Teachers across the UK are self-censoring their lessons over fears of offending Muslim pupils, according to a recent poll.
A survey of over 1,000 teachers conducted for the Policy Exchange think tank found that 16 per cent of them have admitted to self-censoring in order to avoid causing religious offence.
The think tank claims this has created a “de facto blasphemy code in schools across the country”.
The poll comes after the Batley Grammar School incident, where campaigners and parents forced a teacher into hiding for showing a cartoon of the Prophet Mohammed in class.
English and art teachers were the most cautious of causing offence, with 19 per cent saying they had chosen to self-censor their classes.
Over half of teachers polled said that they would never use a picture of Prophet Mohammad whilst teaching, even when giving lessons on Islamic art or ethics.
A further 9 per cent cited the Batley incident as the reason for their caution.
In a foreword to the report, Nadhim Zahawi, the former education secretary, said it was a “national disgrace” that the teacher involved in the Batley incident was still in hiding two years later.
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Protesters gathered outside Batley Grammar School in Batley, West Yorkshire, where a teacher was suspended
PA
More than 50 per cent of teachers surveyed were fearful of protests similar to those at Batley taking place at their schools if they used religious imagery in class.
In Yorkshire and the Humber, where the Batley incident occurred, 33 per cent of teachers said they were fearful of a “very big risk” taking place at their schools.
Three-quarters of teachers said that if protests broke out, they would be “damaging” to the teacher involved.
Furthermore, around four in 10 suggested that they would be “very damaging”.
In March 2021, a teacher at the Batley school was suspended for showing students a cartoon taken from the French Satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo.
More than 50 per cent of teacher surveyed were fearful of protests similar to those at Batley taking place at their schools if they used religious imagery in class
PAThe cartoon, which was shown during a religious studies class, provoked heavy backlash from parents and resulted in protests outside the school’s gates.
The teacher – who was later cleared of causing deliberate offence – was forced to flee his home with his family.
Two years on, the teacher and his young family have been living in an undisclosed area outside of Yorkshire.
He has also been given a new identity.
Zahawi said: “Our teachers – and their pupils – deserve better than this. We owe it to them to support them to provide a secure environment where open, honest and free discussion is not only permitted, but actively encouraged.”
