Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will publish guidance for schools on (a) responding to parental requests for the withdrawal of books from recommended reading lists and (b) the circumstances under which schools can remove books from those lists.

The current National Curriculum requires teachers to encourage pupils to develop the habit of reading widely and often, for both pleasure and information. Following the publication of the Curriculum and Assessment Review on 5 November 2025, the department will continue to emphasise the importance of pupils listening to, discussing, and reading for themselves a wide range of stories, poems, plays and non-fiction books.

Within the framework of the National Curriculum, schools make their own choices about which specific books or other resources they use. Teachers have flexibility in their choice of books to teach within the context of the curriculum.  Any sensitive issues should be covered by the school’s own policy, and in consultation with parents.