Bridget Phillipson calls for more male teachers to help boys reject 'toxic online influences'

The Education Secretary will today say the behaviour and development of boys is the “defining issue of our time”.

will hit out at an increasing crisis of young boys being influenced by toxic materials online. She will admit can’t solve the problem alone but that she wants more men to work in classrooms to help guide boys amid an "extraordinary" lack of male .

At a speech at the Children’s Commissioner’s inaugural Festival of Children, the Cabinet minister is expected to say: “It's clear the behaviour of boys, their influences, and the young men they become, is a defining issue of our time… We need to raise a generation of boys with the strength to reject that hatred – curiosity, compassion, kindness, resilience, hope, respect."

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She will continue: “With toxic online influences on the rise, our boys need strong, positive male role models to look up to. At home, of course, and at school too. Schools can’t solve these problems alone, and responsibility starts at home with parents.

“But only one in four of the teachers in our schools are men. Just one in seven in nursery and primary. One in 33 in early years. And since 2010 the number of teachers in our schools has increased by 28,000 – but just 533 of those are men. That’s extraordinary. So I want more male teachers – teaching, guiding, leading the boys in their classrooms. And of course I want more teachers across the board, as part of our Plan for Change.”

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It comes after the PM backed a move by earlier this week to make its hit drama Adolescence, which follows the story of a teen boy accused of murder, schools. On Tuesday met with the creators of the crime drama, which follows the story of a teen accused of murder, to discuss how to prevent young boys being dragged into a “whirlpool of hatred and misogyny”. The PM invited co-writer Jack Thorne and producer Jo Johnson to Downing Street as well as charities and young people, who shared their experience of becoming immersed in harmful online content.

The PM, who watched the drama with his kids, said the show "hit home hard". After years spent working as the Director of Public Prosecutions, he has seen the devastation that misogyny and violence leaves behind, and how it tears through families and communities. It is hoped that showing Adolescence in schools will help students better understand the impact of misogyny, dangers of online radicalisation and the importance of healthy relationships.

“As a father, watching this show with my teenage son and daughter, I can tell you - it hit home hard," the PM said on Tuesday. “It’s an important initiative to encourage as many pupils as possible to watch the show. As I see from my own children, openly talking about changes in how they communicate, the content they’re seeing, and exploring the conversations they’re having with their peers is vital if we are to properly support them in navigating contemporary challenges, and deal with malign influences.

“This isn’t a challenge politicians can simply legislate for. Believe me, if I could pull a lever to solve it, I would. Only by listening and learning from the experiences of young people and charities can we tackle the issues this groundbreaking show raises.”

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