Schools ‘frontline fighters’ against ‘dark voices of hate’ – union president
Teachers, leaders and schools are at the front of fighting for decency as "dark forces of hate" across the world seek to turn communities against each other, a union president will warn.
In his speech to the NAHT headteachers' union annual conference in Belfast , incoming president Dave Woods is expected to say education is the "last front-facing public service" that engages daily with local communities who may feel forgotten.
It comes after other teaching union leaders warned about the impact in schools of rising political division.
Mr Woods, headteacher at Beaconsfield Primary and Nursery School in Southall, will say: "The world stands at a precipice, with the 'dark forces of hate' mobilising and organising all around the world seeking to turn communities against each other, rather than working together for common solutions.
"We are also confronted with the rapid rise of AI and increased automation, disrupting future employment for those now in school."
"Conference this next period of time is setting out the pieces for the future battles that we will have to face together," he is expected to tell NAHT members on Friday.
"Battles that will require us to stand strong, to stand for what is right and not what is convenient, to hold firm against the forces of hate that would try to destroy the hope we cling to, by turning society inwards on each other.
"All of us in education are now frontline fighters standing up for decency, respect, civility and rights of all to live free from discrimination."
In March, Association of School and College Leaders general secretary Pepe Di 'Iasio said students and their families are living in fear of racial harassment or violence, and raised concerns about the way some politicians speak about immigration and how social media platforms amplify divisions.
Daniel Kebede , general secretary of the National Education Union (NEU), said teachers report rising incidents of racism and discrimination in schools.
He has also criticised Reform UK, and said the party and leader Nigel Farage are very good at pushing divisive messaging that children are picking up on.
Mr Woods is also expected to welcome the Government's family hubs, and the potential of some of the ambitions in the Schools White Paper.
He will say to Government it must invest in education to "throw off the yoke of endemic poverty, shattered dreams and wasted ambition that has resulted from 14-plus years of imposed and forced austerity.
"Education is the last front-facing public service engaging daily with local communities, encountering and supporting their struggles and nurturing their feelings of being forgotten or ignored."
He is also expected to criticise schools watchdog Ofsted as a "driver of misery, a raiser of stress levels, and a compounding factor in increased workloads".
Ofsted set out plans for its new framework last year, which means schools are inspected using a report card system.
The former single word judgments were scrapped following the death of headteacher Ruth Perry .
Unions have warned the new system could be detrimental for the mental health of school staff. The NAHT had attempted to launch a legal challenge to the new system, which was dismissed at the High Court .