Schools warned over cults

Schools want to keep cults away from their pupils

Schools in Birmingham are being warned to be on the look-out for religious cults trying to target children as young as three or four.

The local education authority has sent out memos to head teachers of all its schools advising them to exercise extreme caution because a cult is believed to be attempting to recruit new members in the area.

The warning follows an incident at a Birmingham hospital where members of a religious group had to be stopped from contacting young patients in a manner which caused concern.

Hospital staff were worried the group was attempting to exercise influence over the children while singing and talking to them.

A spokeswoman for Birmingham City Council said the LEA was not aware of any schools being contacted by the group.

But she said child protection was its top priority, and schools had been advised to be on their guard.

'Distressing stories'

A potential problem was that many genuine church organisations which made "very positive contributions" to school had similar names to groups causing concern.

Tim Brighouse, Birmingham's chief education officer, said: "We take the line that the slightest hint of danger to children, particularly at this time with so many distressing stories in the headlines, must be acted on.

"It is always the right thing to do to err on the side of caution.

"The fact that some perfectly legitimate, indeed excellent groups, have names that are similar to groups giving national and international concern is, of course unfortunate, and we will be the first to make sure that their valuable work gets strong publicity in the future.

"The fact remains that if there is the slightest doubt about the safety of any child in Birmingham we will take action to alert our schools. We think all parents will agree with this line."

The council had suggested to school that if they have any concerns, they should contact an expert organisation which gives advice on dealing with cults.