Posted on Friday 1st Apr 2016
Teachers have warned that the government's anti-extremism strategy is "shutting down" open debate in school.
The National Union of Teachers conference voted for the government's Prevent strategy to be withdrawn from schools and colleges.
Delegates said it created "suspicion and confusion" rather than safety in schools.
The Department for Education says it "makes no apology" for protecting young people from extremism.
The NUT's annual conference in Brighton heard warnings that the counter-radicalisation policy was stopping teachers from discussing "challenging ideas" with their pupils.
There were warnings that it encouraged a climate of "over-reaction" in which pupils were mistakenly reported and the police called.
Among the cases mentioned were a child writing about a "cucumber" which was misinterpreted as "cooker bomb" and a child who wrote about living in a "terraced" house which was misunderstood as a "terrorist" house.
Latest News
24/08/22BTEC and Cambridge Technicals results delay - government releases new statement
Government orders exam boards Pearson and OCR to give regular updates
02/08/22Vocational and training qualifications decline during pandemic By Robbie Meredith
The number of vocational and technical qualifications (VTQs) awarded in Northern Ireland fell by about 20% during the Covid pandemic.
19/01/22What are the Covid rules in schools and will they stay open this term?
Face coverings will no longer be compulsory in England's secondary school classrooms from 20 January.
17/01/22Thousands more Kent secondary and special school places needed over the next five years
Thousands more Kent secondary and special school places will be needed over the next five years.
11/01/22Covid: Face mask refusals in some of England's secondary schools spark parents' concern
Secondary school pupils in England returned from the Christmas break this week to new advice – to wear face coverings in lessons and to take lateral flow tests at school before heading into classrooms.