Quick guide: The DfE Curriculum & Assessment Review 

• Launched: 19 July 2024; independent review chaired by Professor Becky Francis CBE. Recommendations will be published in 2025. GOV.UK press release, 19 July 2024. GOV.UK
• Call for evidence: ran 25 Sept–22 Nov 2024 (closed). GOV.UK “Improving the curriculum and assessment system,” updated 18 March 2025 (shows dates of the call). GOV.UK
• The interim report was published on 18 March 2025. It set out initial findings and signalled an “evolution, not revolution” approach. 
• The final report and recommendations are due to be published in autumn 2025 (DfE confirmation).

What the Review focused on:

1. High standards for all (closing gaps for disadvantaged pupils and those with SEND);
2. Depth & breadth (subject‑by‑subject questions about specificity, volume and balance to secure mastery);
3. Social & technological change (e.g., digital skills, media literacy, AI, climate literacy);
4. Post‑16 pathways (ensuring level 2 and level 3 routes, including vocational work for all learners).

What did the review find, and what are the outcomes? 

Updated National Curriculum: A refreshed national curriculum will be published by spring 2027 for first teaching from Sept 2028; updated GCSEs follow from 2029–30. GOV.UK

EBacc out, Progress 8 to be updated: EBacc headline measures are being removed from the 2025–26 performance tables (published autumn 2026). Government will consult on an improved Progress 8/Attainment 8 model that keeps a strong core while broadening choice.

Reading check in Year 8: A new statutory national reading test (fluency & comprehension) will run in Year 8; schools will also be expected to assess writing and maths in Year 8 using quality tools.

A new oracy framework: This framework will sit alongside the reading and writing frameworks; speaking and listening are strengthened across subjects (and in English/Drama specifically).

Digital by design: The curriculum will be fully digital and machine-readable, showing links within and across subjects. A broader Computing GCSE will replace the Computer Science GCSE, and the government will explore a new Level 3 qualification in data science & AI.

Subject Focuses: Citizenship becomes statutory at KS1–2; government will work towards a triple‑science entitlement at GCSE and consult on bringing RE into the national curriculum, subject to sector consensus.

Assessment: Expect a modest reduction in GCSE exam time while maintaining rigour; the Review also recommended ~10% less exam time overall. (around 2.5–3 hours on average) 

What’s next?

The Government will require the full implementation of the new national curriculum for first teaching from September 2028. 

They will publish the final revised national curriculum by spring 2027 to provide four terms’ notice prior to changes taking effect.  

Source: Curriculum and Assessment Review (CST)

They will also update GCSEs in line with the recommendations of the Review. The first teaching of the updated GCSEs will commence from September 2029, with the remainder scheduled to start from September 2030.  

The government will also make updated AS and A Levels ready for first teaching from 2031 and 2032.

The CST have helpfully put together a timeline diagram of what this looks like:

What are stakeholders telling us about the relevance and engagement of the curriculum?

Here we explore some trends within our Annual Stakeholder Experience Reports for staff, parents and pupils. These stats help to frame the picture painted by the Curriculum and Assessment Review.

Pupils: interest and inclusion lag in secondary

Only 26% of secondary pupils say they often find what they learn at school interesting (no improvement on last year). Pupil Experience Report 2025, Engagement in Learning: Secondary, p.21.

Source: Pupil Experience Report 2025

67% of primary pupils reported finding their lessons very or quite interesting. Pupil Experience Report 2025, Engagement in Learning: Primary, p.20

Source: Pupil Experience Report 2025

Pupil Engagement and Interest in school decreases with age

• Inclusion in the curriculum is a concern: just 16% of secondary pupils say they often learn about people like themselves in class (down from 20% last year). Pupil Experience Report 2025, Executive Summary, p.6.

Source: Pupil Experience Report 2025

• Clarity of instruction diverges by phase: 87% of primary pupils say teachers explain clearly what they need to work on; fewer than half of secondary pupils agree, continuing a three‑year decline. Pupil Experience Report 2025, Executive Summary, p.6. For secondary pupils, only 48% reported that their teachers explain the work they set very or quite clearly. Following a similar 3-year decline to that of primary pupils.  Pupil Experience Report 2025, Teaching: Secondary, p.25. 

Source: Pupil Experience Report 2025

• For context, 44% of secondary pupils feel very or quite happy at school (up on last year, but still modest). Pupil Experience Report 2025, Happiness at School: Secondary, p.17.

Source: Pupil Experience Report 2025

• What pupils say they want more of: practical and collaborative learning, trips, and real‑world experiences, classic relevance drivers, Pupil Experience Report 2025, Executive Summary, p.6.

Parents: strong appetite for clear progress and meaningful engagement

• 61% of parents are satisfied with their school’s efforts to engage them (up from 58%). Parent Experience Report 2025, Executive Summary, p.6.

  Source: Parent Experience Report 2025

• 71% feel respected by the school, up two percentage points year‑on‑year. Parent Experience Report 2025, Feelings of Respect, p.16.

Source: Parent Experience Report 2025

• Clarity about the trust’s role is slipping: 43% say it’s clear (down from 46% two years ago). Parent Experience Report 2025, “Clarity of the Role of the Trust”, p.18.

Source: Parent Experience Report 2025

• What parents say they value and want improved (in their own words): regular progress reporting, opportunities to meet teachers, and more enrichment/clubs. These are all signals that families want visibility into what is taught and why. Parent Experience Report 2025, What Parents Most Value / Additional Support Parents Would Like, p.24.

Staff: behaviour and respect are improving, space to focus on pedagogy

• Staff report better pupil behaviour (positive responses up 4pp to 45%) and higher respect from pupils (up 3pp to 71%). Staff Experience Report 2025, Biggest Changes, p.11.
  

Source: Staff Experience Report 2025

• Retention risk shows the first improvement since the pandemic: the share considering resignation fell to 41% (from 43%). Staff Experience Report 2025, Retention, p.13.

Source: Staff Experience Report 2025

Why this matters for curriculum relevance: calmer classrooms and rising respect make it easier to teach in more engaging, participatory ways that pupils say they want (and which parents value).

What pupils say would help (evidence-informed prompts)

While the timeline set out isn’t an instant fix, here are some evidence-informed prompts from our national stakeholder survey responses on ways we could begin to have a positive impact on pupil engagement and the delivery of the current national curriculum.

1. Lift interest in KS3–4 (build in applied tasks, projects and choice). (Pupil Experience Report 2025, p.21; trend note p.21)

2. Improve representation in taught content (audit texts/examples so more pupils see “people like me”). (Pupil Experience Report 2025, p.26; also flagged as the steepest decline on p.15)

3. Strengthen clarity of instruction in secondary (focus on modelling, worked examples, checks for understanding). (Pupil Experience Report 2025, p.25; with Y7→Y8 drop highlighted)

4. Target the Y8–9 dip in safety and happiness (transition/belonging support, early-KS3 routines). (Pupil Experience Report 2025, Safety p.23; Happiness p.18)

5. Add practical, collaborative and real-world experiences (pilot low-prep formats: labs, fieldwork, visits, employer briefs). (Pupil Experience Report 2025, pp.29–30; also noted in exec summary p.6)

Final thought

Your communities are pointing to the same destination the DfE review is heading for: a curriculum that is rigorous, inclusive and visibly meaningful to pupils’ lives. Use this year to sharpen relevance (interest and inclusion), make learning more visible to families, and interpret the DfE Curriculum & Assessment Review as a touchstone, not a template. In practice, that means educating the whole child, head (rigorous academic knowledge), heart (character, wellbeing and values) and hand (creativity, problem-solving and making a difference), as argued by Liz Robinson in this article.