A secondary school that cancelled a visit from a Jewish MP is to be investigated by Ofsted.
The schools watchdog announced it was investigating claims that Bristol Brunel Academy “may have been intimidated into cancelling a visit” from Damien Egan.
The Labour MP for Bristol North East was due to visit the academy in September, but the visit was cancelled after protests were planned and teachers threatened to wear keffiyehs to school on the day.
The campaign was led by the Palestine Solidarity Campaign and the National Education Union (NEU). It is understood that a visit by Egan to a second school in the trust was subsequently abandoned by mutual agreement.
Senior leaders at the academy are understood to have told staff that Egan’s visit was cancelled over “safeguarding concerns”.
Bridget Phillipson, the education secretary, said: “What happened to my colleague Damien Egan is shocking and completely unacceptable. A Jewish MP’s visit to a school in his own constituency was stopped from going ahead.
“Be in no doubt; no MP should ever be barred from doing their job because of their faith or background. Our schools must be places of safety and inclusion — not exclusion.
“My department has been in direct contact with Ofsted and I welcome their urgent inspection and look forward to their findings. I will not rule out further action.”
Sir Martyn Oliver, the chief inspector for Ofsted, said he was “concerned to learn that a school may have been intimidated into cancelling a visit from their local MP”.
He added: “I am troubled by the message this sends to children — especially children from the Jewish community. Those of us privileged enough to be working in education have a professional and moral duty to stand against discrimination.”
After considering the evidence, inspectors concluded an inspection was warranted and were at the school on Thursday, Oliver said. It is understood that Ofsted made its decision after speaking to officials in the Department for Education and that Bridget Phillipson, the education secretary, was informed. She is said to be supportive of the watchdog’s move.
It is understood that Brunel will be subject to a so-called section eight inspection that can be triggered when evidence of safeguarding concerns or declining standards are found.
Brunel was last inspected in June 2023, when Ofsted judged the school to be “good”. At the time the inspectorate said the school was one where diversity was “valued and celebrated”. It praised the leadership at all levels of the school and said pupils felt proud and privileged to attend.
However, The Times revealed on Wednesday that Saima Akhtar, the diversity and inclusion leader at Cabot Learning Federation, the multi-academy trust that runs Brunel, said that Hamas terrorists who carried out the October 7 massacre in Israel were “heroes fighting for justice”.
It is understood that the visit was cancelled the day before it was due to take place after school leaders became worried about protests. They were made aware of WhatsApp messages circulating among parents, some of whom planned to keep their children away from school, which the leaders feared would affect attendance statistics.
Cabot Learning Federation also blocked a speaker from Check Point Software Technologies, an Israeli-owned cybersecurity company, from attending its summer conference in July, after pressure from NEU members.
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The Times revealed this week that Akhtar told people to ignore “media attempts to paint Israel as a victim” on the day after the October 7 attacks in 2023. The academy council on which Akhtar sits is responsible for holding the school principal and her leadership team to account for academic quality, student safeguarding and staff wellbeing.
A spokesman for Cabot Learning Federation said: “We were made aware of these posts yesterday evening and immediately launched a full and comprehensive investigation. The promotion of inclusion and rejection of discrimination are enshrined in the CLF’s core values, and all staff are expected to embody these values in their behaviour, both inside and outside school.”
Last year, the NEU commissioned a senior KC, Karon Monaghan of Matrix Chambers, to examine allegations of antisemitism within its ranks.
The report would not be confined to antisemitism alone, the NEU said, and would form part of a broader examination of how contentious issues were debated within the organisation.
Sir Keir Starmer with Egan in 2024
ALAMY
A NEU spokesman said: “The general secretary [Daniel Kebede] wants the NEU to be a healthy and participative trade union, with good workplace practices and where different views can be heard.
“As a union, we want to learn and reflect on whether those policies and processes are fit for the future, and to respond to a political environment where debate on contentious issues can often be complex. The union is proud to have reached out to a deeply experienced KC for this review and looks forward to reading her findings in due course.”
A Department for Education spokesman said: “No Jewish MP should be prevented from attending schools in their constituency. It is a legal duty for teachers to be politically impartial. They must consider the message they are sending to children and young people, who should be supported no matter their faith or background.”