Schools White Paper promises to strengthen the curriculum
29 March 2022
The first Schools White Paper for six years places a firm emphasis on English and maths at the heart of a strengthened curriculum.
Aiming to deliver “opportunity for all children, through strong schools with great teachers”, the sixty-page White Paper sets out the Government’s ambitions for schools with a curriculum focused on improving standards in reading, writing and maths. Targets include:
- 90% of primary school children to achieve the standard in Key Stage 2 reading, writing and maths by 2030
- Introducing new literacy and numeracy tests for year 9 pupils - a short series of digital activities to estimate performance at a national level
- Increasing the national GCSE average grade in both English language and in maths from grade 4.5 in 2019 to grade 5 by 2030.
The White Paper gives the Government’s commitment to not changing the National Curriculum for the rest of this parliament and to maintain the current qualifications system - “primary assessment and world-class GCSEs and A Levels”. The uptake of EBacc subjects will be improved alongside an entitlement for pupils to take part in sport, music and cultural opportunities. Citizenship education will also be supported.
An arms-length curriculum body - the Oak National Academy - will be extended to work with teachers across the country to co-create free, optional, adaptable digital curriculum resources, supporting schools to deliver curricula without having to spend time creating materials that could already exist
The White Paper forms part of the government’s wider education programme alongside the
Levelling Up agenda, the
Skills for Jobs White Paper, and the
Special Educational Needs Review.