Question to the Department for Education:

To ask Her Majesty's Government what advice on teaching the Holocaust they have given to academies and multi-academy trusts that do not follow the national curriculum.

Academies and free schools are required to provide their pupils with a broad and balanced curriculum, even whilst they are not required to offer the National Curriculum. Teaching about the Holocaust is an important part of that. The Department supports teaching on the Holocaust in schools through two programmes: the Holocaust Educational Trust’s Lesson from Auschwitz and the Continuing Professional Development for teachers’ work of University College London’s Centre for Holocaust Education. These programmes help teachers to teach the Holocaust and pupils to understand it, and reach all types of schools, and help to develop high quality teaching across the school sector. Ofsted’s new inspection framework also places a renewed focus on all schools ensuring pupils receive a broad, balanced and ambitious curriculum as exemplified by the National Curriculum.

The Government believes that every young person should learn about the Holocaust and the lessons it teaches us today. Effective teaching about the Holocaust can support pupils to learn about the possible consequences of antisemitism and other forms of extremism and help reduce their spread.