TEACHERS have called on the government to stop telling them how to handle political and social subjects in schools after new “impartiality” guidance was published today.

The Department for Education document includes edicts on how to teach vital topics such as climate change, racism, world poverty and the legacy of empire.

Education Secretary Nadhim Zahawi said clearer guidance “is just one part of my wider work to give children the best possible education.”

But teaching unions warned new guidelines are not needed and could discourage students from taking an interest in affected subjects.

Schools are already required to teach in what’s termed a “politically impartial” way, but this is the first time specific guidelines have been imposed on how schools should approach the teaching of sensitive issues.

The document refers to teaching pupils about racism, suggesting that teachers should be aware campaign groups such as Black Lives Matter “cover partisan political views.”

It adds: “Examples of such partisan political views include advocating specific views on how government resources should be used to address social issues, including withdrawing funding from the police.”

The guidance also flashes “warning lights” over recent historical events which the Department for Education says “are particularly contentious and disputed,” such as “many topics relating to empire and imperialism.”

It says such subjects should be taught “in a balanced manner.”

And it picks out climate change, stating: “Where teaching covers the potential solutions for tackling climate change, this may constitute a political issue.”

National Education Union (NEU) joint general secretary Dr Mary Bousted said the new guidance was not needed because teachers are already doing the job perfectly well.

She said: “There is absolutely no need for new guidance on how to appropriately handle political and social subjects in schools.

“Very good guidance already exists and this is followed up and down the country. 

“It has always been the case that educators take their responsibilities for teaching in these areas seriously and carry it out with considerable thought. 

“We note Nadhim Zahawi’s intention that he ‘does not seek to limit the range of political issues that schools can and do teach about.’

“But in practice his guidance will have the opposite effect. Political impartiality in schools does not so much clarify existing guidance as add new layers of mystification and complexity to it. 

“This could induce such a level of uncertainty and caution in schools about ‘political issues’ that they are less likely to engage with them.

“The losers in the Department for Education’s 34-page game of obfuscation about what is and is not a ‘political’ issue will be the students who are denied the opportunity to engage with the most challenging issues of our time. 

“The warning lights that the government is flashing around climate change, racism, world poverty and the legacy of empire as topics of exploration are more likely to decrease students’ engagement with learning than to stimulate it.” 

Association of School and College Leaders general secretary Geoff Barton said: “We are keen that this should not be overprescriptive as it could have the unintended consequence of deterring open discussions.

“It never been more important to facilitate and encourage discussions about political and contemporaneous issues as it is now.

“Young people are exposed to a swirl of misinformation online, and an increasingly toxic discourse on social media as well as in political debate among those who should know better.

“Schools have a vital role in providing a safe space in which young people can examine and understand controversial issues.

“The vast majority of teachers are very good at managing these discussions in a way that is balanced and impartial.”