Islamophobia: Education
The question
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of mandating education on islamophobia in schools.
Answered by Catherine McKinnell
The department is committed to tackling all forms of prejudice, including religious prejudice, and education is a key component of building a fairer and more equal society.
As part of a broad and balanced curriculum, there are many opportunities in the existing curriculum for schools to teach about islamophobia, including through:
- Citizenship education, which is compulsory at key stages 3 and 4, and teaches about religious diversity, mutual respect and understanding.
- Relationships education, which is compulsory in all schools, and teaches about the impact of prejudice and the importance of respect.
- Religious education, which is compulsory in all state-funded schools, and educates about religious tolerance.
The department’s ‘Educate Against Hate’ campaign also provides teachers, school leaders and parents with guidance, advice and trusted resources to help them safeguard students from radicalisation and build students’ resilience to all forms of extremism. Further information can be found here: https://www.educateagainsthate.com/.
The government will keep the effectiveness of this approach under review and will consider the issue further in the Curriculum and Assessment Review.
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