Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to ensure that schools promote British values.

Academies, free schools and independent schools are already required to encourage pupils to respect fundamental British values of democracy, the rule of law, individual liberty and mutual respect, and tolerance of those with different faiths and beliefs.

On 23 June, we launched a consultation on proposed revised standards, which will strengthen this position by requiring these schools actively to promote these values. We expect to have the new standards in place for the start of the next academic year.

We also plan to issue guidance to maintained schools on promoting fundamental British values, and to ask Ofsted to reinforce those expectations through changes to the inspection framework for maintained schools, academies and free schools.