INFLUENCERS like Andrew Tate are driving sexism in schools, teachers say.
Nearly three in five in the profession say social media use is the number one reason leading to a fall in standards expected in the classroom.
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Tate is a self-proclaimed misogynist who first became famous after an appearance on Big Brother – and later went on to describe women as “intrinsically lazy”.
But the poll findings also come after the television drama Adolescence triggered a national debate about internet safety for teens particularly young boys.
Sir Keir Starmer even invited the creators of the Netflix show to Downing Street but added there was no “simple solution” to stop youngsters being dragged into the whirlpool of misogyny.
The findings have been released during the teaching union’s NASUWT’s annual conference in Liverpool over the Easter weekend with the poll taken in January.
They will debate a motion suggesting that far-right and populist movements are moving their recruitment to social media, messaging and online gaming platforms – and teachers need help combat the messaging.
As part of the study, one teacher 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 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’.”
Patrick Roach, general secretary of the NASUWT, said “concerted action” involving schools, colleges and other agencies to safeguard all children and young people is needed.
A Department for Education (DfE) spokesperson said: “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.”
