Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Jessica Toale and Georgia Gould

Monday 1st December 2025 Commons Chamber

[Jessica Toale (Bournemouth West) (Lab)]

6. What steps she is taking to reform the national curriculum.

[The Minister for School Standards (Georgia Gould)]

With huge thanks to the work of Professor Becky Francis and the wider team, we are reforming the national curriculum to ensure that it sets up young people for success in a changing world. We are raising standards in oracy, reading, writing and maths, equipping every young person with the knowledge, skills and breadth of education they need to succeed. We will also deliver a digital national curriculum to ensure that teachers can teach a broad and rich curriculum, linking subjects and knowledge.

[Jessica Toale]

Last week during UK Parliament Week, I visited LEAF Studio, a specialist sports and performing arts school and sixth form in my Bournemouth West constituency. While all schools have welcomed the curriculum modernisation, I have a specific question from Mr Jones at LEAF Studio: will drama be made more accessible for children in the curriculum?

[Georgia Gould]

I can absolutely reassure Mr Jones that drama is included within English in the current national curriculum and is compulsory up to the age of 16. The Government plan to strengthen curriculum content for drama and English and ensure that GCSEs and arts subjects are fit for purpose. I know how much brilliant work drama teachers do, and how that supports children with self-expression and confidence, hopefully setting them up for many careers, including the one we are all here doing today.