Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what role Ofstead will play in ensuring that primary schools comply with (a) relationships education, relationships and sex education and (b) religious education.

From September 2019, primary schools will be encouraged to follow the new relationships education curriculum and compliance will be compulsory from September 2020.

Ofsted’s role, in relation to schools, is to provide an independent assessment of their effectiveness on a range of matters. This includes the breadth, balance and ambition of the school’s curriculum.

As set out in Ofsted’s published School Inspection Handbook, from September 2019, inspectors will take account of the relationships education taught in each school as part of an evaluation of pupils’ personal development. Inspectors will also take account of the religious education taught, as part of assessing the quality of education provided by the school.

It is not Ofsted’s role to inspect denominational religious education in faith schools as part of its inspections. This provision is inspected separately under Section 48 of the Education Act 2005.