Question to the Department for Education:

To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have, as part of their commitment to be a "child-centred Government", to encourage schools to support students to send submissions to the United Nations Human Rights Council's open-ended intergovernmental working group on the development of the optional protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on the rights to early childhood education, free pre-primary education and free secondary education.

The UK government is committed to safeguarding and advancing children’s rights. We firmly uphold the principles of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC), which we ratified in 1991. It is important for all children, regardless of race, religion or abilities, to have equal civil, political, economic, social and cultural rights. We are dedicated to providing the best possible opportunities for all children.

Teaching about the UNCRC can be taught through the national curriculum for citizenship, which is compulsory at key stages 3 and 4. Citizenship enables pupils to understand their statutory rights, civic duties and responsibilities, as well as developing their understanding of human rights, local, regional and international governance and the UK’s relations with the rest of Europe, the Commonwealth, the United Nations and the wider world. Schools are free to tailor their curriculum to the needs of their pupils and this could include supporting students to send submissions to the UN Human Rights Council working group.