News and current topics

Update February 2024

Together for Humanity

School leaders face the challenges of navigating sensitive and controversial topical issues in their schools everyday. Wars and conflicts create difficult conversations in classrooms. The Together for Humanity campaign and partners are holding a webinar for school leaders to help them with navigating difficult conversations in schools, including ongoing conflicts in Israel and Palestine.

The webinar is aimed at helping school leaders manage tension in their schools and get them thinking about what they can prioritise to address issues around cohesion and will offer leaders in schools, colleges and trusts, the chance to explore practices from partners and educators that have worked in some contexts, around navigating contentious topics in schools, including ongoing conflicts in Israel and Palestine.

Please feel free to pass on details to local contacts – registration is via this link

The webinar is being organised by the Together for Humanity campaign as part of the Together Coalition, and will feature a range of speakers from the Association for Citizenship Teaching, Faith and Belief Forum, Facing History & Ourselves UK, and Solutions Not Sides.

Update 24^th October 2023

Govdelivery.com: Message on the Israel Hamas conflict from the Education Secretary Gillian Keegan, the Minister for Schools Nick Gibb and the Minister for Skills, Apprenticeships and Higher Education Robert Halfon

Educate against hate recent blog

The latest blog on the Educate Against Hate website. Though aimed at Schools and FE, the resources discussed can be useful across the education sector.

Talking to young people about what’s going on in the news can be challenging, particularly when it involves conflict.

The Educate Against Hate team have pulled together some advice about how schools can discuss and approach difficult issues, like ongoing conflicts, with their learners in a way that will allow them to consider the classroom as a place where they can voice their opinions and feelings on things that are happening around the world.

The blog post signposts quality-assured resources to help you discuss conflicts sensitively with your students.

Educate Against Hate: Advice for schools and colleges: How to speak about the news, ongoing conflicts and hold discussions on difficult topics with students

Information from the Home Office to support schools during this challenging time off the back of the conflict over the weekend of 7^th/8^th October 2023

Prevent and schools

Many young people will have a strong personal interest in these issues, and we are aware that in some schools this may lead to political activity by older pupils. Schools should ensure that political expression by pupils is done sensitively, avoiding disruption and feelings of intimidation or targeting for other pupils and staff. Schools should also make every effort to ensure that this activity does not extend to discriminatory bullying or involve the expression of antisemitic, anti-Muslim, or other discriminatory views. Where this does happen, the Department for Education expect schools to deal with these incidents with all due seriousness, in line with their behaviour policy.

Depending on the circumstances, safeguarding leads may also look to determine whether abusive and discriminatory views expressed or shared by pupils are representative a wider susceptibility, and consider the appropriateness of engaging with support through the Prevent programme. We trust teachers and other staff to exercise their professional judgment about whether a referral is appropriate, as they do for all other safeguarding risks. Further training and more discussion around radicalisation will help in addressing this, and advice and guidance is available on Educate Against Hate and Gov.UK to support safeguarding leads in making these decisions.

Schools should also be mindful of their legal duties regarding political impartiality and should always avoid working organisations that promote antisemitic, anti-Muslim or any other discriminatory views. The Department for Education has published clear and comprehensive guidance to help those working with and in schools to better understand legal duties on political impartiality. The guidance can be found here:

Gov.UK: Political impartiality in schools

Further resources

Particularly in relation to the conflict, and any antisemitic or anti-Muslim incidents emanating as a result of this, you may find the below links useful:

• The Community Security Trust (CST) has published a number of resources on their social media feeds, including guidance on how to communicate about Israel in a non-antisemitic way. A host of other resources can be found on their website here: Educational Resources – CST – Protecting Our Jewish Community. CST also has a national emergency number which should be used to report antisemitic attacks, alongside calling 999: 0800 032 3263.
• Tell Mama is a confidential support service for those suffering from anti-Muslim hate and discrimination across the UK. Their website features a number of different ways to report anti-Muslim incidents, including via phone or WhatsApp: Report in Anti-Muslim Hate or Islamophobia (tellmamauk.org). The site also hosts useful resources, including on mosque security.
• Solutions not sides: Teacher briefing presentation slides
• Solutions not sides: School presentation slides
• Solutions not sides: Guide to avoiding antisemitic and Islamophobic hate speech when talking about Israel-Palestine
• Solutions not sides: Discussing Israel-Palestine: Creating safe spaces and compassionate spaces for learning