Avoid woke lessons in class warns Ofsted chief
SCHOOLS must promote ‘impartiality’ by avoiding being either ‘woke’ or ‘intolerant’ in lessons, the head of Ofsted has warned.
Amanda Spielman said teachers should retain a balanced viewpoint when discussing politically sensitive areas.
It comes after numerous schools were accused of ‘indoctrinating’ children by advocating Left-wing views in class.
Ofsted inspectors have the power to penalise such behaviour because all schools are required to promote ‘fundamental British values’.
These include observing the process of democracy and respecting those with different beliefs.
Mrs Spielman said yesterday: ‘Schools and colleges, like universities, have to tread a careful path through the whole landscape of equalities and rights, and on the one hand being damned for being intolerant or on the other being slammed for being woke.’
Speaking at an event run by the Office for Students (OfS), Ofsted’s chief inspector said schools could engage in current affairs but must not push particular opinions.
‘We want schools to encourage children to become engaged citizens without tipping over the line of impartiality,’ she added.
It comes after ministers were forced to release guidance earlier this year telling schools how they should retain impartiality.
The document, published in February, advised teachers to avoid ‘promoting contested theories as fact’. The guidance suggested that the teaching of historical figures should focus on ‘factual information’, while lessons on the British empire should be presented in ‘a balanced manner’.
There are concerns a growing number of teachers are turning ‘activist’ in the classroom and see it as their duty to impose their world view on children.
Education Secretary Nadhim Zahawi has said the issue is ‘a complaint I’m hearing more and more’.
Mr Zahawi said last week that pupils should be allowed to read books containing racial slurs at school, adding it is ‘really important that children are allowed to be able to be curious... to understand where this stuff comes from, rather than (where you) create these sort of false filters for them’.
Earlier this year, Ofsted failed a private school, the American School in London, in an inspection after it imposed a ‘woke’ agenda on pupils which breached political impartiality rules. Welbeck Primary in Nottingham also boasted on Twitter about encouraging ten and 11-year-olds to write letters criticising Boris Johnson over Partygate.
It was also revealed Brighton and Hove City Council wants teachers to tell children young as seven they are not ‘racially innocent’ as part of divisive ‘white privilege’ lessons.
In June, Robert Halfon, chairman of the Commons education committee, raised concerns that schools were in breach of the Equality Act by pushing ‘contested’ theories about race.
Back in 2017, there was an outcry after 3,000 schools sent letters home criticising Tory funding policies in the run-up to a General Election – in which the party ended up losing their majority.
‘Tipping over the line of impartiality’