Curriculum and Assessment Review – our reflections

Last week the Department for Education published the Curriculum and Assessment Review.

Led by Professor Becky Francis, the review aimed to find out how well the current curriculum supports all students, prepares them for the future, and breaks down barriers to opportunity.

In autumn 2024, we responded to the review’s Call for Evidence. We drew on what we have learned from the organisations, schools and educators we work with through our arts education programmes.

For Paul Hamlyn Foundation and the organisations and schools we work with, education is a social justice issue. As part of this, we believe the arts have an important role to play in building equity in education. 

Through our Arts-based Learning Fund and Teacher Development Fund, we support work that helps build equitable classrooms where every child can learn and thrive. We’ve seen first-hand how arts-based approaches help pupils overcome barriers to learning, engage in education and boost their confidence and wellbeing.

The evidence we submitted focused on equity, anti-racism and the arts. We’re encouraged to see these themes — and the voices we’ve heard — reflected in the review.

We welcome the Curriculum and Assessment Review’s commitment to social justice. The review rightly recognises that the current system does not work well for everyone and seeks to identify and remove barriers to progress. 

Its recommendations focus on how education can better support young people from socio-economically disadvantaged backgrounds, minoritised young people, those with special educational needs (SEN) and children facing intersecting challenges. The review also commits to promoting ​“greater equity, access, and inclusion across subjects” and to supporting teachers in adapting their teaching to meet pupil needs.

We believe the arts play a vital role in a broad and balanced curriculum. We’re encouraged by the government’s commitment to ​“revitalise arts education” through the curriculum and to support teachers to do this.

Our experience shows that primary phase teachers with the skills and confidence to use arts-based approaches across the curriculum can transform learning and improve outcomes for children – as you can see in this film on our Teacher Development Fund, which we submitted to the review.

We welcome the decision to remove the English Baccalaureate (EBacc) as a performance measure. This gives arts GCSEs equal status with humanities and languages, recognising their value in building confidence and broadening skills. Going forward, this could help build a diverse talent pipeline and a richer, more equitable arts sector that better reflects the different voices and cultures in our communities.

The new core enrichment entitlement will also ensure every child has access to arts and culture, helping to build resilience, opportunity and wellbeing.

We’re also pleased to see a stronger focus on Drama in Key Stage 3 English, clearer Programmes of Study for Dance, and a pledge that all pupils will receive high-quality Art and Design provision.

Finally, the new oracy framework has great potential. We’ve seen how arts-based approaches can strengthen children’s oracy skills — as demonstrated by the Light Up School Learning programme, supported through our Teacher Development Fund.

We welcome the call for a curriculum that reflects ​“the diversity of our society and the contributions that have shaped it.”

Evidence shows that many children and young people from minoritised and racialised backgrounds do not see themselves represented in the current curriculum. This deeply impacts their sense of belonging and their engagement.

A representative curriculum benefits all young people. It helps them build knowledge, confidence, empathy, agency and a shared vision for a successful society. A diverse curriculum fosters belonging for everyone.

We are particularly pleased that the review recommends Programmes of Study which include a wider range of perspectives and experiences — for example, set texts in English Literature. These proposals reflect recommendations from Lit in Colour published by Runnymede Trust who we’re proud to support. However, we would like to see a more explicit mention of this in reference to artists studied in Art and Design. This recommendation comes from Runnymede Trust’s Visualise: Race and inclusion in secondary arts education.

The review aims to modernise the curriculum so young people are better prepared for the future. Its focus on helping students meet the challenges of a rapidly changing world highlights key life skills – such as digital, financial and media literacy, critical thinking, climate education, and citizenship. We particularly welcome the recognition of the importance of supporting young people to engage in democracy, understand their rights and take an active role in civic participation and driving change. This resonates with what we’ve heard from organisations we support, like ShoutOutUK.

The review rightly emphasises the importance of teacher autonomy and supports teachers in designing engaging and relevant learning experiences. This respect for professional agency – underpinned by high-quality, evidence-based professional learning – aligns closely with the work we support through our Teacher Development Fund. 

Non-specialist primary teachers, in particular, will need to develop the arts skills and pedagogical knowledge to deliver the opportunities for arts learning that the new curriculum offers. This is noted in relation to the Art and Design Curriculum, which states ​“that non-specialist teachers, particularly at primary, can lack the confidence and training to teach the curriculum effectively, citing the lack of detail in the Programmes of Study as a barrier.” This will require substantial resource. We look forward to further information about the new National Centre for Art and Music Education, which will have teacher professional learning as part of its remit.

We also welcome the review’s acknowledgement of teachers’ already heavy workloads, and anticipate the DfE will ensure that implementation of these reforms is considered in practical ways that both implement the wider vision of the review and address workload issues, easing pressures on the workforce.

The recommendations include several ideas that can strengthen children’s social development and wellbeing. The focus on improving arts education is especially promising.

At Paul Hamlyn Foundation, many of the programmes we fund show how arts-based approaches help students engage with, understand and respect others. We’ve seen that when schools prioritise the arts – through dedicated time, teacher development and arts-based teaching – pupils benefit greatly in their personal and social development. 

We’ve seen this clearly through our Arts-based Learning Fund. For example, the Fresh Arts’ Bounce Drama Project uses drama and the arts to build children’s understanding of mental wellbeing, and Scarabeus Aerial Arts’ Shifting Point programme helps pupils explore and promote healthy relationships through creative practice.

We also welcome the commitment to reduce the time young people spend sitting exams. This change could make a meaningful difference to their wellbeing.

As a social justice funder, Paul Hamlyn Foundation is deeply interested in a broad, balanced and equitable curriculum which supports children and young people to thrive. Overall, we are pleased to see the emphasis on how the arts can play a vital part in a curriculum that works for all young people – regardless of where they live, their background and circumstances. To make this ambition a reality, our schools, arts organisations and teachers need greater investment because as Education Secretary, Bridget Phillipson acknowledges, ​“the path to our country’s renewal runs through our schools.”