Yesterday’s Guardian carried the misleading headline “Ministers to ban creationist teaching aids in science lessons.”

This claim was made on the basis that the government has stated that intelligent design is “not included in the science curriculum” and that Truth in Science packs are not “appropriate…to support the science curriculum.”

The national curriculum is a minimum standard. It exists to guarantee that every young person receives a basic education. Teachers are free to go teach more than the minimum requirements of the national curriculum. Even if intelligent design is “not included in the science curriculum,” this simply means that it is not compulsory in all schools. It does not constitute a ban.

The Guardian article cites criticism of intelligent design by Sir John Sulston, a distinguished supporter of the British Humanist Association and Dr. Evan Harris MP, an honorary associate of the National Secular Society.