Commenting on the final report of the independent Curriculum and Assessment Review, Building a world class curriculum for all, Daniel Kebede, general secretary of the National Education Union, said:
"The NEU welcomes the curriculum principles in the Review and their focus on preparing young people for their futures especially oracy, critical thinking and digital literacy. The focus on better representation in the curriculum looks promising.
"We welcome the acknowledgement that so much rote learning of grammar terms in primary, such as fronted adverbials, is counterproductive. However, the retention of statutory tests in primary means that schools will continue to be forced to teach ‘to the test’. This narrows the curriculum and does not provide reliable or useful information about children's learning, but does, too often, create unnecessary stress for young learners. Sadly, this outcome is not surprising given the government stated their intention to retain SATs many months ago, undermining the purpose of the review process.
"It is a relief that the Review has listened to teachers, parents and campaigners and abolished the EBacc. The EBacc has narrowed the secondary curriculum and squeezed the arts out.
"The recognition of the need for content to be genuinely teachable within the time available is important and must now lead to real, tangible reductions because the curriculum is overloaded.
"The NEU is very disappointed that the Review missed the opportunity to push for a wider, fairer range of secondary assessment methods, beyond only end-of-course exams, so that young people can successfully demonstrate what they can do.
"We note the focus in the Review on supporting teachers’ professional skills and agency. Teachers must be directly involved in creating the new curriculum, given professional agency and skills so they can adapt content to their students’ needs and we will hold the Government to account around this.
"The elephant in the room is the lack of investment in education and the social conditions of children and young people. Poverty is the central barrier to improving education outcomes. No amount of in-school reforms can surmount this. Children should not be growing up in poverty and government action to reduce child poverty is overdue. Likewise, school funding is in a dire state, with 86 per cent of schools seeing real terms cuts in 2025/26. If the government were serious about unleashing opportunities, they would not tolerate this situation."