New drive to promote ‘British values’ in schools
The recently appointed Ofsted chief inspector, Amanda Spielman, has vowed to press ahead with the ‘active promotion of fundamental British values’ in schools. Speaking to an audience at Wellington College, Ms Spielman said that the terror attacks in London and Manchester had brought into ‘stark relief’ the scale of the threat posed by extremism in Britain.
It was essential that the country’s children were equipped with the ‘knowledge and resilience’ required to confront the violent rhetoric peddled by those who ‘put hatred in their hearts and poison in their minds’, she said. In 2014, the Department for Education published guidelines on promoting ‘fundamental British values’. These included a requirement for schools to provide children with an ‘understanding of how citizens can influence decision-making through the democratic process’.
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In a sign that Ms Spielman may go further than her predecessor, Sir Michael Wilshaw, she criticised ‘superficial passive displays’ and ‘tick-box exercises’ of the past, such as pinning up the Union Jack and pictures of the Queen.
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