Antisemitism in Schools and Colleges

Tom Hayes Excerpts

Wednesday 21st October 2026 Commons Chamber

[Lucy Powell]

I thank the hon. Lady for sharing her family history. It is really important that we do keep sharing those stories as well, and I thank her for being a governor of what I am sure is an excellent school in Hazel Grove, as there are many excellent schools in Hazel Grove. She raises a good point about governors, and I will take that on board and ensure that training and other resources are available to governors as well. What we are talking about is new funding, as well as new resources for training, suggested classroom resources and so on. That will be available, and I hope schools will feel fully supported in taking this forward.

[Tom Hayes (Bournemouth East) (Lab)]

I pay tribute to Sir David Bell for his review into antisemitism in schools and colleges. Unfortunately, Bournemouth has recently seen antisemitic incidents, and I want my constituents to know that I stand against that every single time, and we must root out that ancient evil in Bournemouth. I also want to ask about what the Government will do to encourage positive engagements with Jewish cultural experiences. The Russell-Cotes gallery and museum in Bournemouth is about to open a new exhibition about Jewish Bournemouth called “waves of change”. My right hon. Friend is of course very welcome to come and visit; equally another Minister from the Department for Education is very welcome to come and see the exhibition. What more would she like to see happen to encourage positive engagement with Jewish cultural experiences?

[Lucy Powell]

I thank my hon. Friend for that, and once again put on record my thanks to Sir David Bell and his team for the way in which they conducted themselves, not just for the outcome of their review. My hon. Friend is absolutely right: positive engagement, cultural experiences and cultural exchange are absolutely critical to our fostering an environment of acceptance, tolerance, respect and understanding. It sounds like the exhibition at the Bournemouth gallery is one such event, and we will be supporting with extra funding schools to take part in more of these cultural experiences.