Curriculum and Assessment Review

Baroness Blake of Leeds Excerpts

Thursday 26th March 2026 Grand Committee

[Baroness in Waiting/Government Whip (Baroness Blake of Leeds) (Lab)]

My Lords, I am very conscious of the richness of this debate, and I thank the noble Lord, Lord Freyberg, for instigating it and everyone who has participated. I acknowledge that I have 10 minutes to comment on the incredible breadth that has come from the Room. I will touch on as much as I can, but of course it comes with the caveat that, if I cannot specifically answer some of the points raised, I will endeavour to follow up in the usual ways.

A good-quality curriculum should support educational success, ignite curiosity, introduce fresh perspectives, and lay the foundations for a rich and fulfilling life and career. I note the comments from the noble Lord, Lord Freyberg, on disadvantage, impact and entitlement, as well as those from the noble Lord, Lord Hampton, on fun—that is always missed out. I like the way he included teachers in that; that broadens it out a bit, but he is absolutely right that we need enjoyment and engagement.

We know that too many young people are leaving education without the essential knowledge and skills they need to thrive and adapt in a rapidly changing world, as noble Lords have mentioned. That is why we commissioned the Francis review, and we recognise the need to have join-up. I absolutely challenge from the start any suggestion that we are allowing low expectations to creep back in—that is the furthest from our intentions behind the work we are doing. We realise that too many young people have been let down, and we must make sure that we reverse that.

We will refresh our national curriculum and publish it in spring 2027, so that it can be taught from September 2028. Therefore, there is still time to engage in the process. The new national curriculum and GCSEs will have improved coherence, clarity and sequencing, so that every child leaves school having mastered the subjects they have been taught. As we have heard, it will need to be strong in skills, thereby preparing young people for life and careers in a changing world. It will deliver high standards for all and rock-solid foundations in oracy, reading, writing and maths, as well as providing an engaging and stretching key stage 3.

I could not agree more with the comments from the noble Baroness, Lady Sater, on financial literacy. It is clearly missing. It is so important—particularly for the most vulnerable children, such as our looked-after population, who desperately need this. I really welcome the focus on this but, of course, there is much more to do.

To drive the standards we are determined to deliver, we must support an appropriate transition from key stage 2 to key stage 3 for all pupils, as well as for the teachers who teach them. I thank my noble friend Lord Watson for his intervention on the primary assessment system. SATs play an essential role in our education system. The review panel was clear that, from its perspective, the system of primary assessment is broadly working well, but we have to make sure that such systems are subject to robust development processes, including reviews, to ensure that they are tailored to and reference children with special needs in particular; that point has been made well. Also, where appropriate, there is a range of access arrangements. Children should not be fearful of these experiences of being tested; that, I think, is the concern.

On arts education, which has obviously been the key thrust of today’s debate, we must make sure that a revitalised process for all is at the forefront of our reforms. The arts help young people develop their creativity and their confidence, benefiting their mental health, well-being and attitudes to learning. Our reformed curriculum will ensure that art and design, music, drama and dance spark creativity, with clear progression for all pupils so that their developing practice and knowledge build towards a set of meaningful outcomes.

In addition, the response to my noble friend Lady Hodge’s review—handily, it came out today; timing is everything—confirms that the Government will accept or explore the recommendations. Arts Council England will play an important role in realising this ambition, and we will work with it to improve access to excellence in arts education and enrichment.

Picking up on the comments made by my noble friend Lady Keeley and the noble Lord, Lord Freyberg, philanthropy is an interesting subject. The arts in this country depend on philanthropy, so we have to make it work better and align with our priorities. The Hodge review aims to create a joint fund in this area; we are not yet clear on whether we will move down that road, but it is essential that we bring together the thinking on this from the National Centre for Arts and Music Education.

On the comments about the National Centre for Arts and Music Education, I can confirm that a budget of £13 million will be set aside for the first three years of a six-year programme. This will be commensurate with the establishment of other centres, supporting schools in the teaching of music, art and design, drama and dance through a programme of professional development, recognising just how important is that teacher training keeps up with the demands.

The noble Earl, Lord Clancarty, talked about the supply of music teachers. In art and design and in music, we have seen remarkable growth in the strength of our teaching workforce. Over the past two years alone, the number of new trainees entering art and design and music has risen sharply: between 2024-25 and 2025-56, postgraduate teacher training recruitment in art and design increased by an outstanding 117%, and, in music, by an impressive 54%. Bursaries for initial teacher training are reviewed annually to ensure that they continue to support recruitment where it is most needed.

There was a lot of interest in Progress 8. This is a key subject. I wish I had more time to go into it, but the review found that the uptake of EBacc subjects did not translate into increased study of them at 16 to 19, and EBacc measures have unnecessarily constrained subject choice. It is out for consultation. Please can everyone make sure that they engage in that process to get the richest possible response.

In answer to the noble Baroness, Lady Sater, physical education is a foundation subject in the national curriculum and compulsory at all four key stages. It is very important to make sure that the dance and swimming content, for example, is included.

The noble Baroness, Lady Garden, talked about V-levels, which were raised by a number of noble Lords including my noble friend Lady Ramsey and the noble Earl, Lord Clancarty. It is vital that we get this right. We need clearer level 2 routes through. I reassure noble Lords that we are working with the sector in the rollout.

Modern foreign languages are the subject of huge concern. We are determined to make sure that all pupils have access to high quality language education. We want to start this at primary, updating key stage 2 languages and exploring the development of a more flexible new qualification, making sure that pupils can have their achievements acknowledged earlier. On an advanced language premium based on the advanced maths premium, we think this would not be the most effective way of increasing the take-up of A-levels, but we want to learn from the Languages For All programme.

My noble friend Lady Caine spoke about media literacy. It is critical that, through our curriculum reviews, children will be better prepared. This needs to be included all the way through. I am happy to discuss this further with her.

In answer to the noble Baroness, Lady Burt, we will be shaped and guided by the sector and take further steps on moving forward with regard to religious education. We have debated this before, in the Chamber. The school consensus should include views from faith, non-faith and wider school stakeholders.

In answer to the noble Lord, Lord Clement-Jones, AI is critical, and we are working with experts to ensure that refreshing the computing curriculum equips pupils with essential digital literacy that will be critical going forward. I am afraid my time is up. I thank all noble Lords for a well informed and enjoyable debate.