The Centre has played a pivotal role in national policy for Holocaust education. This has included invitations to Downing Street to present the Centre’s research to government ministers and advising the Prime Minister’s Holocaust Commission.
Britain’s promise to remember: the Prime Minister’s Holocaust Commission Report
In 2014, the Prime Minister set up the Holocaust Commission, publishing Britain’s Promise to Remember in 2015. The Centre’s research was cited as evidence that effective Holocaust education is failing to reach young people. Centre staff presented at Downing Street on a number of occasions and personal correspondence from David Cameron on 25th January 2016 stated:
Early access to your report at the beginning of last year provided much of the evidence base for the recommendations the Commission made. The full final report will be a great help to the [UK Holocaust Memorial] Foundation.
House of Commons Education Committee: Holocaust education inquiry
An Education Select Committee Holocaust Education Inquiry in 2015 collected evidence including testimonials from government officials, Holocaust education organisations and teachers, who commended the work of the Centre. The Committee’s report cited the Centre’s student research and informed recommendations including: “The status of the Holocaust within the National Curriculum creates demand for high quality teacher training above and beyond the training available for discretionary topics”.
IWM would also like to acknowledge the excellent research published in October 2015 by the Centre for Holocaust Education at UCL on Holocaust learning in schools in England and Wales. We believe it provides in-depth statistical information about young people’s perceptions and understanding of the Holocaust. The report also raises important questions for every member of society about the impact and focus of learning in schools and the connection with learning and understanding about the Holocaust in all areas of society, some 25 years after the introduction of the National Curriculum for England and Wales.
- Imperial War Museums | View the full statement
The UCL IoE’s Centre for Holocaust Education, has developed much expertise in the area of Holocaust education, as well as resources and teaching materials for teachers. The research it has undertaken into teachers’ understanding of the Holocaust and how they teach it, and more recently pupils’ understanding and knowledge of the Holocaust, published on 26 October 2015, will provide invaluable information on areas that should be addressed or require particular focus.
- Department for Education | View the full statement
All-Party Parliamentary Group Against Antisemitism
The Centre’s findings about antisemitism were also used in 2015 by the All-Party Parliamentary Group Against Antisemitism who recommended: “the government increase its grant for the evidence-based teacher training conducted by the Centre for Holocaust Education at the Institute of Education, with a view to expanding its work and the number of teachers it is able to train”.
Ofsted
In March 2016, an Ofsted update issued to all secondary schools in England (over 4,000 schools) stated inspectors should be made aware of work being done with the UCL Centre for Holocaust Education. Inspectors can now draw on Holocaust education as evidence for curriculum content (across different subject areas), and use it as evidence of how the school is contributing to pupils’ learning, including personal development.