UCU response to Ofsted report on the Prevent duty in further education

Commenting on the report from Ofsted today (Tuesday) criticising the implementation of the Prevent duty in colleges, UCU said that vague definitions and inconsistent advice have made it hard for providers to understand the duty and protect open discussion and academic freedom.

Responding to the report, UCU general secretary, Sally Hunt, said: 'UCU has consistently warned that the Prevent duty risks doing more harm than good by shutting down debate on contentious topics and creating mistrust between teachers and students. College teachers have always taken their duty of care to students very seriously, so the focus on implementing the Prevent duty is both unnecessary and potentially counterproductive.

'The government's vague definitions of British values and local authorities' inconsistent advice have offered little help to providers struggling to understand the duty while still protecting open discussion and academic freedom.'