Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to ensure that (a) schools and (b) educators are adequately (i) informed and (ii) prepared for national curriculum reform.

The independent Curriculum and Assessment Review is being undertaken in close consultation with education professionals, and will pay attention to the practicalities of implementation and the avoidance of unintended consequences and additional workload for staff.

It will seek evolution not revolution and seek to identify and focus on addressing the most significant and pressing issues facing curriculum and assessment without destabilising the system.

The review group will publish an interim report in early spring setting out its interim findings and confirming the key areas for further work and will publish its final report with recommendations this autumn. The department will take decisions on what changes to make to the curriculum, and the practicalities and timing of the reforms, in light of these recommendations.

The department will ensure that we give schools, colleges and teachers sufficient time to plan and prepare for changes, particularly where they are significant. We will also consider how the reformed curriculum would affect schools as we develop it, to support innovation and implementation.

The review’s terms of reference are available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/groups/curriculum-and-assessment-review.