Asked by: Baroness Sheehan (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of reports that schoolchildren in the UK have been punished for taking part in pro-Palestine protests.
Answered by Baroness Berridge
The Government is aware that many young people will have a strong personal interest in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Schools should ensure that political expression by senior pupils in school is conducted sensitively, avoiding disruption or an atmosphere of intimidation or fear for other pupils and staff.
On 28 May 2021, my right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Education, wrote to schools to remind them of requirements on political impartiality and their responsibility to deal with antisemitic incidents with due seriousness. This followed a reported increase in such incidents in school during the recent conflict, including the expression of antisemitic views and bullying towards Jewish pupils and teachers.
All schools should set clear, reasonable, and proportionate expectations of pupil behaviour in line with the Department’s guidance on ‘Behaviour and discipline in schools’, published in 2016. It is for individual schools to develop their own best practice for managing behaviour in their school.