The government accepted all 27 recommendations of the Sir David Bell review, which requires schools and colleges in England to recognise antisemitism as a distinct category of harm.
The Community Security Trust recorded 178 school-related antisemitic incidents in the first six months of 2026, up from 112 in the same period of 2025.
The report stops short of an outright ban on political symbols or flags, which Sir David Bell called unworkable and untested legally, while schools may set codes of conduct.
Around one in five pupils said they had witnessed antisemitism, rising to three in five Jewish pupils who took part in the survey led by Sir David Bell.
Sir David Bell, a former Ofsted chief inspector, led the independent review into antisemitism in schools and colleges in England, which was presented to Parliament on Wednesday, 21 October 2026. The government has accepted all 27 recommendations. Under the plan, schools and colleges would have to treat antisemitism as its own category of harm and act against it explicitly, through specific safeguarding policies rather than general rules on racism or bullying. The review also asks for dedicated teacher training, more consistent recording of incidents and a national hotline where school leaders can quickly get advice. It encourages schools to adopt the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance working definition of antisemitism and calls for Holocaust Memorial Day to be marked on 27 January, a date that concerns say schools have not marked in recent years.
A survey conducted for the review found that around one in five pupils said they had witnessed antisemitism, a share that rose to three in five among Jewish pupils who took part. Powell told MPs that half of Jewish teachers had experienced or witnessed antisemitism. Sir David said he had come across antisemitic jokes and tropes, as well as young people being assaulted on their way to and from school. The Community Security Trust, which monitors antisemitism in the UK, recorded 178 school-related antisemitic incidents in the first six months of 2026, up 59% from 112 in the same period of 2025. Findings reported in August 2026 pointed to repeated harassment and abuse of Jewish schoolchildren, and to some Jewish schools' headteachers spending more time on security than on education.
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The report does not call for a ban on teachers and pupils wearing political symbols or flags, such as pro-Palestine badges. Sir David said he had weighed an outright ban carefully before rejecting it, telling LBC:
“I considered very carefully whether I should recommend an outright ban on the wearing of political symbols in schools and classrooms.”
He called such a ban "unworkable" and "untested legally", while saying it is "entirely reasonable" for schools to use codes of conduct for staff and pupils to set out what should not be worn when concerns arise. Sir David also said schools should be places where the Israel-Hamas conflict can be discussed openly, without prejudice or hatred. Powell told the Commons that teachers should keep their own politics out of lessons without avoiding important topics.
Powell told the Commons that all children and teachers should be able to attend school or college "free from fear", describing tackling antisemitism as a generational challenge. She warned that antisemitism is being normalised and amplified on social media, where old tropes have found new life. In her statement she said of the review:
“Sir David has published this seminal review exposing the shocking scale of antisemitism in British society and how that's reflected across education.”
The government also plans to "update and strengthen" Holocaust education, with new lessons that will challenge some of the ideas young people hold. Two other reviews were commissioned alongside this one, into antisemitism in healthcare and into public order and hate crime laws. The review was launched after several incidents, among them the October 2025 attack on a synagogue at Heaton Park in Manchester, in which two men were killed. Powell said the report is for every school, whether or not it has Jewish staff or pupils.
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Schools and colleges in England will have to recognise antisemitism as a distinct category of harm, after the government accepted all 27 recommendations of Sir David Bell's review, presented to Parliament on Wednesday.
AI text based on reports by The Independent, BBC, Evening Standard and other publishers. Published .