School governors across England told to dismiss grooming gang fears as 'disinformation'

They were reportedly asked to identify the scenario as an "online safety risk" because pupils were spreading "disinformation", according to The Daily Telegraph

The course — which MPs and parents branded as "shocking" and "concerning" — was delivered by GovernorHub, a third-party platform that is used in two-thirds of schools across the country.

The shocking revelation comes as hundreds of previously closed investigations into group-based child sexual abuse and exploitation (CSAE) are being reviewed by the National Crime Agency.

The GovernorHub material was disclosed by a concerned parent and part-time governor, who was outraged at the idea of schools being forced to reject evidence of grooming gangs.

"For governors to be trained to behave in a way that would enable further such abuse is sickening and highlights the casual attitude so many still have towards these evil crimes," they said.

The GovernorHub scenario, which has since been deleted, stated: "At a board meeting, your staff governor reports overhearing pupils in her class talking about a video they were sent, falsely claiming that men belonging to a particular religion are using new tactics to commit violent crimes against women in your local area."

In 2022, the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse (IICSA) recommended mandatory safeguarding courses for all governors following concerns that evidence of minors being abused was routinely ignored for decades by schools, councils and the police.

Chris Philp, the Conservative MP and shadow home secretary, said: "It is shocking that training for schools categorises what sounds like a description of a rape gang as ‘disinformation’ or a ‘conspiracy theory’.

"We now know that the majority of rape gang perpetrators were of Pakistani origin. Claiming this is ‘disinformation’ is exactly how the rape gang scandal was covered up in the first place.

"This so-called training is a disgrace, and little more than propaganda designed to aid the cover-up of these appalling crimes."

A GovernorHub spokesman said: "The question was intended to test governors’ understanding of the difference between misinformation, disinformation and conspiracy theories, which the most recent update to Keeping Children Safe in Education (KCSIE) requires.

"It focuses on what a governor might do if they become aware of online content that school leaders know to be untrue.

"This question forms part of GovernorHub’s safeguarding refresher training introduced in September this year.

"We have recognised that the scenario included in this question was inappropriate because it made the question unclear and we are revising it this week."

Under Operation Beaconport, the NCA is reviewing cases where police forces and the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) took no further action against suspects between January 1, 2010, and March 31, 2025.

Sarah Champion, the MP for Rotherham, told GB News: "Let us never forget that at the heart of every case the police or CPS decided not to pursue, there is a child horribly exploited and abused — and a perpetrator who got away with it.

"I would suggest the numbers are just the tip of a very dark iceberg; understandably, very few victims report or are taken seriously when they try to."

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