Children will be taught how to spot extremist content and fake news online in a revamp of the curriculum following last week’s riots.
Schools will use lessons such as English, ICT (information and communication technology) and maths to “arm” pupils against “putrid conspiracy theories”, the Education Secretary has said.
Bridget Phillipson told The Telegraph that pupils as young as five would be given the critical thinking skills to identify misinformation online under the new plans.
The intervention came as a 13-year-old boy was charged on Saturday with violent disorder in Manchester following trouble in the area.
Ms Phillipson said: “It’s more important than ever that we give young people the knowledge and skills to be able to challenge what they see online.
“That’s why our curriculum review will develop plans to embed critical skills in lessons to arm our children against the disinformation, fake news and putrid conspiracy theories awash on social media.
“Our renewed curriculum will always put high and rising standards in core subjects first – that’s non-negotiable. But alongside this we will create a broad, knowledge-rich curriculum that widens access to cultural subjects and gives pupils the knowledge and skills they need to thrive at work and throughout life.”
It came as Britain’s top police officer urged people to step back from social media sites that have been accused of influencing rioters, who have included youngsters.
Writing for The Telegraph, Chief Constable Gavin Stephens, the chairman of the National Police Chiefs’ Council, said that “perhaps we should be deleting a lot more than we share”.
Specialist organised crime detectives have been assigned to go after influencers with large followings who have spread hate and incited violence.
The far-Right riots that have raged for a fortnight were sparked by false claims online that an asylum seeker had carried out the Southport stabbings.
They were inflamed by “more and more sophisticated” forms of disinformation, including websites set up to imitate those of newspapers and broadcasters.
Government sources said the unrest showed the risk of young people being “sucked in to dangerous online spaces” needed to be urgently addressed.
Ms Phillipson is now reviewing the primary and secondary school curriculum, saying it was failing to “prepare enough of our children for work and for life”.
The review will look at teaching children to spot and dismiss extremist content by “embedding” critical thinking skills across lessons in multiple subjects.
