This report summarises the progress made to date as at 26 April 2012.

Review documents published

A suite of documents – setting out the evidence gathered to date by the National Curriculum review – was published on 19 December 2011. This suite comprises:

  • the report of the review’s Expert Panel - setting out their recommendations in relation to the framework for the new National Curriculum and recommending that these are debated further before decisions are made;
  • a summary of the evidence gathered about curricula for English, mathematics and science in high-performing jurisdictions;
  • a research report looking at subject breadth in the curricula used in other education jurisdictions;
  • a summary report of the responses to the review’s call for evidence.

These documents can be found in the publication section of this website, accessed via the links in the associated resources on this page.

Revised timetable

The Secretary of State also announced that he has decided to change the planned timetable for the introduction of the new National Curriculum to allow for more radical reform of both curriculum and qualifications. The recommendations of the Expert Panel are far-reaching and complex, and the Secretary of State has decided that additional time should be built in to the review timetable so that these recommendations, and the implications of the international evidence for individual subjects, can be fully debated and considered before final decisions are taken.

Instead of new curricula for English, mathematics, science and PE being introduced from 2013 – and any other subjects in 2014 – the new curriculum for all subjects will now be introduced in 2014.

This longer timescale will allow for further debate, with everyone interested in creating a genuinely world-class education system - teachers, governors, academics, business leaders and parents - as well as giving schools more time to prepare for a radically different and more rigorous approach.

The full transcript of the Secretary of State’s Statement to Parliament is available in the National Curriculum review section of this website.

If you would like to get in touch regarding these four published reports, or any of the other information provided in this update, you can do so by emailing us via NationalCurriculumReview.Feedback@education.gsi.gov.uk