Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what her Department's policy is on the study of philately in schools.

The Department holds no policy for the study of philately. The National Curriculum focuses on the key knowledge that should be taught. Within a broad statutory framework, set out in subject specific programmes of study, schools have considerable flexibility to organise the content and delivery of the curriculum to meet the needs of the majority of their pupils and to take account of new developments, societal changes, or topical issues.

Maintained schools in England are legally required to follow the National Curriculum as a piece of statutory guidance.

The National Curriculum is just one element in the education of every pupil. There is time and space to go beyond the National Curriculum specifications. In addition to meeting their statutory duties, schools are also free to include other subjects or topics they deem relevant for their pupils, as part of the school’s wider curriculum. Therefore, there is room for schools to incorporate the study of philately into their curriculum, should they wish.

Academies and free schools have greater freedom and autonomy in how they operate for areas such as the curriculum, but they are expected to teach a curriculum that is comparable in breadth and ambition to the National Curriculum.