Now Corbyn is trying to indoctrinate our children

Row as Labour demands all pupils learn about evils of British Empire

JEREMY Corbyn will today unveil proposals to ensure schoolchildren are taught about the legacy of Britain’s role in slavery and colonialism.

The move comes on the same day as Labour faces accusations that it is ‘putting ideology first and children second’ with its plans to impose a new rule book on all schools.

The National Curriculum already recommends that children learn about the slave trade, the British Empire and colonies in America.

But the Labour leader will back a new educational trust aimed at teaching children about how ‘slavery interrupted a rich African and black history’ and about the ‘resilience and sacrifice of those enslaved and the struggle for liberation’.

Mr Corbyn will say that ‘in the light of the Windrush scandal’ it is ‘more important now than ever’ that children learn ‘the role and legacy of the British Empire, colonisation and slavery’.

A Labour source said the plans would not involve changing the curriculum, but encouraging ‘black history and the slave trade to be taught more broadly.’

Tory MPs last night questioned why Mr Corbyn did not want to focus on more positive aspects of Britain’s history, such as its role in the world wars against ‘tyranny and dictatorship’.

Today’s announcement by Mr Corbyn comes on the same day that Education Secretary Damian Hinds will urge Labour to ‘leave our kids alone’ and warn that his party’s plans amount to ‘dangerous control freakery’ over education.

At last month’s party conference, Labour said it would force headteachers to follow a ‘common rule book’ drawn up by ministers.

It is also planning to scrap the free schools programme, freeze the academies programme, and take powers from heads and hand them to local councillors and ministers instead.

In a major speech at the launch of the Confederation of School Trusts, Mr Hinds will say Labour is turning the clock back on education reform.

Under Tony Blair, the last Labour government introduced the academies programme, which gives schools freedom from local authority control. This was used to turn around sink schools in deprived areas and challenge the idea of the ‘bog standard comprehensive’.

The Tories hugely expanded this programme and introduced free schools, which can be set up by parents. Mr Hinds will say the reforms have improved failing schools and by abandoning them, Labour is choosing ‘Leftwing dogma’ over standards. He will accuse the Opposition of ‘attacking success and defending failure’.

‘Labour saw the evidence,’ he will say in a speech at the British Library. ‘ They had a choice between what is working for children and what Left-wing dogma says. They have made their choice. For them, ideology comes before children’s education.

‘ Under Labour, successful schools would be undermined by the whims of politicians, while schools that need help will be left to fail.’

On imposing council control on schools, he will say: ‘Angela Rayner (the shadow education secretary) may call it “local democratic control”. I call it not trusting schools. Why do Labour want to put politicians in charge of schools? It’s because they don’t trust headteachers.’

In a letter to Miss Rayner, he will demand parents are ‘given honest answers about what Labour is really planning’.

‘Since 2010, this government has given schools more freedom. Through the Free School and Academies programmes we … made sure that failing schools were not left to fail but were removed from local political control and given new leaderships with teachers in charge.

‘I find it puzzling that you and Jeremy Corbyn want to distance yourselves from reforms that have trusted teachers, turned around failing schools and played a significant part in the closing of the attainment gap between rich and poor.’

Former international development secretary Priti Patel said a Labour Party ‘whose politicians and activists act as apologists for the crimes of dictators and terrorists who have threatened our country should be let nowhere near our schools’.

She added: ‘We have already seen that Corbyn and his cronies want to brainwash school children and end the freedom of the Press, not they want to talk down our country.’

‘Ideology before education’