Nadia on… the curriculum review

It’s September, which means it’s back to school for children and young people in Nottingham, and across the country. But did you know that what pupils learn and how they are taught might soon be changing?

With fast development in AI, a worsening climate crisis, and a media landscape riddled with misinformation, our society is a vastly different place from what it was even a decade ago. In response to these shifts, the government is carrying out a comprehensive review of the national school curriculum. The goal is to ensure that what students learn and how they are assessed reflect the evolving demands of modern life. Crucially, the review also aims to make the curriculum more inclusive, and representative of the diverse society in which we live, so that all young people feel seen, supported, and prepared.

An interim report on the curriculum review, published in March, makes it clear that we need a curriculum fit for the future, as “rapid social, environmental and technological change” requires a renewed focus on digital and media literacy, as well as a greater emphasis on sustainability and climate science.

I welcome these findings, especially as I led the UK Parliament’s first-ever debate on climate education in 2021 and have been long-campaigning with Teach The Future: a youth-led campaign to ensure that the climate emergency and ecological crisis receive the attention they deserve in the entire education system, even tabling draft legislation.

A new study this year revealed that four in five children (78%) under the age of 12 say they are worried about climate change, while teachers report facing challenges in tackling eco-anxiety at school. Updating the curriculum can help students feel more empowered, informed, and equipped to respond to the challenges the climate crisis brings. 

The interim report has also found that persistent attainment gaps remain, where socio-economically disadvantaged young people and those with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) are being left behind. One of this Labour government’s missions is to break down barriers to opportunity and ensure there is no class ceiling on the ambitions of our young people, which is why we must make our education system engaging and accessible to all. We must also ensure that young people are assessed fairly and are not overloaded with excessive work.

Every child, regardless of their needs or family’s financial situation, deserves access to high-quality education. Yet for far too long, working-class children and those with disabilities have been let down by previous governments. Rather than receiving the support they need, these young people have often been overlooked, while our education system has been chronically underfunded.

Between 2010 and 2019, school spending per pupil fell by 9%. To put that in perspective, research by UNISON has shown that a pupil who started school in 2010 will have lost an average of £5,384 in funded education and support due to budget cuts. Furthermore, Tory austerity has resulted in hollowed-out support services and the shuttering of youth clubs – spaces that play a vital role in education beyond the classroom, offering mentoring and enrichment activities that catch young people vulnerable to falling through the cracks.

The interim review also recommends better representation in the curriculum, which is long overdue. Young people deserve to see themselves, their histories and their communities reflected in what they learn. A more inclusive curriculum makes education more engaging, fosters a sense of belonging, broadens perspectives, and helps to combat ignorance and prejudice at a formative stage in young people’s lives. It’s deeply worrying that the far-right is targeting curriculum reform to push a nationalist, exclusionary agenda. Proposals like Reform UK’s “patriotic curriculum” would whitewash history and censor inclusive education, undermining both truth and young people’s rights.

But something that has been missing from the review thus far are young people’s perspectives. To help combat this, I recently hosted the Youth Shadow Panel in Parliament, who have written their own report on curriculum and assessment. Co-produced by young people across the UK, this powerful report aims to ensure that youth voices are at the heart of shaping the future of education.

Among their key recommendations were calls for building skills and relevance to life, ending SATs in primary school, reducing the length and number of GCSE exams, improving mental health services, as well as introducing climate, sustainability, and citizenship education, and creating a more equitable and inclusive education system. The report also recommends that schools provide a minimum of eighty hours of enrichment opportunities across the academic year, a lack of which disproportionately affects young people from disadvantaged backgrounds.

If this government is serious about building an education system for the future, then it must listen to young people and the Youth Shadow Panel’s proposals. I will do my part to ensure that young people’s voices are heard in Parliament.

However, curriculum reform is also only half the story, as we must also address the reality of delivery. Our schools are still struggling under the weight of over a decade of cuts. 

While this Labour government is committed to rebuilding the foundations of our education system, schools urgently need increased investment. Crumbling buildings, outdated facilities, teacher shortages, and big class sizes all make it harder for schools to deliver high-quality education. Schools cannot do more for less. A new curriculum won’t be effective if teachers don’t have the time, training, or resources to deliver it. Any serious attempt at reform must be backed by real funding that raises teacher pay, improves recruitment and retention, reduces workload, and ensures every child learns in a safe and inspiring environment.

We have a once-in-a-generation opportunity to build a curriculum that genuinely prepares young people for the world they’re inheriting. I’ll continue to advocate for a fairer, greener and more empowering system that lifts every child and leaves no one behind.

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