Written Question·Department for Education·UIN 43270

Schools: Political Impartiality

Tabled: 1 April 2025
Answered: 9 April 2025

Question

James McMurdock

Independent — South Basildon and East Thurrock

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether her Department monitors political impartiality in schools.

Answer

Catherine McKinnell

In 2022 the department published comprehensive guidance to support schools to meet their duties on political impartiality. This guidance can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/political-impartiality-in-schools/political-impartiality-in-schools.

The guidance is clear that all schools should take full responsibility for ensuring lessons and materials are age appropriate, suitable and politically impartial, particularly when using materials produced by external organisations. The guidance also highlights that legal duties on political impartiality are unlikely to be relevant when teaching about political events from previous historical periods. However, the guidance is clear that, when teaching about more recent historical events, it is important to ensure that political issues that remain contentious today are presented to pupils in a balanced manner.