Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to ensure that schools maintain political impartiality.

All schools are subject to longstanding legal duties relating to political impartiality. They must prohibit the promotion of partisan political views and, where political issues are brought to pupils’ attention, take reasonably practicable steps to ensure that opposing views are presented in a balanced way.

The department’s guidance on political impartiality supports schools to meet these duties when teaching political issues, selecting resources and working with external organisations. It makes clear that schools should consider external materials in advance and take reasonable and proportionate steps to ensure a fair and balanced presentation, while supporting pupils to form their own views. Responsibility for complying with these duties’ rests with those responsible for the governance and leadership of schools.