Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what proportion of secondary schools have a two-year key stage 3.

Maintained schools in England are legally required to follow the National Curriculum as a piece of statutory guidance. Within a broad statutory framework, set out in subject specific programmes of study, schools have considerable flexibility to organise the content and delivery of the curriculum to meet the needs of their pupils. Academies and free schools have greater freedom and autonomy in how they operate areas such as the curriculum, but they are expected to teach a curriculum that is comparable in breadth and ambition to the National Curriculum. Many choose to teach the full National Curriculum to achieve this.

While schools have the flexibilities described above, it is important that if a shortened Key Stage 3 is implemented, pupils are nonetheless taught a broad and balanced curriculum.

The Department does not collect data on how schools organise the content and delivery of the curriculum, and therefore does not hold data on what proportion of schools deliver Key Stage 3 over two years.

Ofsted’s Education Inspection Framework has a strong emphasis on ensuring schools provide a broad and balanced curriculum for all their pupils. Ofsted’s Schools Inspection Handbook notes that if a school has shortened Key Stage 3, Ofsted inspectors will look for evidence that the school has made provision to ensure that pupils still have the opportunity to study a range of subjects, commensurate with the National Curriculum, in Years 7 to 9. Further details are available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/school-inspection-handbook-eif/school-inspection-handbook.