Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to help promote awareness of freedom of religion and belief in schools.

Education is a devolved matter, and the response outlines the information for England only.

All schools in England must offer a curriculum that is balanced and broad and that promotes the spiritual, moral, cultural, mental, and physical development of pupils.

Pupils should be taught about different societies and how different groups have contributed to the development of Britain. This can include the experiences and voices of people from all backgrounds. The curriculum offers many opportunities for schools to do this, notably through citizenship education and relationships, sex and health education.

Within the citizenship curriculum, pupils should be taught about the diverse national, regional, religious and ethnic identities in the United Kingdom, and the need for mutual respect and understanding.

In delivering the curriculum, schools should be aware of their duties relating to political impartiality as set out under the Education Act 1996. Schools must ensure that, where political issues are discussed in the classroom, they are presented in a balanced way.

Schools also have a duty to promote the fundamental British values, including the mutual respect and tolerance of those with different faiths and beliefs. Developing and deepening pupils’ understanding of these values is part of the Ofsted inspection framework, alongside expectations that schools develop responsible and active citizens and promote an inclusive environment that meets the needs of all pupils, irrespective of their characteristics.