Education Secretary confirms £7 million to tackle antisemitism in education

The Education Secretary, Bridget Phillipson has announced that the government is resuming the procurement of £7 million-pounds worth of funding to tackle antisemitism in schools, colleges and universities. The commitment comes after the number of incidents of antisemitic abuse nationwide more than doubled in the first five months of 2024, compared to the same period a year earlier. On university campuses, the number of incidents grew by 465%.   

The funding will aim to educate people about antisemitism and better equip schools, colleges and universities to stamp out antisemitic abuse. To mark the anniversary of the worst terrorist attack in Israel’s history, the Education Secretary is visiting a Jewish school in North London to meet with students and staff and demonstrate her support for the Jewish community.

£500,000 of the £7 million funding has been awarded to the University Jewish Chaplaincy for welfare support for Jewish students in universities.

Writing for the Telegraph, the Education Secretary said the government was “resolutely committed” to tackling antisemitic abuse.

She said:

“It is completely unacceptable for Jewish students to feel they cannot fully participate in university life out of fear for their safety. All students, regardless of race or religion, should be free to focus on their studies rather than worry about their safety.”

Some of the funds will go towards funding a project to upskill teachers and university staff in tackling antisemitism. It will also pay for an innovation fund to tackle antisemitism in Education, with a slightly broader focus on settings building resilience to mis-information.

The Education Secretary said it was “vitally important that staff in our education system have the confidence and skills to act quickly to root out antisemitism as soon as it emerges.” 

To support this, the Department for Education also plans to launch an innovation fund that will offer opportunities to support work at all levels of education on tackling antisemitic misinformation on social media alongside the Curriculum and Assessment Review.

The Education Secretary also voiced her outrage at the “shocking” acts of violence and Islamophobia seen after the Southport attacks earlier this year, with anti-Muslim incidents more than trebling in the months after October 7. 

She said:

“With a foundation of knowledge about history and the world, critical thinking, logical reasoning and empathy, we can build children’s resilience not just to antisemitic hate, but all other forms of hate too. A child who is equipped to dismantle antisemitic conspiracy theories is ready to reject Islamophobic ones as well.”