Ofsted's role in enforcing political impartiality in our schools
In Education Select Committee, I was pleased to be given the opportunity to raise questions with the prospective new Ofsted Chief Inspector, Sir Martyn Oliver, about Ofsted's role in enforcing political impartiality and in ensuring safeguarding in schools.
One of the duties of our schools is to be politically impartial and the Education Act forbids political indoctrination, making sure schools and teachers do not promote partisan views.
Legal duties on political impartiality mean that schools:
- must not promote partisan political views in teaching
- should offer a balanced presentation of opposing views when political issues are brought to the attention of pupils
Research from Policy Exchange, suggests that the majority of children in British schools have indeed been taught contentious political ideas, many as fact with no alternative viewpoints presented, hence my questions sought to understand the duties of Ofsted in inspecting how the application of these duties in schools should be inspected.
As a teacher, your job is not to teach contested facts but to teach secure knowledge based upon evidence and to present a really balanced viewpoint to children.
Sir Martyn Oliver, prospective Ofsted Chief Inspector.
