Reform UK Would Tell Schools to Fly Union Flag and Display Portrait of King
Reform UK has proposed a major change to the way national identity and British history are presented in schools, including requirements for schools to fly the Union flag and display a portrait of King Charles III.
The proposals, announced by the party in April 2026, form part of a wider education programme described by Reform as a “patriotic” curriculum. The party says the measures are intended to strengthen national identity and ensure pupils have a greater understanding of British history and culture.
The plans have attracted considerable attention because they go beyond changes to the academic curriculum. Reform has proposed visible symbols of national identity inside schools, changes to the teaching of history and a greater emphasis on British achievements and institutions.
At the same time, the proposals raise questions about political impartiality in education, the role of national symbols in schools and how a future government could implement the measures across England and the devolved nations.
What Reform is proposing
Under the proposal announced by Reform UK, every school would be required to fly the Union flag and display a portrait of King Charles in a communal area. The party has also proposed that schools in England should mark St George’s Day.
Reform has linked these measures to a broader argument that schools should do more to develop pupils’ understanding of Britain’s national heritage.
The party’s education spokesperson, Suella Braverman, has argued that British patriotism should not be treated negatively and that young people should understand the country’s history, achievements and institutions.
The proposal is therefore not simply about putting flags on school buildings.
It forms part of a wider attempt to change the emphasis of education policy, particularly history teaching.
Reform has said that if it entered government, it would introduce its proposed curriculum during its first 100 days.
A new approach to history
One of the most substantial elements of the plan concerns the teaching of history.
Reform says British history should account for at least 60 per cent of assessed history content. The party has proposed greater emphasis on events including Magna Carta, the Wars of the Roses, the English Civil War, the Glorious Revolution, the Act of Union, the Enlightenment and Victorian Britain.
Many of these subjects are already covered within the periods examined by GCSE history specifications in England.
The proposed change would therefore not necessarily mean introducing entirely unfamiliar historical subjects.
Instead, Reform is proposing a different balance and framing.
The party has criticised what it describes as the teaching of history through a “progressive lens” and has called for what it describes as a “patriotic history of the British Isles”.
That language is significant because it reflects a wider disagreement about the purpose of history education.
One view is that history lessons should give pupils a strong understanding of Britain’s institutions, achievements and historical development.
Another is that national history should be taught alongside uncomfortable aspects of the past, including imperialism, slavery, discrimination and political conflict, without allowing national pride to determine the interpretation of historical evidence.
The debate over Reform’s proposal therefore concerns not only which subjects children study, but also how those subjects are presented.
The Union flag proposal
Reform’s plan to require schools to fly the Union flag would represent a change from the current position.
At present, schools in England are free to display the Union flag, but the Department for Education has not made its display compulsory. A 2021 parliamentary answer stated that schools could display the national flag and that the decision was left to individual schools.
The government’s general rules concerning the Union flag are different for central government buildings.
Official guidance states that the Union flag is the national flag of the United Kingdom and that government buildings are encouraged to fly it throughout the year, with particular designated days on which it must be flown.
Reform’s proposal would extend the principle into the school environment.
The party has said that funding would be available for flagpoles where necessary. In Scotland and Wales, Reform has also discussed allowing schools to fly the Union flag alongside the relevant national flag, while acknowledging that education is devolved in those nations.
That distinction is important.
A Westminster government can directly legislate for education in England, but education policy in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland involves devolved or separate arrangements.
Consequently, the practical reach of any UK-wide Reform education policy would depend on the constitutional arrangements in each nation.
The King’s portrait
The proposal concerning King Charles is also notable because schools were already offered portraits of the monarch.
In 2024, the UK government made a portrait of King Charles III available to state-funded schools. Reports at the time indicated that only around 34 per cent of eligible schools took up the offer.
Reform’s proposal would change the arrangement from an optional display to a requirement.
The party wants a visible portrait of the King in a communal area of every school.
The symbolism is clear: Reform sees the monarchy and the Union flag as elements of British national identity that should have a visible place in educational institutions.
Whether schools should be required to display such symbols is a separate question from whether they are legally permitted to do so.
Existing government guidance makes clear that schools can have public displays provided they do not promote partisan political views.
A portrait of the monarch or a national flag is not automatically a party-political message, but the wider political context surrounding national identity means that schools would still have to comply with their existing duties concerning political impartiality.
Political impartiality in schools
Current Department for Education guidance requires schools in England to prohibit the promotion of partisan political views and to take steps to ensure balanced presentation of opposing political views when political issues are brought to pupils’ attention.
That framework would remain relevant under any future Reform government.
A patriotic curriculum would therefore have to operate alongside the legal duties already imposed on schools.
This is particularly important when teaching controversial historical subjects.
For example, a history lesson about the British Empire could examine Britain’s political, economic and cultural achievements while also addressing colonial violence, exploitation, resistance and the legacy of empire.
The central educational question would be whether pupils are being taught historical evidence and competing interpretations rather than being instructed to adopt a particular political position.
Reform has said that its proposed curriculum would be “balanced”, but its critics have questioned what that balance would look like in practice.
Reform’s argument for the policy
The party’s justification is based primarily on national identity.
Reform argues that schools should give children a stronger understanding of Britain’s history and encourage a sense of pride in the country.
Braverman has said that patriotism should be treated as something positive rather than something that schools should avoid.
In July, she also argued that British patriotism was being treated negatively in some educational settings and said Reform would introduce what she described as a “patriotism curriculum”.
The party believes that stronger knowledge of national history can contribute to social cohesion and a shared sense of identity.
From that perspective, the Union flag and portrait of the monarch are intended to reinforce the historical and civic themes taught in the classroom.
Criticism of the proposals
Critics have raised concerns about the extent to which government should prescribe symbols and historical interpretations in schools.
The National Education Union previously warned that a Reform government could make education more difficult for some children, while other education figures have questioned whether compulsory patriotic displays are appropriate in increasingly diverse school communities.
The concerns extend beyond flags and portraits.
If the government also has powers to intervene in curriculum content, critics could argue that ministers would gain greater influence over how history is taught.
Reform, by contrast, says its proposals are designed to correct what it considers an imbalance in the current curriculum.
The disagreement therefore reflects two competing ideas of education.
One places greater emphasis on national identity and shared heritage.
The other places greater emphasis on institutional independence, pluralism and ensuring that children encounter different interpretations of Britain’s past.
A policy with wider constitutional implications
The proposal also illustrates the increasingly prominent role of national identity in British politics.
The Union flag represents the United Kingdom as a whole, while England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland also have their own national symbols and political institutions.
Reform’s proposal acknowledges this by suggesting that Scottish and Welsh schools could fly the Union flag alongside their national flags. However, the party also recognises that education is devolved.
That means implementation would not necessarily be identical throughout the United Kingdom.
In England, a Reform government could seek to change national education requirements directly.
In other nations, cooperation with devolved governments or separate legislative arrangements could become necessary.
More than a flag
The significance of Reform’s proposal lies in its wider political context.
The Union flag and King’s portrait are the most visible elements, but they are only part of a broader education programme involving curriculum content, history teaching, national celebrations and the role of patriotism.
Reform’s supporters see the programme as an attempt to restore confidence in Britain’s history and national institutions.
Critics see potential risks in giving government greater influence over the cultural message communicated through schools.
The practical outcome would ultimately depend on legislation, regulations, curriculum specifications and how schools interpreted the new requirements.
What the proposal would mean for schools
If implemented, schools would face several new responsibilities.
They could need to install or maintain flagpoles, display the Union flag, place a portrait of King Charles in a communal space, observe St George’s Day in England and adjust history teaching to meet new requirements. Reform has also proposed giving the education secretary powers to intervene if the required proportion of British history was not being taught.
That represents a significant expansion of central government direction over aspects of school culture and curriculum.
At the same time, schools would continue to operate under existing legal duties concerning political impartiality and balanced teaching.
The result would be a policy environment in which national identity became a more explicit part of school life while schools remained legally required to avoid partisan political advocacy.
A continuing debate about British identity
Reform UK’s proposal to require Union flags and portraits of King Charles in schools is ultimately part of a larger argument about what children should learn about Britain and how national identity should be expressed.
The party says the measures would promote national pride and strengthen knowledge of British history.
Critics question whether patriotism should be promoted through compulsory displays and whether government should have greater control over historical education.
The proposal is therefore about considerably more than flags or a portrait.
It reflects competing ideas about the relationship between education, citizenship, history and national identity.
Whether Reform UK ever gets the opportunity to implement the policy would depend on future electoral and parliamentary developments. If it did, the detailed legislation would determine precisely how the proposals operated and how they interacted with existing education law.
For now, the policy provides a clear illustration of Reform’s approach: a greater emphasis on British history, national symbols, patriotism and the monarchy as part of the educational experience.
