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The government will strengthen its guidance on teacher political impartiality following an looking into antisemitism in schools.

Education secretary Lucy Powell said “change will come” on antisemitism in schools as in Sir David Bell’s review into antisemitism today.

This will also result in additional teacher training and guidance on antisemitism, a new safeguarding category and a national curriculum update to incorporate Jewish culture in Britain.

Ms Powell told MPs: “Teachers should not bring their own political views into the classroom; that is a fundamental of education.

“But this should not lead us to shy away from political debates.”

Her Conservative counterpart, shadow education secretary Laura Trott, had called for compulsory teacher training and tougher impartiality rules at her party’s conference in Birmingham earlier this month.

The changes come after Sir David’s report found a sharp rise in antisemitism.

Some teachers and students felt conversations on the topic were “too difficult to touch” in classrooms across England, the report says.

Staff training on antisemitism

In response to the report, the Department for Education said schools should review their safeguarding, equalities and anti-racism training to ensure staff understand how to identify and challenge antisemitism.

This should cover teachers, support staff, governors, academy trustees and members, with programmes updated as soon as “practicable” and, where necessary, by the start of the 2027-28 academic year.

The DfE will commission dedicated online training for leaders and designated safeguarding leads, with development and delivery set to begin this academic year.

Antisemitism will also be addressed through planned changes to teacher training and leadership qualifications.

KCSIE to be ‘strengthened’

The government said it will “strengthen” guidance in 2027 - subject to consultation - to state explicitly that antisemitism and other forms of racial prejudice can constitute safeguarding concerns.

The DfE also plans to review the Teachers’ Standards to clarify expectations on challenging prejudice, and make it clearer that professional conduct standards apply outside school, including online.

Schools are expected to review staff codes of conduct to ensure they address antisemitic harassment and discrimination.

Political impartiality

Schools will receive strengthened guidance on political impartiality, including examples of how to handle discussions about Israel and Palestine. This is intended to distinguish legitimate criticism of Israeli government policy from antisemitism.

Ms Powell said: “We will also give schools and colleges clear and specific support for how and when controversial and sensitive issues should be discussed.”

Pepe Di’Iasio, general secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders, said there are differing views on what constitutes antisemitism.

“It is important that teachers are able to facilitate important conversations as this is key to the understanding of complex issues,” he said. “They must be able to do this with confidence.”

Sir David’s review found that political symbols displayed by staff and students were not a widespread issue, and so extending existing legal duties would be “disproportionate”.

In response, the DfE asked leaders to consider whether political symbols, flags and slogans displayed in schools, including through staff dress or pupil uniforms, could be seen as promoting partisan views.

Decisions on local policies would remain with schools, the government said.

In Parliament, Ms Powell suggested extra funding would be given to schools to support the new response to antisemitism.

Reporting incidents

Sir David’s review says schools and colleges should recognise antisemitism as a specific safeguarding risk.

In its response, the DfE said it wants all schools to record antisemitic incidents as a separate category or subcategory, rather than grouping them under broader forms of racism.

The DfE said it will work with the sector to introduce this by the end of the 2027-28 school year.

It will write to leaders later this year asking schools to adopt the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance’s (IHRA) working definition of antisemitism as a practical guide, alongside the government’s definition of anti-Muslim hostility.

Daniel Kebede, general secretary of the NEU teaching union, said calling on schools to adopt the IHRA’s working definition is the “wrong approach” because it “risks deepening the problem rather than tackling it”.

A survey in 2027-28 will assess the adoption of both definitions.

Updated anti-bullying guidance will address antisemitism, with a wider behaviour and anti-bullying toolkit due in 2028, the government said.

A dedicated advice service to help school leaders manage complex incidents is planned for the next academic year.

Curriculum and Ofsted changes

New guidance on a whole-school approach to tackling antisemitism is due in 2027-28, the government said. This will cover curriculum, pastoral support, assemblies, and enrichment activities.

The DfE is also reviewing how contemporary antisemitism is covered in citizenship education and intends to consult on ensuring Judaism is represented accurately in the proposed religious education curriculum.

However, Ms Powell said the Holocaust “shouldn’t be the only thing they know about Jewish people” and promised to ensure the curriculum will also include “the contribution, the culture and the history of Jewish people in Britain”.

Ofsted inspectors will receive additional antisemitism case studies as part of their training this autumn.

The inspectorate will consider how academy trust inspections should scrutinise repeated or systemic incidents across schools.