Abstract: The United Kingdom first submitted its Holocaust Education Country Report to the Task Force for
International Cooperation on Holocaust Education, Remembrance and Research (ITF) in March 2006. At
that point, the report reflected the best available information on teaching and learning about the
Holocaust in UK universities and schools. However, in September 2009 an extensive empirical
investigation of Holocaust education in England’s state maintained secondary schools was published by
the Institute of Education (IOE), University of London. The publication of the report – which drew upon
survey responses from 2,108 teachers across England and interview accounts from 68 teachers visited at
24 different schools – offered an invaluable opportunity to build upon and, where appropriate, revise
the UK’s original submission. Consultations were held with representatives from each of the key
Holocaust education organisations currently working in the UK (as detailed in Appendix 1) and additional
research exercises were conducted as referred to throughout the report.
This revision is not intended as the final say on Holocaust education in the UK. On the contrary, we
recognise that practice in our schools and universities, and the popular understandings and policy
landscapes which frame practice, are constantly changing. As we write at the close of 2010, the
Government’s plans for education reform are a lot clearer after the recent publication of the White
Paper, The Importance of Teaching, but there still remains some uncertainty about the impact of the
recent change in national government at Westminster. For example, the English National Curriculum will
be reviewed. The Government intend to restore the National Curriculum to its original purpose - a core
national entitlement organised around subject disciplines. The development of subject knowledge will
be central to the revised curriculum, and details of the review will be announced in the near future. The
Government have stated that they would certainly expect any future programme of study for history to
continue to include Holocaust education. Our resubmission is intended therefore to reflect the UK
delegation’s commitment to critical reflection and reporting to the international community as an
ongoing activity.
