Chris Packham Slams Ofsted Over Guidance Linking Autism And Extremism

TV Presenter Chris PackhamTV presenter Chris Packham has called out Ofsted over a “discriminatory” and “extraordinarily inaccurate statement” made in a training document.His comments come after The Guardian reported that a training manual, used to teach Ofsted school inspectors, suggested children with autism are “at increased risk of being susceptible to extremism”.It also reportedly claimed that children who are autistic are “more likely to develop special interests” and “can be drawn into extremism” as a result.What does the document say?The training guide, called Inspection Safeguarding Session – Prevent Extract 2024, reportedly reads: “Children and young people with autism are at increased risk of being susceptible to extremism. This is because they are more likely to develop special interests.“Due to this and any social communication needs, children with autism are more likely to experience social isolation and so use the internet as a way to find friends. They trust the information they read and the ‘friends’ that they find online and so can be drawn into extremism.”Chris Packham has now lambasted Ofsted’s guidanceIn a video posted to the I’m ADHD! No You’re Not podcast’s Tiktok page this week, Chris – who was diagnosed with Asperger’s syndrome (a form of autism) in his 40s – shared a “call to action to Ofsted”.He said: “I would like to ask you to remove the discriminatory and extraordinarily inaccurate statement in your teacher training document ... which states that autistic children are more likely to develop social interests – yep – and therefore can be drawn into extremism.“Ofsted, that’s not safeguarding, that’s an exercise in profiling and it must stop before even more young people are discriminated against in school and in society.”The Springwatch presenter then urged Ofsted to “please think again and take that statement down”.He added: “There are kids out there, sat in their bedrooms, trying to find a tunnel – let alone with light at the end of it – and you’re telling everyone that they are predisposed to be radicalised with the inference that that radicalisation could be in some way related to terrorism or something – good God, get a grip.”@imadhdnoyourenotHuge thanks to Chris Packham CBE for supporting our campaign to get Ofsted to remove - or at least - amend its discriminatory remarks about autistic children being "more likely to develop special interests" and "can therefore be drawn into extremism" in its teacher training document, The Inspection Safeguarding Session - Prevent Extract, 2024. This was actually brought into the public domain via a Freedom of Information request - which says it all, really. Ofsted - this is not about safeguarding. It is blatant profiling and you have managed to further stigmatise and distress families of autistic children, who already face so many challenges at school. Even if a school has decided not to refer the child’s case to the police, it will usually retain that information in its local databases – including police databases, in case the information becomes ‘relevant’ in the future. Ofsted - teachers would be far better equipped to understand and support autistic children, had you guided them in how to identify and harness every child's strengths and interests, in order to help them feel truly valued. This is the best way to ‘Prevent’ extremism – not by profiling them under the thin veil of safeguarding. Do the right thing and amend this harmful content and expand it, to include the fact that ALL children are potentially susceptible to extremism, depending on a host of factors, such as being bullied, struggling at school, the presence of abuse, neglect and having unsupervised online activity. Please - help us to get Ofsted to change this erroneous and discriminatory teacher training content. Please email Dr Morris-King, at: [email protected] and help us get this offensive, inaccurate and discriminatory content amended/removed. Please share among your networks. Thank you.♬ original sound - I’M ADHD! No You’re NotIn response to the video, one commenter replied: “Autistic individuals can absolutely be vulnerable to manipulation in social groups and therefore at risk of being drawn into criminal or extreme activities. Teachers being aware of this in order to reduce this risk is in no way a problem.”Yet plenty of viewers disagreed. Another added: “The truth is that all young people are at risk of radicalisation, this is more discrimination against a protected group under the equalities act.”“Here we go again. Another sweeping blow at people who are seen as different and therefore could be dangerous,” shared another commenter.An Ofsted spokesperson told HuffPost UK: “Keeping children safe is our top priority. This includes protecting all children from the threat of extremism.“Our training equips inspectors with knowledge of the risks posed by extremists and extremist ideology, as well as an understanding of a variety of different circumstances in which children might be more susceptible to the threat of extremism.”Jonathan Hall, an independent reviewer of terrorism legislation, previously described the number of autistic people referred to Prevent, the Home Office’s anti-radicalisation programme, as “staggeringly high”.He also suggested “autism plus” appeared to be a relevant factor – suggesting for autistic people who are involved with terrorist violence, there’s often an additional factor like an “unstable family background” or “some other cognitive difficulty”.A review of studies exploring whether autism increases the risk of terrorism engagement, published in 2023, suggested that “existing research cannot definitively conclude, nor does it suggest, that individuals with ASD [autism spectrum disorders] are any more vulnerable to, or any more at risk of, terrorism engagement than other individuals”.Dr Rachel Moseley, a principal academic in psychology at Bournemouth University, previously said autistic people are disproportionately likely to be referred, “inappropriately and unfairly”, to prevention programmes.“This is likely because those around them lack a nuanced understanding of autism, so that certain behaviours and interests can be easily misconstrued,” she added.HuffPost UK understands Ofsted’s training is due to be updated in 2025. Related...I'm An Autism Assessor – 5 Signs You May Have Been Undiagnosed For DecadesI Was Diagnosed With Autism At 46 – Here Are 5 Things I've Learned Since'Don’t Assume Quiet Is OK': How Overwhelmed Schools Miss Autism In Girls

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