Advice for schools on war

Children will have questions about the conflict

Schools have been given official advice on how they should cope with the aftermath of September 11 and the conflict in Afghanistan.

The Department for Education and Skills has released guidance which is being sent to all schools.

There is advice on how best to deal with pupils' fears, and with tensions between pupils, parents and staff from different ethnic or religious backgrounds.

The document stresses there is "no evidence of any specific threat against the UK" and says schools should go about their business as normal.

Teachers have warned that Muslim pupils could feel threatened by the conflict

But the guidance does warn that extremist groups might try to stir up tensions and talks of the "remote possibility of a terrorist (including biological) attack".

Unions have already sent their own guidance to members which dealt with many of the same issues.

And most schools would have already been attempting to interpret and discuss what has happened since September 11.

Some schools where children are from a wide range of backgrounds have told BBC News Online that they have tried to deal with issues that arise in a low-key way, involving discussions with just small groups, to try to avoid any increase in tension.

The guidance from government officials says the school curriculum should challenge any attempts to stereo-type people on the grounds of ethnicity, culture or faith.

They say this might be possible in school assemblies or other forums, depending on the age of the children.

Teachers are advised to try to make sure that "strongly partisan stances are avoided".

In the wake of the attacks on the United States and in the subsequent air strikes against Afghanistan, head teachers have reported that some children have been upset by the images of conflict.

A head teachers' leader, Russell Clarke, has said that school assemblies will have been used as forums to reassure pupils and to explain the origins of the war.

"Schools can be stabilising influences, they can steady nerves and put matters into context," said Mr Clarke, deputy general secretary of the Secondary Heads Association.

'Scared'

There have also been concerns about Muslim pupils feeling isolated and intimidated by the conflict.

Bob Dowling, head of George Dixon secondary school in Edgbaston, Birmingham, had reported the anxieties of his Muslim students, which had been exacerbated by incidents or name-calling in the street.

"The kids were genuinely scared - there was a fear the community was under siege and all those who weren't white would be targeted," he said.

Teaching the origins of the war in history lessons has been made more difficult by artificial barriers in the curriculum, an historian has suggested.

Sean Lang, a former history teacher and school text book author, has argued that history as a subject in school must be allowed to cover the recent past if pupils are to understand current affairs.

Local tensions

The advice for schools in areas of particular tension is detailed.

Officials say if extremists do cause trouble - in terms of threatening behaviour or vandalism or graffiti - special steps should be taken.

These include patrolling main routes to school, supervising all entrances and exits, involving the local police where necessary, and considering whether planned school journeys should still go ahead - especially if abroad.