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<p>The Government is committed to ensuring that all children learn in a safe environment,
protected from extremist or hateful views wherever they are receiving education, and
the Department for Education is taking firm action where concerns arise.</p><p>We
have more power than ever before to intervene in schools causing concern and we take
swift, decisive action to make sure every child has access to the best possible education.</p><p>Ofsted
inspects schools on the requirement to actively promote the fundamental British values
of democracy, the rule of law, individual liberty and respect and tolerance of those
with different faiths and beliefs, as well as on the breadth of the curriculum, which
should prepare pupils for life in modern Britain.</p><p>We have provided additional
resources to Ofsted to allow them to increase their investigative work into unregistered
independent schools. Wherever such schools are found to be teaching hate or intolerance,
we take action to close them and prosecute those operating them.</p><p>We have also
taken steps to increase oversight of out-of-school settings, such as clubs and weekend
schools. Prevent duty statutory guidance sets out the expectations on local authorities
to take steps to understand the range of out-of-school settings in their areas and
to ensure that children attending such settings are safeguarded, including from the
risk of being drawn into extremism and terrorism. We set out plans to introduce a
new system of regulation for out-of-school settings in our call for evidence which
closed earlier this year. The proposed system would allow Ofsted to close such settings
where there was evidence that they were engaging in extremist teaching or failing
to adequately safeguard the children in their care. We received a large number of
responses and will set out next steps in due course.</p><p>Birmingham City Council
has made improvements to the way it runs its children’s services, but this progress
has not yet gone far enough, fast enough. That is why we are working with the Council
on the development of a voluntary Trust to make sure children and families in this
area receive the best possible care and support. The City Council and the Department
have jointly appointed Andrew Christie as Chair of this Trust.</p>
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