The Guardian, has reported that officials at the DfE have been conducting social media surveillance on a number of UK education specialists who've had the temerity to criticise government policy. The paper reported:
"Officials at the DfE also tried to cancel a conference because two of the scheduled speakers had previously criticised government policy. Ruth Swailes and Aaron Bradbury, co-authors of a bestselling book on early childhood, were told by the organisers of a government-sponsored event for childminders and nursery workers, which they were due to speak at in March, that the DfE planned to cancel the conference just days before it opened because they were deemed to be “unsuitable” headline speakers. The event was eventually allowed to go ahead after Swailes and Bradbury threatened the department with legal action, although a senior government official was present to “monitor” what they said."
The Free Speech Union noted the written statement by Cabinet Office Minister Jeremy Quin which said that guidance had originally been developed to help civil servants avoid issuing speaking invitations to individuals with “extremist views”, but conceded that it was no longer being used in the way it was originally intended, and could now be having “adverse unintended consequences”. Faced with some potentially rather awkward questions about possible breaches of the Equality Act 2010, which prohibits belief discrimination, the government has now withdrawn all 16 policies for review.
I wonder if anyone critical of DfE policy on environmental (climate) education has been monitored or cancelled. I don't suppose so as the issue is hardly viewed as significant by the DfE. Probably just not worth the bother. But how would you know …
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