Ofsted, the body accountable for safeguarding in education in England, has dropped assistance for inspectors that connected autism and extremism after an outcry from star campaigners.An education minister has divulged that an upgraded training file” no longer includes recommendation to kids with autism” after claims that it was” offensive”and “clumsy” discrimination.It follows demonstrations including the biologist Chris Packham and the comedians Paul Whitehouse and Johnny Vegas and comes in the middle of deepening issues over the variety of autistic kids who have been described Prevent, the government’s deradicalisation programme.The Guardian revealed a year ago that a file used to teach numerous inspectors stated that kids with autism are “at increased risk of being prone to extremism”and “can be drawn into extremism “. Entitled Evaluation Safeguarding Session– Avoid Extract 2024, the file, first determined
by the human rights group Rights & Security International, said:”Kid and young people with autism are at increased threat of being susceptible to extremism. This is since they are most likely to develop unique interests. “Due to this and any social interaction requirements, children with autism are more likely to experience social isolation therefore utilize the internet as a method
to find pals. They trust the information they check out and the’good friends’that they discover online and so can be drawn into extremism, “it said.Naturalist and TV presenter Chris Packham, who has Asperger syndrome, a kind of autism, has required the guidance to be stopped. Photo: Kristian Buus/In Pictures/Getty The National Autistic Society said the file ran the risk of stigmatising autistic qualities, while a human rights organisation stated the handbook’s teachings “draw a target on autistic kids
“. Packham, the television speaker who has been diagnosed with Asperger syndrome, a form of autism, required the guidance to be stopped”before much more youths are victimized in school and in society”.
Ofsted defended the file in June 2025, stating that its training uses an understanding of different circumstances in which children may be more susceptible to extremism.skip previous newsletter promotionFree newsletter |
Every day Sign up to Headlines UK Get the day’s headings and highlights emailed direct to you every early morning< img src="https://media.guim.co.uk/0e6359a42ac501e36d34f992b699e3322bcf11d9/0_0_4000_4000/500.jpg "alt=""/ > after newsletter promotion But in a recent action to a parliamentary
question, Josh MacAlister, a junior education minister, disclosed that an updated handbook
for inspectors no longer makes
the links.Asked by a Liberal Democrat MP what assessment had actually been made from Ofsted products “that recommend kids with autism are at increased risk of being vulnerable to extremism “, MacAlister wrote:”Ofsted are now delivering the restored education examination structure, with new training for inspectors, including updates on the Prevent task, which no longer includes reference to children with autism. “An Ofsted spokesperson said: “Ofsted does not– and has never ever– labelled kids with autism as’most likely extremists’. It is unbelievable to recommend otherwise. An old piece of training for inspectors highlighted that some vulnerable kids could be more prone to adjustment. We have actually just recently restored our school examination structure. This new framework needed new training for inspectors, consisting of upgraded training on the Prevent responsibility. “