Curriculum Wars, Again

The 2025 Curriculum & Assessment Review

–

progress or regression?

This week, we wade into the newly published

Curriculum and Assessment Review

—

the biggest rethink of England’s education system since 2014. Chaired by Becky

Francis,

the report promises a “world

-

class curriculum for all.” But behind the polite

phrasing lies a familiar battlefield: knowledge versus skills, rigour versus relevance,

freedom versus control.

Has the pendulum swung again? Or are we just circling the same deb

ates under

new branding?

What Is English For, Anyway?

The review calls for a clearer sense of purpose

—

including a firmer distinction

between

English

and

literacy

.



Could this finally kill off the endless reproduction of GCSE question types at

Key Stage 3?



Or will “clarity” just mean more bureaucratic fog?



Remember when KS3 had its own curriculum and the Year 9 SATs actually

tested something worthwhile?

Drama Returns to the Stage

The report reintroduces

drama

—

not as an afterthought, but as a formal part of

English, alongside reading and writing.



Nostalgia or necessity?



Can English teachers still teach drama with confidence? Or has that expertise

gone the way of the OHP and the acetate pen?



When it’s done wel

l, drama deepens understanding and builds voice; when

it’s bad, it’s awkward theatre therapy.

The Oracy Framework: Finding Our Voices, Losing Our Minds?

A new

National Oracy Framework

is coming to “complement” reading and writing.



The idea: oracy underpins

learning, wellbeing, and citizenship.



The worry: it becomes another smorgasbord of “amuse

-

bouches” that

distracts from the main course of English.



If it’s about real talk

—

debate, interpretation, Socratic dialogue

—

brilliant.



If it’s another round of la

minated sentence stems and group talk rubrics, not

so much.

Grammar in Use, Not Grammar in Theory

At last, someone’s said it: move theoretical grammar out of primary and focus on

grammar

in use

at Key Stage 3.



Re

-

sequencing grammar so it’s taught when

students can actually use it.





A revised GPS test focusing on application, not terminology.



Imagine a “literacy passport”

—

a driving theory test for writing

—

taken when

students are ready.

Diagnostics and the Year 8 Test

A national diagnostic test in Engl

ish at Year 8: to identify reading weaknesses before

it’s too late.



Were SATs a good thing?



Because every child who can’t read at secondary is a failure of the system,

not the child.



Measure it and it will come.

GCSE English: The Return of Purpose (Maybe)

The review proposes a total rethink of English Language and Literature at Key Stage

4.



More focus on the

nature and expression of language

.



Greater range of text types

—

possibly multi

-

modal or media

-

based.



But will this mean deep analysis or “describe yo

ur favourite app” nonsense?

Broadening the Canon

Keep Shakespeare. Keep the 19th

-

century novel. Keep poetry. But add more

“diverse and representative” texts.



Sounds fine, unless “diverse” just means “short and modern.”



Without a central list, we risk

tokenism

—

or a slide back to the 1980s: Angel

Delight, pastel colours, and low expectations.

“The best that’s been thought and said

—

by everyone.”

EBacc: The Empire Strikes Out

The review doesn’t quite kill the EBacc, but it quietly prepares the

obituary.



A “rebalancing” of accountability measures signals its long fade.



The arts and technical subjects might finally be allowed to breathe again.



But will schools trust that the accountability system really means it?



Is this the end of “five pillars o

f rigour,” or just a rebrand before the next

election?

The Broader Frame: Inclusion, AI, and Moral Purpose

Beyond English, the review leans heavily into digital literacy, sustainability, and

moral education

Are we educating people or optimising products?



Civic education from Year 1: universal virtue or creeping ideology?



AI readiness: the new “future

-

proofing” theology.

Implementation and Irony

The report promises “professional autonomy within entitlement.”



A phrase so elegantly meaningless it could only h

ave been written by a

committee.



Is it genuine trust, or centralisation in polite language?



And who will train teachers to deliver all this nuance?

“It’s a middle path no one will walk.”

“Or as we call it in schools

—

another thing to fake.”

The review’

s English reforms are a time machine: part 1990s drama classroom, part

2010s accountability regime, part 2030s AI marketing deck.

But the question remains the same:

What do we really want English to

do

: teach communication, preserve culture, or

save souls?

From SATs nostalgia to Shakespeare’s survival, it’s all here

—

the eternal drama of

English education.

The cast has changed, the set is modernised, but the script? Still a tragicomedy of

good intentions.



Schools Week Link: https://schoolsweek.co.uk/interview-becky-francis-on-the-big-ideas-in-her-curriculum-review/

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