Censorship concerns show the need to support school libraries
Censorship in schools is not a new issue, but recent reports suggest it is becoming an increasingly visible and complex challenge – particularly within school libraries in the UK. For educators and librarians, this raises important questions about access to information, professional responsibility, and how best to support young people in developing informed, critical perspectives.
What is happening in UK schools?
In November 2025, a school library in Greater Manchester underwent a significant purge. Inspired by a headteacher's objection to a single title, books were pulled from shelves, a school librarian faced a disciplinary hearing, and more than 130 books were eventually targeted – nearly 200 when individual issues of graphic novel series are counted. Titles on the list included widely read and critically acclaimed works freely available in bookshops and public libraries across the country.
This case, while striking, was not an isolated one. A 2024 Index on Censorship investigation found that over half of UK school librarians surveyed had been asked to remove books from their shelves, with LGBTQ+ titles among those most commonly targeted.
Critically, this pressure does not always arrive as a formal demand. In fact, it often presents itself as a safeguarding question, a concerned parent query, or a staffroom discussion about whether a title still feels "appropriate".
This quieter form of pressure – sometimes called soft censorship or self-censorship– is particularly significant because it is difficult to track and easy to dismiss. Freedom of Information (FOI) requests to councils and library services across the UK recorded 75 complaints about library books in 2024/25, with requests to remove LGBTQ+ titles rising sharply, from 10 in 2022/23 to 58 in 2024/25.
The absence of a statutory framework
One of the most striking aspects of the UK situation is that there is no legal obligation to have a school library or a school librarian, and no statutory guidance on how libraries should be run or how removal requests should be handled. Decisions about what stays on the shelf – and what comes off – are left to the discretion of individual school leadership teams.
In a House of Lords debate in June 2025, the Minister of State, Department of Education (Baroness Smith of Malvern) confirmed that no authors, books, or genres have been banned by the Government, and that schools make their own choices about the books they use.
While school autonomy has clear value, it also means that when pressure arises, librarians can find themselves without institutional support, clear procedures, or professional protection. CILIP (the Chartered Institute of Library and Information Professionals) and the School Library Association have both warned that, without clear library policies, librarians may self-censor out of fear – with the consequence that young people lose access to a safe, curated space and are left to seek information elsewhere, including on unregulated parts of the internet.
Why this matters for PSHE and citizenship educators
For those who teach PSHE and citizenship, the stakes are particularly high. These subjects ask young people to think critically about the world around them: about identity, relationships, rights, power, and justice. The school library is not peripheral to that work – it is part of the infrastructure that makes it possible.
In a joint statement, CILIP, the Society of Authors, and the School Library Association described censorship as “a threat to children's freedom to read, learn, question, and access information”.
The Lords debate reinforced this: the Government's position was that reading should challenge us and broaden our horizons, and that it is part of the skill of teaching to support students in critically assessing what they read. These are not abstract principles – they describe precisely what good PSHE and citizenship teaching looks like in practice.
What can educators do?
Organisations including the School Library Association, CILIP, and the National Education Union have spoken out strongly in support of school librarians and the principle of intellectual freedom. At the National Education Union’s 2026 annual conference, delegates voted unanimously to oppose the censorship of books in school libraries.
For classroom educators, the most useful response is often practical:
- Familiarise yourself with your school's library selection and challenge policies and, advocate for one if none exists.
- Understand the difference between professional curation (selecting age-appropriate, contextually supported resources) and censorship (removing material due to external pressure or the views it expresses).
- Use PSHE and citizenship lessons to explore the concept of censorship itself – its history, its mechanisms, and why access to a range of ideas matters in a democratic society.
- Signal clearly to students that their questions are welcome, and that the library is a space for inquiry, not restriction.
Moving forward: balancing access and responsibility
Navigating these pressures requires a balanced approach – one focused not simply on whether materials should be included or excluded, but on how to create environments where difficult issues can be explored thoughtfully and responsibly. Approaches that support this include trusting professional expertise in resource selection, developing clear and well-communicated policies, encouraging open and respectful discussion, and maintaining inclusive and diverse collections.
School libraries remain a vital part of the educational environment – not only as sources of knowledge, but as spaces for reflection, discussion, and discovery. Supporting access to a broad and balanced range of resources helps equip students with the skills they need to think critically, engage respectfully with different viewpoints, and participate as informed citizens.
Coming this summer: Issue 479 – Censored: Free to Speak?
This is a topic that belongs firmly in the PSHE and citizenship classroom and, we have been developing resources to support exactly that conversation. Our forthcoming summer title, Issue 479: Censored: Free to Speak? brings together carefully curated articles, perspectives, and discussion material to help students aged 11+ explore the complex, contested territory of free expression: what it means, where its limits lie, and who decides.
The Issues series has always believed that young people deserve access to challenging ideas, which are presented fairly, in age-appropriate contexts, with the support of well-prepared educators. That belief feels more relevant now than ever.
Issue 479: Censored: Free to Speak? will be available as part of our Summer 2026 titles through Issues Online (digital subscription) and as a print title through Independence Educational Publishers.