Assessments and Curriculum
(asked on 1st September 2020) - View Source
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, when he plans to publish the Government's proposals for (a) a recovery curriculum and (b) the conduct of end of year assessments.
We have published detailed guidance on curriculum expectations for the next academic year:
Our guidance asks school to provide an ambitious and broad curriculum from the start of the autumn term, while making use of existing flexibilities to create time to cover the most important missed content if required. Up to and including Key Stage 3, prioritisation within subjects is likely to be more effective than removing subjects, which pupils may struggle to pick up later. Schools should aim to return to their normal curriculum in all subjects by summer term 2021. To help support schools to make up for lost teaching time, the Government has announced a catch-up package worth £1 billion, including a ‘Catch-up Premium’ worth a total of £650 million to support all pupils to catch up.
The Department has confirmed its intention for the national curriculum 2021 assessments to take place in accordance with their usual timetable. Our intention is for all existing statutory Key Stage 1 and 2 assessments to return in 2020/21.
Exams and assessments are the best and fairest way of judging students’ performance, and we expect next year’s exam series to go ahead. However, we recognise that students due to sit exams and assessments next year will have experienced disruption to their education due to the COVID-19 outbreak. As such, we have been working closely with Ofqual, the exam boards and groups representing teachers, schools and colleges to consider our approach to exams and other assessments in 2021.
Ofqual has already consulted on a range of possible adaptations to GCSE, AS and A level exams and assessments next year on a subject-by-subject basis, and has announced some changes that will reduce pressure on teaching time, and help ensure those young people taking exams next year have the same opportunities to progress as the students before them.
We will continue to discuss these issues with school and college stakeholders, Ofqual and the exam boards, to ensure that exams in 2021 are fair and proceed smoothly.
On the timing of exams next year, the Secretary of State asked Ofqual in June to consider a short delay to the GCSE, A and AS level exam timetable in 2021, to free up additional teaching time. We are continuing to work with Ofqual, the exam boards, regulators in the devolved administrations, and groups representing schools, colleges and higher education to consider the best approach, and decisions will be confirmed as soon as possible.