Curriculum and Assessment Review

Leigh Ingham Excerpts

Wednesday 5th November 2025 Commons Chamber

[Bridget Phillipson]

High-quality history education should allow students to understand both our role in the world and local history. There are many powerful examples of how learning about local history can really bring a topic to life. To give one example, earlier this year, I helped unveil a statue to women shipyard workers in Sunderland who stepped in to replace the men who went to the second world war. That really brought the topic to life. It is a fantastic example of how we can combine the local and the national to understand our past and look to the future.

[Leigh Ingham (Stafford) (Lab)]

Earlier this year, I held a debate on access to sport in schools, and one of my key points was how vital sport is for children’s mental health, and particularly for building their resilience. I am pleased that the review recognises that, and recommends broadening physical education’s role to reflect its wider impact on pupils’ mental and physical health. Does the Secretary of State agree that improving access to sport for all pupils is vital for building resilience in young people, especially as we know that there are children who do not have enough access to sport?

[Bridget Phillipson]

I agree that PE and sport are vital elements of the rounded and enriching education that every child deserves. They can also motivate young people, give them a sense of purpose, help with wellbeing challenges and much more besides. That is why we have committed to strengthening the national curriculum for PE, and we want to work with many fantastic sporting bodies and other organisations that deliver enrichment activities, through the enrichment framework, to deliver that.