Phillipson: Disengaged boys vulnerable to ‘dark forces whispering poison’ online

The Education Secretary has warned boys who have disengaged from school are vulnerable to “darker forces” who “whisper poison” to them online.

Speaking at the Confederation of School Trusts (CST) conference, Bridget Phillipson said “the fabric of our communities begins to rip bit by bit” when young people disengaged from school feel betrayed rather than supported.

Too many children are disconnected and disengaged from school, she said as she set out how the forthcoming Schools White Paper will make sure all children have the chance to achieve.

“Instead of their ambition to do their best, just the suspicion somehow that school isn’t for them, they feel forgotten,” she said.

“And you’ll know who I mean, the boy who skulks through your corridors when he turns up for school at all, you’ll recognise the slouching sense of dejection.

“He doubts that his school can provide a way up, because it was the same for his parents generation after generation growing up away from the light of a great education, and now that boy is spending night after night alone in his bedroom, vulnerable to the darker forces that seek him out online and whisper poison in his ear, turning him away from the free and fair society we seek to build, video by video, reel by reel, meme by meme.

“This is how the fabric of our communities begins to rip bit by bit, because when that young person is offered not opportunity but excuses, he feels not supported but betrayed.

“He turns not to aspiration but to anger.”

Speaking to reporters, Ms Phillipson said we are seeing a growing trend of young men being exposed to extremist material online, but also said there is a relationship between young men spending lots of time online and not going to school.

“If young people are disengaged from education, just spending all of their time being pumped extremist material or material that’s likely to radicalise, we know that school is an important protective factor against that,” she added.

The tension in communities caused by this connection between disengaging from school and accessing material online is “something we have to address,” she said.

In her speech, the Labour deputy leadership candidate set out some of what the Schools White Paper will focus on, including taking action to make sure those disadvantaged children disengaging from school and children with special educational needs and disabilities are supported to achieve.

She said the education system works for many children but not all children, including the children who “grow up at the sharp end of the disadvantage gap”.

“It doesn’t work for the four in five white children on free school meals who don’t achieve a strong pass in their English and maths GCSEs,” she said.

“And the latest data out today shows the the dial isn’t shifting.”

Department for Education data on GCSE outcomes released on Thursday showed the percentage of disadvantaged children achieving grade 5s in their English and maths has seen a small decline compared with last year from 25.8% to 25.6%.

Ms Phillipson also told the conference extra-curricular activities like sports teams, debate clubs, museum and theatre trips “have been optional extras for too long”.

“Nice to haves for those lucky enough to get them, they must become a fundamental part of the education of every child,” she added.

The secretary of state also confirmed the white paper will focus on setting early expectations for behaviour, and the introduction of a statutory reading test for 13-year-olds to identify gaps early.

When a pupil cannot read “that sense of dejection sets in, engagement seeps away and attendance follows”, she said.

She also confirmed a target for 90% of pupils to reach the expected standard in phonics by the end of year one.

Association of School and College Leaders general secretary Pepe Di’Iasio said on Wednesday the phonics ambition must be supported with a clear plan setting out how it will be achieved.