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18 December 2025

By John White

In Europe, England is exceptional among many countries in not having the economic, civic and personal well-being of democratic citizens as a central aim of its national curriculum. Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Norway and Spain do. In the UK, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales do so, too. It is time England joined them. (more…)

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4 December 2025

By Hans Svennevig, UCL Institute of Education, with Sera Shortland, Mackenzie Dawson-Hunt and Tania Malik

Votes at 16, a manifesto commitment of the current Labour government, brings in an increase in voter franchise in England. Campaigns to increase the franchise to 16- and 17-year-olds have been around for some time, and this policy brings England in line with Scotland, which has had the right since 2015 and Wales since 2017 (in each case with voter registration starting at age 14). Northern Ireland looks set to follow in 2027.

As educators, we believe the best way to make this reform meaningful is to have high quality Citizenship education. Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer agrees, as does the recently announced Curriculum and Assessment Review report and the government’s response to it. These reforms and the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill, requiring academies to follow the National Curriculum, will help improve Citizenship education. Research from a range of academics, including Germ Janmaat at the IOE, or colleagues at the Association for Citizenship Teaching, Middlesex University, Nottingham Trent University and the Royal Holloway University highlight the value of this provision. (more…)

Credit: Richard Stonehouse for UCL IOE.

25 November 2025

By John White

At the heart of the Curriculum and Assessment Review Final Report, Building a world-class curriculum for all, is the claim that the curriculum should be ‘knowledge-rich’ and ‘centred on powerful knowledge’. The government response endorses this, using the same two expressions. These terms were also used, in the same closely related way, in an address on ‘The importance of a knowledge-rich curriculum’ by the former Schools Minister, Nick Gibb, in 2021.

The idea that the curriculum should be rich in knowledge and based on powerful knowledge has been around since the Gove reforms of the earlier part of the last decade. How far will it shape curriculum policy in the last half of this one? (more…)

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4 November 2025

By Mary Bousted, Honorary Professor, UCL

October saw the launch in the House of Lords of the Teaching Commission’s report Shaping the Future of Education. I presented the Commission’s analysis on the state of the teaching profession and proposals to improve the profession’s standing.

The teacher and leader members of the Commission, working alongside policy and research professionals brought the reality of the challenges facing teachers and school leaders into strong contact with the research evidence in a way that is highly illuminating and powerful. The report is the most comprehensive source of evidence on the state of the profession available. (more…)

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23 October 2025

By Yana Manyukhina

The All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) for Education recently launched a call for evidence into the loss of children’s “love of learning” across the UK. It reflects growing concern about what many educators have observed: that increasing anxiety, falling attendance and assessment-driven pressures are eroding curiosity and joy in learning.

At the same time, England’s Curriculum and Assessment Review, led by Professor Becky Francis, is examining whether the national curriculum is fit for purpose in a rapidly changing world. Its interim report acknowledges deep tensions in current practice, from narrow accountability systems to limited teacher autonomy, and calls for a curriculum that is “rich and broad, inclusive, and innovative”. (more…)

Credit: Mat Wright for UCL IOE.

8 October 2025

By Norbert Pachler, Zhu Hua and Wendy Ayres-Bennett and Charles Forsdick, University of Cambridge

Language education in school has significant transformational potential in terms of learners’ right to a well-rounded education and the enhancement of their life chances, as well as their ability to lead a fulfilling life and make a meaningful contribution to society. With a view to realising this vision for all children and young people, the DfE’s Curriculum and Assessment Review (CAR) provides a welcome opportunity to reassess the place of language education in primary and secondary schools. (more…)

Credit: Mat Wright for UCL IOE.

4 September 2025

By Kate Greer, Justin Dillon, Alison Kitson and Nicola Walshe

You might think that, by now, teachers who want to incorporate climate change and sustainability into their lessons would be able to access a plethora of subject-specific, tried and tested professional development. But you’d be wrong. In fact, while NGOs, subject associations and the learned societies (among many others) have been developing resources for many years, there are few easily accessible, subject-specific courses available to help teachers in England address these issues. (more…)

Zarah Sultana MP. Credit: House of Commons via Flickr. (CC BY-NC-ND 2.0).

19 August 2025

By Jonathan Galton

“Britain’s new Islamo-Leftist alliance won’t last” claimed a Telegraph headline in July, predicting a dire end for the new party launched by Jeremy Corbyn and Zarah Sultana. The author, Conservative peer Daniel Hannan, pointed in warning to the fate of communists who supported Iran’s 1979 revolution only to be arrested, tortured and even killed under the new regime. A few weeks later, in the same paper, columnist Zoe Strimpel opined that “The Islamo-Left alliance is beginning to fray with almost comic predictability”. Noting the existence of an organised Muslim faction in the Green Party, she wonders how a “party that is all guns blazing for LGBTQ+ rights” will manage to accommodate a “constituency that embraces the ultra-conservative credos of Sharia law”. So what exactly is Islamo-Leftism and is it already on its deathbed? After three years of research into the complex connections and overlaps between British Muslims and diverse political left(s) I conclude that it is a caricature that shows no signs of going away. (more…)

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12 August 2025

By Zhu Hua, Elin Arfon and Ann-Marie Hunter

Language learning in the UK is often framed as being in a state of “crisis”, foregrounded particularly by declining language GCSE uptake and concerns about the long-term future of language learning in schools. But does this narrative provide a fair reflection of what is happening across all schools in England?

Our research set out to investigate what sits behind the headlines. We analysed survey data from 108 English state-maintained secondary schools and interview data with 10 educators from two case study schools. This led us to a more nuanced picture. When comparing Key Stage 4 (KS4) language learning between schools, there is significant variation in GCSE uptake and attainment figures. Importantly, these differences also extend to other factors such as the number of language teachers, weekly contact hours and student demographics. Our case studies further highlight how varied the experience of language provision can be. It is not just local context that matters, it is how various factors interact with one another. School leadership, parent and caregiver buy-in, teacher recruitment and retention, student demographics all play a crucial role in shaping language provision and driving changes. If we are to build upon existing pockets of success, this requires tailored support. (more…)

Credit: Lucy Pope for UCL IOE.

1 August 2025

By Frank Coffield

Concerns, and anger, regarding the conduct and impact of Ofsted inspection are longstanding. To pick out just a few examples, analysis by Carol Taylor Fitz-Gibbon (1996), Jo Hutchinson (2016) and Christine Farquharson et al (2022) has variously critiqued inspection methodologies, the failure to take account of a school’s context, and the risk that inspection tips a school into a downward spiral, with all the consequences that entails for its staff and the community it serves. Earlier this month, Chief HMI, Sir Martyn Oliver, stated Ofsted is to put “disadvantaged and vulnerable children…at the heart of what we do as an inspectorate”. If that is to be the case, then it is even more vital Ofsted engages with such evidence. Especially so as we await an updated National Curriculum, the delivery of which is a focus of inspection. (more…)