Question to the Department for Education:

To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they have taken to revise the inspection criteria for citizenship education with Ofsted; and what plans they have to publish (1) any correspondence, or (2) minutes of meetings (including the meeting on 15 March,) with Ofsted.

Ofsted, as a separate government department and independent inspectorate, is responsible for the criteria in its inspection framework and handbooks.

On 21 February, Ofsted wrote to the Chair of the House of Lords Liaison Committee, Lord Gardiner of Kimble, setting out its inspection approach regarding citizenship education. The letter is available at: https://committees.parliament.uk/publications/9100/documents/159384/default/.

The department has subsequently discussed this matter with Her Majesty’s Chief Inspector, Amanda Spielman. The Chief Inspector has confirmed that citizenship education forms a significant, but proportionate, part of school inspections. There are no plans to publish correspondence or minutes relating to discussions on this matter. The government will respond in due course to ‘The Ties that Bind: Citizenship and Civic Engagement in the 21st Century Follow-up report’, which includes recommendations relating to the inspection of citizenship education.