- Education Secretary: One instance of antisemitic abuse on
campus is one too many
- Universities warned to take firm action to protect Jewish
students from harassment, ensuring campuses remain safe spaces
- New measures to strengthen training, tackle harassment and
promote understanding
- Thousands of teachers to be trained to teach young people
about antisemitism and challenge misinformation through £7m
funding package
Young people will be taught how to spot and challenge
misinformation online and thousands of teachers will be given
training to stamp out antisemitism in classrooms, under plans
announced by the Education Secretary today, as she demands
universities use every tool available to tackle hate and
division.
Within weeks, the Union of Jewish Students will begin delivering
600 training sessions to help university staff support students,
identify harassment and hate, and facilitate open, respectful
debate.
In the wake of the Manchester synagogue attack last week, has written to vice
chancellors urging them to take “practical and proportionate
steps” to protect Jewish students from harassment, while
continuing to protect lawful free speech and upholding the right
to peaceful protest on campus.
Under new stronger requirements which came into force this
August, universities must have clear policies to prevent and
tackle harassment of all kinds, including robust reporting
mechanisms, appropriate support and comprehensive training for
both students and staff.
The government has made clear that while institutions must
support lawful protest, this does not extend to harassment,
intimidation or incitement to violence. Universities must
manage protests in a way that allows all students to participate
fully in university life.
This could include moving repeated protests that become intrusive
or disruptive, such as frequent demonstrations outside halls of
residence or religious spaces, or working with the police and
local authorities to maintain campus safety.
This follows a series of actions the government has taken to
tackle antisemitism, including establishing a new Antisemitism
Working Group to advise on effective responses, working closely
with the police to protect communities from hate crime, as well
as providing the Jewish Community Protective Security Grant with
£18 million per year, delivered by the Community Security Trust,
to safeguard Jewish communities across the UK.
Education Secretary, ,
said:
“Antisemitism is a poison that must be torn out from our
schools, colleges and universities by its roots: I will not allow
hatred to deter students from their education.
“Lawful protest must be respected – but there is no place for
harassment or intimidation on our campuses.
“One instance of antisemitic abuse is one too many, so I'm clear:
the buck stops with universities when it comes to ridding their
campuses of hate - and they have my full backing to use their
powers to do so.”
The Department for Education is also introducing a wide-ranging
package of measures to strengthen understanding and tolerance
across education settings.
A new government-backed £4 million Innovation Fund will support
projects that teach pupils and students how to identify
misinformation online and promote interfaith understanding.
In addition, the government has confirmed the Holocaust
Educational Trust will take forward the £2 million programme to
ensure secondary school pupils in England learn about the
Holocaust through survivor testimony and immersive virtual
reality experiences.
The Education Secretary will shortly convene university leaders,
the Office for Students, Universities UK, the police and faith
community organisations for a high-level roundtable on campus
cohesion, ensuring universities are taking proportionate and
effective action to keep all students safe and supported.
The Office for Students has made clear it will take action where
universities fail to protect students from harassment or
intimidation, with powers to sanction or deregister institutions
that do not comply with its conditions of registration.
ENDS
Notes to editors:
- Bids for the Innovation Fund will open in November, with
successful suppliers to deliver to schools, colleges and
universities from April 2026.
