Holocaust: Education

(asked on 25th January 2022) - View Source

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps he is taking to increase teaching of the events of the Holocaust in UK schools.


Answered by
Robin Walker Portrait
Robin Walker
This question was answered on 2nd February 2022

The government has supported Holocaust education for many years and is fully committed to continuing this support.

In recognition of its importance, the Holocaust is the only historic event which is compulsory within the national curriculum for history at key stage 3. This ensures that young people from every background can continue to learn about the Holocaust and its relevance today. Effective teaching about the Holocaust can support pupils to learn about the possible consequences of antisemitism and extremism, to understand how society can prevent the repeat of such a catastrophe.

The department further supports school pupils’ and teachers’ understanding of the Holocaust by providing funding for several programmes. This includes £500,000 in the 2021/22 financial year for University College London’s Centre for Holocaust Education which is match funded by the Pears Foundation, and £2.126 million in the 2021/22 financial year for the Holocaust Educational Trust’s Lessons from Auschwitz project. The latter has been provided on an online basis during the COVID-19 outbreak and has therefore had the capacity to reach more pupils. These programmes help reach all types of schools and help to develop high-quality teaching across the school sector.

Education is a devolved matter, and approaches to Holocaust education may differ in Northern Ireland, Wales and Scotland.

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