Although my teenage daughter is quite strong, she was clearly unhappy when her school returned home one night a few weeks ago.
“I’ll definitely be able still to have children, mum?” She asked me this after I persuaded my mother to reveal what was troubling.
I tried to swallow my rising fury — as both a mother and a secondary school teacher I knew exactly where this anxiety was coming from.
My half-term Covid vaccination was a happy experience for my daughter.
Since then, however, she had seen anti-vaxxers gather outside of her school, waving placards. Their messages were ingrained in her rational mind.
One banner displayed the message, “Don’t poison children.”
One person said, “Our children are now dying because they haven’t needed a vaccine.”
These protestors also highlight the future “infertility” of teenage girls who are given the jab.
Their claims are, of course, utterly without merit — but not without harm.
As the Mail has highlighted in recent days, this misinformation is being deliberately peddled to our young people — confusing and frightening them in equal measure — by a growing and determined legion of anti-vax ‘warriors’ who have co-opted Britain’s school gates as the new battle line in their culture war.
They are the reason that both teachers and parents have called for the introduction of exclusion zones outside schools — known formally as public spaces protection orders and administered by local authorities — to prevent these toxic protesters from spreading their dangerous nonsense to our children.
Francesca Dill (centre foreground), on a protest march against vaccines for coronavirus in children’s schools. Outreach Worldwide, whose 50 UK “chapters” target children with conspiratorial theories is run by the 32-year-old mother. On social media, she posted footage in which she told children that the Covid jab was ‘deadly’. This could make girls infertile.
It seems simple, effective, and a clear way to protect teachers from the lies of those who want to politicize our schools and poison young minds with lies.
However, Nadhim Zahawi, Education Secretary, has rejected this idea. He stated that while protestors should not target schools, the police are the ones who need to deal with it.
He is mistaken, so I’m here to correct him. His decision also results in a loss for teachers, parents and children.
You don’t need to be either parent or teacher to see that education has been facing extraordinary difficulties over the last 20 months.
Before this new flurry of lunacy schools had to face complex issues. It was difficult enough to continue providing virtual lessons while under lockdown.
Despite the fact that many of these students have now returned to school, there are still many challenges.
Some children that I work with have medical issues which make them need to be isolated. This means I must do hybrid teaching, where I can teach in the classroom as well as online.
Keely Knight, a former mentor for children in need of help, has been spreading anti-vaccine propaganda beyond schools. Francesca Dill’s most trusted lieutenant, she is.
As a result, many pupils suffer from ongoing mental illness due to isolation.
Having to run the gauntlet of placard-waving morons at the school gate — on the front line of a war children should not be part of — is hardly going to help.
It is shocking to me that they have been targeted. As most people do, I accepted the Covid vaccinations. My life is largely back to normal now that Britain has an unrivalled jab rollout.
This is what you would want. It seems that not everybody would want it.
My first inkling of this grim threat was when my daughter — who attends a different school from the one I teach at — came home with a letter from the headmaster. The school offered vaccines to the pupils. He was also on the receiving end abusive email and letter.
He stated that, among others, he was called a “Nazi” by his friends.
He chose to avoid facing the truth. Instead, he decided to take a stand against the vaccination drive.
My daughter was baffled by this stance — and I was dismayed to see a headteacher kowtowing to such nonsense.
It was becoming increasingly obvious to me that anti-vaxxers were also invading my school. Some senior school leaders found themselves being targeted by residents on an internet forum. They had been accused of participating in a “social experiment” for playing a small part in essential vaccinations at school.
The situation has gotten worse ever since.
Anti-vaxxers are targeting schools across the country today, including primary school level.
Outreach Worldwide’s 32-year old mum Francesca Dill is one of the cheerleaders.
This has been used to serve as a warning for headteachers if pupils are allowed to harass them at school.
A group of about 12 children were told by them last week that the vaccine could cause death at a Sevenoaks secondary school. Dill is seen in particularly disturbing video asking the headmaster of the school why he would facilitate the vaccination ‘knowing children are dying.’
Dill has the right to free speech. This, on one level, is what we as society rightly value. Dill and her ignorant cohorts should have the right to display their placards.
It doesn’t matter if you agree with the message, which any rational person would not; it is evident that they are not waving their flags at policy-makers. Instead, they are waving them to vulnerable children as well as their families.
Ironically, these cultist conspiracyists are claiming to be protecting the youth they most damage.
Young people are already confused and overwhelmed by recent events. Their trust in adult life has been irreparably damaged.
It is a shame that people are forced to confront yet another grave threat at the gates if they want to have an objective and rational view of the world.
It is clear that this message is getting a lot of attention. This message has been evident in my own class, where students have said they do not trust the vaccine.
Videos posted by Remece on social media show that he has traveled from Cornwall to Glasgow to promote dangerous and false myths about vaccines. Pictured at an October 16th protest in London
I am constantly retorted by conspiracy theorists whenever I try to dig down to the root cause of their worries.
As a mother of girls, I’m particularly disgusted by the gendered nature of the fearmongering, which focuses in large part on wombs, menstrual cycles and reproductive harm — deliberately and cynically playing on the abundant insecurities adolescent girls have about their bodies.
Is this the end result of these endless lies about infertility and their effects? My suspicions in the classroom are not alone. Many of my friends, my daughters, now profess to be vaccine refusers.
It is my sincere hope that they will not have to pay the real price in the future.
It is difficult, however, to prevent the spreading of lies and other nonsense via social media. We have an obligation to do our best.
This direct threat can be stopped at school gates.
This is why Nadhim Zahawi, and other ministers should reconsider their opposition to exclusion areas. These zones would provide at most a slight buffer of safety for our schools.
After a difficult period, I am able to say that the staff of these schools has been working hard. Our society is ashamed that anti-vaxxers have been allowed to make them into a battlefield of dangerous lies.
Author is an educator at a South-East secondary school.