I AM SURE that many teachers have been asked, as I have many times this week, what is happening in Ukraine. Young people are, for obvious reasons, scared by the situation. Especially as the media and right-wing MPs try to whip up a war frenzy. Add to this the disinformation and misinformation circulating on social media — what role can and should teachers play in helping children understand this crisis?

The most important thing is, in the first instance, to reassure pupils that the likelihood of World War III is highly unlikely, but just as importantly, to teach them the skill of critical thinking.

The question of what and how we should be teaching could of course also be broadened out to cover the whole curriculum — to ask what role teachers can and should play in helping them to understand the world at large. In a world where fake news is rife, politicians can’t be trusted and the mainstream media is owned by millionaires, the role of teachers is more important than ever.