Education secretary Bridget Phillipson has confirmed £7 million in funding for work aimed at tackling antisemitism in schools, colleges and universities.

The funding will be used to educate people about antisemitism and better equip schools, alongside other education providers, to stop antisemitic abuse, the Department for Education said.

Some of the money will go towards funding a project to upskill teachers and university staff to tackle antisemitism, the education secretary has announced.

The DfE plans to launch an innovation fund offering opportunities to support work tackling antisemitic misinformation on social media.

The previous Conservative government had announced the £7 million funding. The current Labour government will resume procurement of the money.

Rise in antisemitism in schools

The number of antisemitic incidents in schools has more than tripled in two years, according to a report published by the Community Security Trust in August.

Writing for The Telegraph, Ms Phillipson says it is “vitally important that staff in our education system have the confidence and skills to act quickly to root out antisemitism as soon as it emerges”.

The funding has been announced on the anniversary of the 7 October attack on Israel by Hamas.

In the same article, Ms Phillipson warns that abuse is “by no means unique to antisemitism”, and says that anti-Muslim incidents in Britain have also more than trebled in the months since 7 October last year.

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The education secretary further voices her outrage at the “shocking” acts of Islamophobia and violence seen after the Southport attacks earlier this year.

She writes: “With a foundation of knowledge about history and the world, critical thinking, logical reasoning and empathy, we can build children’s resilience not just to antisemitic hate but all other forms of hate, too. A child who is equipped to dismantle antisemitic conspiracy theories is ready to reject Islamophobic ones as well.”

Last November ITV reported research showing that there had been a tenfold increase in reports of Islamophobia in schools and universities after 7 October.