Political activism has no place in the classroom, Shadow Education Secretary Laura Trott has told the Conservative Party conference.
Trott said that “children are encountering a biased and often wildly inaccurate world view as fact, all within a place they are meant to trust”. She vowed that under the Conservatives there would be “consequences for when schools don’t meet impartiality requirements”.
The Education Act 1996 forbids maintained schools in England and Wales from “the promotion of partisan political views in the teaching of any subject in the school” and requires them to take steps to ensure pupils receive a balanced presentation of opposing views. There are parallel requirements for independent schools.
Launching a new seven-point pledge to parents, the party promised to take “politics out of the classroom”, to ensure teachers are equipped to present issues in “a politically neutral way” and to give Ofsted new powers “to inspect political impartiality”, including lessons, assemblies, external materials and staff training.
It highlighted parental concerns surrounding the use of third-party teaching materials provided by “extreme and highly political campaign groups”, which it said is replacing “education by indoctrination”.
To remedy this, the Conservatives said they would “require all schools to publish the external organisations and materials they use” for Personal, Social, Health and Economic education (PSHE), “allowing parents to share and discuss them”.
The Party would also “create a new mechanism to enable parents and educators to raise the alarm” with the Department for Education.
The Christian Institute has consistently warned that pressure groups with their own agendas are approaching schools offering advice, training and resources, and has also called for improved transparency surrounding sex education materials.
Schools should not be undermining parents’ beliefs.
In response to the announcement, Institute Head of Education John Denning said: “A good education should involve the fair presentation of a variety of views on contested topics, so pupils are aware of different opinions and can critically consider them – and that certainly should include a Christian view.
“We know from many parents, teachers and school governors contacting us that this is not always the case. As Christians, we believe parents are ultimately responsible for their children’s education. This is recognised in UK law, too. Schools should not be undermining parents’ beliefs.
“So making sure parents know what is being taught and can take effective action when there is a problem is key. These proposals are welcome, but of course, we need to see the details to know if they would be effective.”
Christian teachers, parents and pupils are increasingly facing difficulties as the education system becomes more secular. Pressure groups with their own agendas are approaching schools offering advice, training and resources. Often this is backed up with vague appeals to the ‘Equality Act’ to make schools feel they have no alternative but to follow the advice given.
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