ASCL hopes this proactive submission ahead of Labour’s proposed Curriculum and Assessment Review will be helpful, setting out as it does where we think approaches to curriculum and assessment are working well, where they’re working less well, what changes our members would like to see, what the key barriers to change are. Our response is based on the views of our members, obtained through discussions at ASCL Council, with relevant advisory groups, and prompted and unprompted emails and messages. It builds on previous policy proposals made in our Blueprint for a Fairer Education System (2021) and Manifesto for the 2024 General Election (2023).

We hope that this paper will also be of interest and use to the current government, as well as to the Labour Party and any future government when considering curriculum and assessment reform. While we have structured this paper around Labour’s five principles, the intention is for this thinking to contribute to the wider discourse.

When considering the impact of any proposals on different groups, it is ASCL’s policy to consider not only the nine protected characteristics included in the Equality Act 2010, but also other groups which might be disproportionately affected, particularly those who are socio-economically disadvantaged.


Read the full report here