What the Curriculum and Assessment Review Means for Your Child

In November 2025, the government published the most significant proposed changes to England’s school curriculum since the Gove reforms of 2013. The Curriculum and Assessment Review, led by Professor Becky Francis CBE, produced a final report of 196 pages and 16 pages of recommendations. The government responded the same day, accepting the broad direction of the review and confirming a timeline for change.

If you have children in school, the obvious question is: what does this actually mean for my child? The honest answer depends significantly on how old they are. Some of these changes will reach current secondary school students. Most of the full curriculum overhaul will not arrive until September 2028, meaning it will primarily affect children who are currently in primary school or younger.

This piece explains what is changing, what the timeline is, what is specifically important to understand if you have a child approaching GCSEs or making subject choices, and what is not changing despite some of the more dramatic press coverage.

What is the Curriculum and Assessment Review?

The review was commissioned by the government in July 2024 and chaired by Professor Becky Francis CBE, a leading education researcher. The purpose was to examine whether the national curriculum, assessment system, and qualifications structure was fit for purpose, equipping young people with the knowledge and skills they need for life, work, and further study.

The review published an interim report in March 2025 and a final report in November 2025, titled ‘Building a World-Class Curriculum for All’. [1] It received 26,000 responses to its call for evidence. Professor Francis and her panel made recommendations across early years through to post-16, covering what is taught, how it is assessed, and how schools are held accountable.

Crucially, Professor Francis described the approach as ‘evolutionary, not revolutionary’. England is not scrapping GCSEs, not removing exams, and not fundamentally restructuring the key stage system. The changes are significant but are being layered onto a system that remains broadly recognisable.

The timeline: when do changes happen?

These dates are confirmed as of the government’s response in November 2025. The revised curriculum affecting most subjects first reaches classrooms in September 2028, meaning children entering Year 7 in that September will be the first year group to experience the full new curriculum from the start of secondary school. [1]

What is actually changing: the changes that matter to parents

The EBacc is being scrapped: what it means for subject choice

The English Baccalaureate, known as the EBacc, was a government performance measure introduced in 2010 that tracked the proportion of students entering GCSE in a specific combination of subjects: English language and literature, maths, two sciences, a humanity (history or geography), and a modern language. Schools were under pressure to maximise EBacc entry, which often shaped which option subjects they made available.

The government has accepted the review’s recommendation to scrap the EBacc performance measure. This is significant for parents whose children are interested in arts, creative subjects, design and technology, or vocational routes, as those subjects were effectively marginalised under EBacc pressure. Removing the measure gives schools more flexibility to offer a genuinely broad curriculum.

This change has already been announced. Schools may begin adjusting their option blocks and curriculum planning ahead of the full curriculum implementation. If your child is approaching Year 9 options in the next two to three years, it is worth asking their school how the EBacc removal is affecting what they are offering.

Progress 8 is being reformed: but not removed

Progress 8, the main measure of how much progress students make between primary and secondary school, is being retained. The ‘EBacc bucket’ within Progress 8 will be renamed ‘Academic Breadth’, and the DfE has announced a consultation on further reforms to the measure. The detail of what this means in practice is still being worked through. [2]

For parents, the key implication is that schools will still be measured on student progress, but the narrow subject prescription associated with the EBacc element is being loosened.

GCSE exam time is being reduced: by approximately 2.5 to 3 hours overall

The review recommended reducing overall GCSE exam time by at least 10 per cent, with a principle of reducing assessment burden where possible. The government has confirmed it will implement reductions, with the expectation that students will sit approximately 2.5 to 3 fewer hours of exams across their full GCSE suite, compared to the current total. [3]

This is less dramatic than some headlines suggested. It is a modest reduction to an examination load that the review itself acknowledged has increased substantially since 2014. It will not take effect until the 2029 exam series, when the first cohort to have studied the revised curriculum reaches Year 11.

Year 8 diagnostic tests in English and maths: not high-stakes for children

The review recommends introducing diagnostic tests in English and maths in Year 8. These are designed as tools for teachers to identify where students have gaps in their understanding at a point in KS3 where there is still time to address them before GCSE courses begin.

It is important to understand what these tests are not. They are not high-stakes national assessments in the same category as KS2 SATs or GCSEs. They are not intended to generate school performance data or rankings. The review explicitly states they should be tools for teachers rather than performance measures for schools. [1] Your child will encounter them, but they are not exams that matter to their trajectory in the way GCSEs do.

An oracy framework across primary and secondary: spoken language gets formal status

One of the first recommendations in the review is an oracy framework to complement the existing frameworks for reading and writing. The government has confirmed it will introduce a primary oracy framework and a secondary framework covering oracy, reading, and writing. [2]

Oracy refers to spoken language skills: the ability to communicate effectively, to reason aloud, to present and persuade. It has long been argued that schools focus heavily on written evidence of understanding at the expense of developing confident spoken communication. The oracy framework gives this formal curriculum status.

The practical implications are still being developed, but parents can expect more structured teaching of spoken language skills across subjects, particularly in primary school.

Triple science access for more students: currently unevenly available

Currently, many secondary schools do not offer all students the option to study triple science (separate Biology, Chemistry, and Physics GCSEs) rather than combined science (two GCSEs covering all three). Access to triple science is patchy and tends to favour higher-attaining students.

The review recommends that more students should have access to triple science, and the government has accepted this aim. The detail of implementation is being worked through. For parents of students interested in science-related career pathways, this is a positive direction, though how quickly schools can increase triple science provision depends on teacher recruitment in each subject.

Curriculum content updates: diversity, computing, sustainability

All programmes of study will be updated to include stronger representation of the diversity that makes up modern Britain, so that more children see themselves and their communities reflected in what they study. The review notes this should not come at the expense of breadth but should be integrated thoughtfully across subjects. [1]

The Computer Science GCSE will be replaced by a broader, future-facing Computing GCSE, reflecting the argument that the current qualification is too narrowly focused on programming rather than digital literacy and technology understanding more broadly.

Climate and sustainability education will be embedded more formally across Geography, Science, and Design and Technology, and a new statutory requirement in primary Citizenship will cover sustainability topics. Financial literacy, media literacy, and digital skills are also due to be embedded more explicitly across schooling from primary upwards.

What is not changing

Given the volume of coverage, it is worth being equally clear about what is not being changed.

• GCSEs continue. They are not being replaced. The 9-1 grading system stays.

• The key stage structure stays. KS1, KS2, KS3, and KS4 remain as they are.

• Year 6 SATs continue. KS2 national tests in English and maths remain statutory.

• A Levels continue as the main academic post-16 route.

• The core subjects, including English, maths, and science, remain compulsory throughout secondary school.

• Schools remain structured around subject specialism at secondary. The curriculum is subject-based and knowledge-led.

What this means for your child right now

The impact of these changes depends significantly on your child’s current year group.

The question about Year 9 options: what does the EBacc removal change?

One of the most practically significant changes for parents with children approaching Year 9 is the scrapping of the EBacc performance measure. Schools are under no obligation to continue maximising EBacc entry. Some schools will take time to restructure their option blocks; others will adapt quickly.

If your child is interested in studying art, music, drama, media studies, design and technology, or vocational subjects at GCSE, it is worth having a direct conversation with their school about how EBacc removal has affected their option structure. In schools where EBacc pressure was previously limiting creative subject choice, there should now be more flexibility. In schools where option design was already broad, less may change.

The review is also clear that Religious Education will be brought into the National Curriculum for the first time, ending a long-standing anomaly where it was compulsory but sat outside the national curriculum framework. This may affect how schools structure RE within option blocks.

What is still being worked out

It is worth being honest about what is not yet confirmed. Several of the review’s recommendations are directions rather than finalisations.

The exact content of every updated programme of study has not been determined. Working groups and consultations are ongoing. The precise shape of the reformed maths and English GCSEs, the new Computing GCSE specification, the oracy framework in practice, and the detail of triple science provision are all still being developed.

The Progress 8 reform consultation is also ongoing. The NGA and other sector bodies have noted that the detail of how the reformed accountability measure will work in practice matters significantly for how schools make decisions about curriculum and option design.

Parents who want to follow developments can monitor the DfE’s curriculum review pages and Schools Week coverage, which tracks changes as they are confirmed. The next significant milestone is the publication of the draft curriculum in spring 2027.

The honest summary

The Curriculum and Assessment Review represents the most significant proposed change to England’s school system in over a decade. The direction is broadly positive: more flexibility in subject choice, reduced exam burden, stronger emphasis on spoken language, broader curriculum content, and new pathways post-16. The EBacc removal in particular gives schools more room to offer genuinely varied education.

For parents with children currently in secondary school, the most practical changes arrive gradually. The exam time reduction reaches current Year 7 and Year 8 students when they sit GCSEs in 2029. For children in primary school or younger, the full new curriculum and reformed GCSEs will be the context of most of their school career.

What is not changing is the broad architecture: Key Stage 3 and 4, GCSEs, A Levels, and a curriculum built around substantive knowledge across recognised subjects. The evolution is real but the system your child is in will remain recognisable throughout.

BrainStrata is built to support students through the current curriculum and is being developed to align with the revised national curriculum as it comes into effect. Find out more at brainstrata.com.

Sources and further reading

[1] Curriculum and Assessment Review (5 November 2025). Building a World-Class Curriculum for All: Final Report. Professor Becky Francis CBE, Chair. 196 pages. Published at: gov.uk/government/publications/curriculum-and-assessment-review-final-report. Interim report published March 2025. Key findings: oracy framework, diversity updates, Year 8 diagnostic tests, EBacc removal, reduced GCSE exam time, triple science access, RE into national curriculum, V Levels post-16.

[2] Department for Education (5 November 2025). Government Response to the Curriculum and Assessment Review. Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson. Confirms: EBacc scrapped, Progress 8 retained and to be reformed (consultation underway), oracy framework to be introduced, revised curriculum published spring 2027, first teaching September 2028. Available at: gov.uk/government/publications/curriculum-and-assessment-review-final-report-government-response

[3] Third Space Learning (February 2026). Curriculum Assessment Review and Final Report: How To Prepare Your School. Analysis of GCSE exam time reduction: approximately 2.5-3 hours average reduction (compared to the review’s proposed 10%+ target), first applying to the 2029 exam series. Available at: thirdspacelearning.com/blog/curriculum-assessment-review-report-response-prepare-your-school

[4] TES (5 November 2025). Curriculum and assessment review: key recommendations. Reports DfE confirming EBacc scrapped, triple science ambition, new Computing GCSE, oracy frameworks. Available at: tes.com/magazine/news/general/curriculum-and-assessment-review-key-recommendations