Mick Hartley

New guidance for teachers:

Teachers must avoid using material from campaigning organisations such as Black Lives Matter (BLM) and Stonewall that may have “partisan political views”, government guidance on impartiality states.

Schools are already required to teach in an impartial way but new guidance from the Department for Education (DfE) advises teachers on how to “tackle sensitive issues in a politically impartial way”.

Nadhim Zahawi, the education secretary, said the guidance would prevent contested theories from being promoted as fact, but teaching unions warned that it could impinge on freedom of speech by limiting what schools felt comfortable about teaching.

Sounds good to me, especially after a farce like the primary school on the Isle of Wight, where they accused a child of six of being transphobic after he was confused by the behaviour of a boy who suddenly started dressing like a girl. The influence of Stonewall in schools needs to be firmly opposed.

Government sources said the move was designed to combat the politicisation of sensitive topics such as race and gender by campaign groups. “Organisations don’t have a monopoly on the moral stance of these issues,” a source said. The guidance urges teachers to be particularly sensitive when referring to historical figures with “contested legacies”.

DfE insiders cited furores over lesson plans shared by thousands of teachers that posed the question: “Winston Churchill: hero or war criminal?”

There's a tricky one.

The BBC, meanwhile, makes no mention of gender:

Schools in England are being reminded to teach sensitive issues in a non-biased way, under new guidance.

It aims to help teachers cover complex topics, such as the history of the British Empire or the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, without pushing one political view over another.

There is also a warning against teachers expressing their own views.

Education Secretary Nadhim Zahawi says no subject should be off limits, but teaching must be impartial.

Impartiality over the Israeli-Palestinian conflict? Advice perhaps that the BBC itself would do well to take on board.