Schools get lessons in dealing with extremist attitudes

Teachers and students in a London borough are being taught how to spot signs of extremist attitudes in schools, it was revealed.

Under a new initiative introduced by Waltham Forest Council, pupils will be trained how to confront radical views among their classmates.

The new curriculum, called Learning Together To Be Safe will include lessons on the IRA, homophobia, race issues, animal rights activists, and the BNP as well as extreme Islamic groups.

The borough was at the centre of a series of police raids in August 2006 over the transatlantic airline bomb plot.

Today, more than 70 education workers from across the country attended a series of workshops in east London on how to tackle these issues.

Sir Keith Ajegbo of the Citizenship Foundation told the conference: "Given the coverage of something like Islam in the papers, how can schools deal with it in a measured way? What is the responsibility for heads in terms of the concerns they may have regarding views of pupils or parents?

"How do teachers deal with those, because clearly if you do not deal with it in schools, where else do you debate and deal with these issues? That is why schools are key to addressing the issues."

Rachel Macfarlane, head of Walthamstow School for Girls, told the Evening Standard the scheme involved ensuring staff and students were aware of signs of potentially extremist attitudes, and know what to do if they have concerns.