Primary pupils should get hate speech warning

A teachers’ union is calling for primary school pupils to be educated in the dangers of hate speech from online influencers.

At its annual conference in Glasgow later, NASUWT president David Anderson will say racism and misogyny is a growing concern in schools and more needs to be done to tackle online extremism.

A motion at the conference says the language of the extremist influencers is becoming “normalised” for some young people.

It calls for early education on hate speech because by secondary school, many pupils may already have been exposed to far-right narratives.

Teaching experts say that with children accessing material on phones from a young age, pupils need to understand who is pushing extremist material and why.

Teachers have told the BBC that they have seen a rise in sexist and racist abuse in the classroom – much of which they believe has been as a result of online materials and influencers.

Earlier this year a survey by the NASUWT found growing levels of physical and verbal abuse in schools.

The union says parents assume extremist influences are only affecting secondary school children but in reality primary teachers and pupils are also seeing physical and verbal abuse which is sexist and racist.

Respondents to the survey said there had been a “definite shift in disparaging behaviour” towards female teachers from male pupils who were “hugely influenced” by figures such as Andrew Tate.

One said four boys had written essays on why Tate is the GOAT (Greatest of All Time) which included praise of his view that women are a man’s property.

In 2023 Police Scotland launched a new strategy to tackle abuse against women and girls with a section dealing with incels (involuntary celibate).

Their report defined incel culture as an ideology where male supporters believe women are to blame for their lack of intimate relationships and as a result should be verbally, physically or sexually assaulted.

One of the motions at the NASUWT conference says teachers are appalled to see the language of the far right and right-wing extremist influencers becoming normalised.

In his conference speech, Mr Anderson, a computing specialist from East Ayrshire, will say: “We see the changes in broader society manifested in the classroom conduct of pupils and that of their parents and carers

“Abusive rhetoric by politicians is trickling down and facilitating increasingly abusive and hateful speech in social media, which in turn seems to be spurring rapid increases in the frequency of bias-motivated incidents of harassment, threats, and violence, including rampant surges in hate crimes.”

The Scottish government said schools should be “safe and consistent learning environments” for pupils and staff.

A spokesperson added: “The Scottish government is providing support and direction at a national level, including the publication of the National Behaviour Action Plan.

“Local authorities are expected to implement this guidance to meet particular needs at a local level.

“We are also supporting new initiatives such as the Digital Discourse Initiative, which provides teachers with practical strategies and curriculum tools to support staff to counter the effects of online hate and disinformation.”