference voted for the government's Prevent strategy to be withdrawn from schools and colleges. | |
Delegates said it created "suspicion and confusion" rather than safety in schools. | |
The Department for Education says it "makes no apology" for protecting young people from extremism. | The Department for Education says it "makes no apology" for protecting young people from extremism. |
The NUT's annual conference in Brighton heard warnings that the counter-radicalisation policy was stopping teachers from discussing "challenging ideas" with their pupils. | |
There were warnings that it encouraged a climate of "over-reaction" in which pupils were mistakenly reported and the police called. | |
Among the cases mentioned were a child writing about a "cucumber" which was misinterpreted as "cooker bomb" and a child who wrote about living in a "terraced" house which was misunderstood as a "terrorist" house. | |
'Secret service' | |
The conference voted to support a motion calling on the government to withdraw the Prevent strategy for schools and to develop an alternative approach to safeguarding. | |
Teachers said they had lost confidence in being able to talk about topical issues and that this could "smother" the discussion of legitimate political opinions. | |
Lisa Tunnell from Chesterfield said fears about pupils being reported to the police, meant that schools were not able to have "honest and open" debates. | |
The anti-extremism strategy "disproportionately targets Muslims", said Ms Tunnell. | |
Gary Kaye from north Yorkshire said students would want to talk about major events in the news, such as terror attacks. | |
But he said schools had become uncertain about what could be debated - and complained that teachers were being used as the "secret service of the public sector". | |
Paul McGarr from East London said students had become nervous about talking openly about the information and ideas that they might across outside school. | |
He said that pupils would be safer and less vulnerable if they were able to debate and evaluate such ideas in a safe place in school. | |
'Resilience' | 'Resilience' |
Alex Kenny told the conference that teachers needed to be able to help pupils to "make sense of the world". | |
The NUT's general secretary Christine Blower said schools had a "moral obligation" to protect children from extremism. | |
But she said that young people are more likely to encounter extremist ideas on social media websites rather than in school. | |
Ms Blower said the best contribution of schools would be to encourage discussion. | |
The Counter-Terrorism and Security Act, introduced last year, places a legal duty on schools to "prevent people from being drawn into terrorism". | The Counter-Terrorism and Security Act, introduced last year, places a legal duty on schools to "prevent people from being drawn into terrorism". |
It followed fears about young people being radicalised in schools and colleges, after some young people disappeared to Syria or joined extremist groups. | It followed fears about young people being radicalised in schools and colleges, after some young people disappeared to Syria or joined extremist groups. |
The government has said that Prevent does not inhibit open debate and discussion, but provides the "resilience" for young people to challenge extremism arguments. | |
A Department for Education spokeswoman said: "We make no apology for protecting children and young people from the risks of extremism and radicalisation. | A Department for Education spokeswoman said: "We make no apology for protecting children and young people from the risks of extremism and radicalisation. |
"Prevent is playing a key role in identifying children at risk of radicalisation and supporting schools to intervene. | "Prevent is playing a key role in identifying children at risk of radicalisation and supporting schools to intervene. |
"Good schools will already have been safeguarding children from extremism and promoting fundamental British values long before this duty came into force."Teachers have warned that the government's anti-extremism strategy is "shutting down" open debate in school. |