This report serves as the first substantive analysis of the school strikes demanding a ceasefire in the Israel/Palestinian conflict, which spread across the country during November 2023.
The strikes pose a challenge to the education system in three areas – participation in them is an unauthorised absence, in a period when school attendance is yet to recover from Covid.
They challenge the concept of political neutrality in schools, and thirdly they potentially impact on the statutory duty upon all schools to prevent children being drawn into political extremism.
Finally, this research also details some of the methods used to organise the walkouts, and several of the organisations and activists involved.
