Government sets out reforms to curriculum and assessment

The government has set out plans to reform the curriculum, following recommendations of Professor Becky Francis’s Curriculum and Assessment Review.

For the first time, primary aged children will gain vital skills like how to spot fake news and identify misinformation and disinformation, helping them develop the critical thinking needed to challenge what they see and protect them from online harms. Primary pupils will also learn more about the fundamentals of money, recognising that children are now consumers often before they reach secondary school, while bringing important changes to strengthen children’s reading.

The government will introduce a new statutory reading test in year 8 and a strengthening of writing assessment in year 6 to spot pupils who need extra support at a crucial point in their development. 

Under the new arrangements, arts GCSEs will be given equal status to humanities and languages, recognising their value in boosting confidence and broadening skills for a competitive job market. To complement this, a new core enrichment entitlement will offer all pupils access to civic engagement, arts and culture, nature and adventure, sport, and life skills to build resilience and opportunity.

Schools will also be expected to work towards offering triple science GCSE as standard, which comes alongside the government exploring a new qualification for 16-18 year olds in data science and AI – helping more young people succeed in the science and tech careers that power our economy.

The government will publish a new oracy framework to ensure more young people become confident and effective speakers, building on the success of the reading and writing frameworks, and help teachers strengthen their teaching of oracy through practical tips, tried-and-tested strategies and examples of best practice.  

The government confirmed changes to school performance measures – removal of the EBacc and reforms to Progress 8 – to encourage students to study a greater breadth of GCSE subjects including the arts, humanities and languages alongside English, maths and science. 

Education Secretary, Bridget Phillipson, said: "From the fundamentals of reading to the present danger of spotting fake news, as part of our Plan for Change, these landmark reforms will help young people step boldly into the future, with the knowledge to achieve and the skills to thrive as the world around us continues to rapidly evolve."

For the first time, the new national curriculum will be digital and machine-readable, to support teachers to more easily sequence their school curricula. 

The new curriculum will be implemented in full, for first teaching from September 2028. Government will aim to publish the final revised national curriculum by spring 2027 – giving schools four terms to prepare for the changes.