A rise in misogyny and sexism is sweeping schools as pupils mimic the behaviour and views espoused by figures like Andrew Tate and Donald Trump, teachers have warned.
Nearly three in five of the 5,800 polled by the NASUWT teaching union said they believe social media use has contributed to a deterioration in pupils’ behaviour in schools.
Many named self-proclaimed misogynist Tate as having a negative influence on male pupils.
One said: ‘I have had boys refuse to speak to me and speak to a male teaching assistant instead because I am a woman, and they follow Andrew Tate and think he is amazing with all his cars and women and how women should be treated. These were 10-year-olds.’
Another teacher said: ‘We had some incidents in school with derogatory language towards female staff (e.g. boys barking at female staff and blocking doorways so they couldn’t leave the classroom), as a direct result of Andrew Tate videos.’
A third said: ‘In an all-boys school, low socio-economic area, the “Andrew Tate” phenomena had a huge impact on how they interacted with females and males they did not see as “masculine”.’
Another replied: ‘A lot of the students are influenced by Tate and Trump, they spout racist, homophobic, transphobic and sexist comments in every conversation and don’t believe there will be consequences.’
Last month, Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer said there was no ‘simple solution’ to stop boys from being dragged into a ‘whirlpool’ of misogyny as he hosted creators of the Netflix drama Adolescence at Downing Street.
It also comes as Tory leader Kemi Badenoch revealed her young cousin ended their life after goiing down an ‘internet rabbit hole’.
In an interview with the Daily Mail, she said: ‘I worry a lot about social media.’
She added: ‘It’s heartbreaking. My views about the dangers of social media are not just about children. I know even as adults we can get dangerously addicted.’
Patrick Roach, general secretary of the NASUWT, said: ‘Misogyny, racism and other forms of prejudice and hatred may have attracted greater media attention of late, but it is clear from our data that these behaviours are not a recent phenomenon.
‘There is an urgent need for concerted action involving schools, colleges and other agencies to safeguard all children and young people from the dangerous influence of far-right populists and extremists and to ensure that our schools and colleges are safe places for learners and for staff.
‘Teachers cannot be left alone to deal with these problems.
‘We need a multi-agency response to improve social media literacy, critical thinking skills, and to expose disinformation and false narratives.
‘We are urging the Government to lead a national effort to tackle the root causes of poverty and deprivation and keep children safe online.’
A Department for Education (DfE) spokesperson said: ‘We know the rise of dangerous influencers is having a damaging impact on our children, which is why are supporting the sector in their crucial role building young people’s resilience to extremism as part of our Plan for Change.
‘Education can be the antidote to hate, and the classroom should be a safe environment for sensitive topics to be discussed and where critical thinking is encouraged.
‘That’s why we provide a range of resources to support teachers to navigate these challenging issues, and why our curriculum review will look at the skills children need to thrive in a fast-changing online world.
‘This is on top of wider protections being brought in for children with the Online Safety Act, to ensure children have an age-appropriate experience online.’
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