WHAT THE EXPERTS SAY....
THE CURRICULUM REVIEW PROVIDES A FRAMEWORK FOR CHILDREN TO BECOME THE CITIZENS OF TOMORROW
Comment by DR NIKOS SAVVAS, CEO of Eastern Education Group E
arlier this week, the government announced its curriculum review, which has drawn strong reactions from all corners of education. From praise from school leaders who see the challenges facing today’s children being finally addressed, to concerns that the renewed emphasis on creative subjects represents a ‘dumbing down’ of education, it’s unsurprising that the biggest change to the curriculum in ten years is generating wide-ranging and complex conversations. As CEO of Eastern Education Group, I am responsible for more than 15,000 students, who are imminently going into
the workforce, across a range of primary, SEND schools, sixth form colleges and adult further education institutions. I’ve seen first-hand how the changes of the last ten years have impacted young people, not just during their school days but also after they leave us for their next chapter. I believe that the curriculum review proposes a series of welcome and achievable changes which will equip students with the knowledge, skills and resilience they need to succeed in a rapidly changing world.
A core element of the curriculum review is its commitment to ensuring that children are prepared for all aspects of life. The new curriculum will therefore retain the basics of reading, science and maths, while adding lessons on work and life skills such as managing money and recognising misinformation. This will enable our schools and colleges to fulfill our responsibility of preparing students to be fully-fledged members of their communities – helping them become workforce-ready and life-ready, not just exam-ready.
Scrapping the English Baccalaureate in favour of a broader, more enriching academic offer is also a welcome change. Since its introduction, the EBacc has pressured many schools to squeeze out breadth and creativity in favour of narrow academic targets. Far from ensuring academic rigour, this has deprived many students of the freedom to develop their passions, resulting in disengagement and poorer outcomes overall. The misconception that the creative industries are of ‘less value’ also forgets that they are vital, generating £124 billion for the economy annually and offering incredibly fulfilling jobs. These positive outcomes in creative industries, I am proud to say, have been witnessed across our trust. Some examples include our students becoming BAFTA winners, model makers for films such as Ghostbusters and Star Wars, and technicians for the Royal Ballet, National Opera and National Theatre. In addition the curriculum changes, which will see arts GCSEs elevated to equal status with humanities and languages,
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will offer schools the opportunity to provide enrichment which supports children’s wellbeing and enables them to develop workplace skills like collaboration, risk taking and creativity.
The curriculum review also addresses the stark gap in attainment and provision for disadvantaged students and those with special educational needs. The education system is currently ill equipped to support students with SEND, and funding cuts have left schools without the resources or flexibility to offer tailored assistance. While the new curriculum will not resolve the funding issue, its recognition that ‘high standards’ must mean ‘high standards for all’, including those with SEND or from disadvantaged backgrounds, empowers schools to prioritise closing the attainment gap. Practical measures such as better diagnostic assessment and early intervention give schools a clear structure to detect gaps early, allocate resources strategically and track progress more precisely.
To strengthen provision across all of our SEND schools in light of the curriculum changes, we will be sharing proven strategies from our creative courses where SEND learners have excelled, including differentiated approaches and adaptive technologies. We are also planning to expand opportunities for our SEND learners to access creative and vocational pathways that build confidence, independence, and employability skills.
I therefore believe that the curriculum reforms offer a powerful lever for schools and multi-academy trusts to address the issues in education today: life skills, workplace readiness, attainment gaps, and technological change. Crucially, the new curriculum offers a clear and achievable timescale for schools to implement these changes – there will be roughly four terms’ preparation time between the publication of the new curriculum and the date when it will begin being taught. This, combined with digital infrastructure and implementation support, will enable school leaders to deliver the new curriculum as it is intended – as a thorough, much-needed update to modern education.
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