Ofsted has been criticised for training material that suggests children and young people with autism are at increased risk of being susceptible to extremism, prompting calls from public figures and campaigners for the guidance to be changed.
The education standards body’s notes for inspectors state that autistic children may develop special interests and experience social isolation, which could lead them to use the internet to find friends and ‘‘be drawn into extremism’’. The material advises teachers who are concerned about a pupil to refer the child to the government’s Prevent programme.
Comedian Paul Whitehouse and education campaigner Mine Conkbayir, who co-host the podcast I’m ADHD! No You’re Not, described the wording as false and offensive and urged an intervention from senior politicians. Former Conservative MP Sir Jake Berry, who has said he has an autistic son, called the suggestion ‘‘deeply offensive and discriminatory’’. More than 1.4 million children have been diagnosed with autism in the UK, according to figures cited by critics of the guidance.
Ofsted said the material was not intended to label or target children but to ensure inspectors were equipped to protect pupils from harm. An Ofsted spokesman said: "This is not about 'labelling' or 'targeting' children for any reason, it’s so we can be better equipped to protect them from harm. Keeping children safe from the threat posed by extremists is always our top priority." The comments echoed the statutory duty on teachers to refer concerns about radicalisation under the Prevent framework.
Campaigners and parents questioned the evidence base for linking autism with an increased susceptibility to extremist material and warned the wording risked stigmatising a large group of pupils who already face social and educational challenges. They asked Ofsted to amend the guidance quickly to avoid discriminatory effects.
In a separate cultural story in Austria, three elderly nuns who taught at a convent and girls' school for more than six decades staged what supporters described as a return to their former home after being evicted when the site was taken over by an Augustinian monastery.
Sisters Bernadette, 88, Regina, 86, and Rita, 82, left the retirement home where they had been placed and, with the help of former pupils and a locksmith, gained entry to their old rooms at the Kloster Goldenstein school and convent in Elsbethen, near Salzburg. They unpacked a few possessions and remained at the castle despite initial lack of running water and power; supporters brought groceries and local medics carried out health checks.
The convent building was taken over in 2022 by the Archdiocese of Salzburg and the Reichersberg Abbey, and the three women were removed in December 2023. Provost Markus Grasl, who became their superior after the takeover, said their rooms were no longer usable and did not meet requirements for proper care, and he defended the decision to move the nuns to specialist retirement accommodation that he described as providing "absolutely essential, professional, and good medical care." He called the sisters' decision to return to the convent "completely incomprehensible."
Former students said the convent could not function without the women who had taught there for decades. One, Sophie Tauscher, said: "Goldenstein without the nuns is just not possible. When they need us, they just have to call us and we will be there." The sisters themselves voiced a determination to remain: "I am so pleased to be home," said Sister Rita. "I was always homesick at the care home. I am so happy and thankful to be back." Sister Bernadette added that they had been promised lifelong residency and felt the promise had been broken.
Both episodes — the debate over inspector guidance in England and the standoff at a Salzburg convent — have prompted public discussion about institutional responsibilities and the treatment of people in vulnerable or marginalised groups. In England, the dispute centres on how safeguarding policies should balance protection from harm with the need to avoid stereotyping and discrimination. In Austria, the dispute highlights tensions between religious institutions, care standards and the wishes of individuals who devoted their lives to a local school and convent.
Ofsted has faced pressure to review and, if necessary, redraft the training notes. In Austria, church authorities and supporters of the nuns are in disagreement over how best to resolve the situation while ensuring appropriate care for octogenarian residents.