PARLIAMENTARY WRITTEN QUESTION
School Libraries: LGBT+ People (23 October 2024)

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will make an assessment of the implications for her policies of trends in the number of requests to schools to remove LGBT+ literature from school libraries.

Asked by:
Josh Newbury (Labour)

The current national curriculum requires teachers to encourage pupils to develop the habit of reading widely and often, for both pleasure and information. It also emphasises the importance of children listening to, discussing and reading for themselves a wide range of stories, poems, plays and non-fiction books. Within the framework of the national curriculum, schools make their own choices about which specific books or other resources they use. No authors, books or genres have been banned. Teachers have flexibility in their choice of books to teach within the context of the curriculum.  Any sensitive issues should be covered by the school’s own policy and in consultation with parents.

Answered by:
Catherine McKinnell (Labour)
31 October 2024