Commenting on the passing of an urgent motion at NEU Annual Conference in Brighton, Daniel Kebede, general secretary of the National Education Union, said:
“Fostering a love of reading, a thirst for knowledge, and an interest in the world around us is at the very heart of a good education system. Reading a wide variety of books, by authors from diverse backgrounds and with different points of view, is vital for developing critical thinking, curiosity and a passion for reading. Books create belonging and it is so important that the books read by children and young people in their formative years reflect the rich diversity of the society we live in.
“Any move to censor books in school libraries, based on misinformation and fearmongering, should ring alarm bells for all of us. The USA and Hungary are examples of countries which have implemented book bans in schools, primarily targeting books by women, Black and LGBT+ authors, and the NEU is clear that this is not a path we are prepared to follow in the UK.
“Children’s access to a wide range of literature is a fundamental good that the NEU is proud to defend. Developing critical thinking skills and students’ own responses will be even more important in the age of AI.”