Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the effectiveness of the national curriculum in teaching British values.

All schools are expected to actively promote fundamental British values of democracy, the rule of law, individual liberty, and mutual respect and tolerance for those of different faiths and beliefs.

Schools are free to include a full range of issues, ideas, and materials in their curriculum, including through citizenship content.

Following the Curriculum and Assessment Review, the government will make citizenship statutory at key stages 1 and 2. Content at primary and secondary will include media literacy, law and rights, democracy and government, to enable children to be informed and active participants in society. Covering these issues in citizenship will ensure we continue to focus on schools’ role in developing fundamental British values, including mutual tolerance and respect.

Proposals will be consulted on from 2026 and we are working towards a first teaching of the new curriculum from September 2028.