Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will discuss with the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills potential steps to support teachers in raising awareness among schoolchildren of the importance of intellectual property.

Schools are required to teach a broad and balanced curriculum which prepares pupils for the opportunities, responsibilities and experiences of later life. Our new national curriculum, introduced in September 2014, provides an outline of core knowledge around which teachers can develop stimulating lessons to promote the development of pupils’ knowledge, understanding and skills as part of the wider school curriculum.

The new national curriculum gives teachers greater flexibility to teach topics that are appropriate and meet the needs of pupils, including the importance of intellectual property rights. It is for individual schools to decide what support and resources they wish to draw on in developing and teaching their school curriculum.