Authors boycott school visits

Philip Pullman and many top authors are now refusing to visit schools.  The reason: another government scheme.  This one requires all people who work with children to be vetted, and they will have to pay a £63 fee for the priviledge.

Philip Pullman called the plans “outrageous, demeaning and insulting” to authors, who do a great deal of work with schools. The scheme would also affect all other visitors to schools to give talks.

The Independent Safeguarding Authority was created to help prevent unsuitable people from working with children and vulnerable adults. It was set up after the horrific murders of Jessica Chapman and Holly Wells by school caretaker Ian Huntley in 2002.

However, as author and screenwriter Frank Cottrell Boyce points out: ‘As an author you’re never alone with a class. There’s no possible reason for this, unless it’s a revenue-raising scam.”

Pullman states: “”It seems to be fuelled by the same combination of prurience, sexual fear and cold political calculation.” He believes the legislation will have a longer-term effect in that it will damages in a much deeper way ‘the trust and social cohesion’ we ought to be able to rely on.

Children’s author Adele Geras called the scheme “lunatic”. She asks that the legislation is changed to make exceptions for people who see large groups of children, which are supervised by teachers. These visitors would never be left alone with children and so there would be no risk. She says that she will pay as she enjoys visiting schools.

The scheme will anger many authors and will mean that children will be deprived of meeting real life authors, a strange way to encourage reading and literacy.

While I accept that it is logical that anyone working within a school should be checked, I believe that there should be an exception for supervised visitors.

The Home Office has confirmed that the ISA scheme would apply to authors visiting schools, but has made no comment on the authors’ concerns.

Links

Philip Pullman on Amazon

Frank Cottrell Boyce on Amazon

Adele Geras on Amazon

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