As the education sector braces for a national curriculum overhaul in 2026, school leaders are pondering their next steps in the interim. The recent curriculum and assessment review offers insights, but the path forward remains a complex puzzle for educators.
In the coming year, instead of overhauling everything, schools are encouraged to make strategic decisions while awaiting further guidance.
Here are five strategic focus areas for the upcoming year that educators should consider.
1. Proactive Curriculum Development
Reform talks often lead to stagnation in curriculum development. Educators might be tempted to hold off on significant curriculum work until official documents are released. However, delaying improvements would affect several student cohorts who would benefit from enhancements.
A sensible approach involves refining the existing curriculum by clarifying subject intent, minimizing redundancy, and enhancing sequencing. Such improvements ensure that educational content builds coherently over time, regardless of future changes in content expectations.
The focus should be on incremental enhancements rather than waiting for a comprehensive future overhaul.
2. Elevating Oracy in Education
There’s increasing advocacy to prioritize oracy in schools. Often, oracy is seen as a general opportunity to encourage student dialogue rather than a structured progression in communication skills across various subjects.
Schools should identify key speaking and listening skills that students should master by the end of each key stage and examine where these skills are currently integrated into existing curricula. For instance, the communication demands of scientific explanations or historical debates vary and need distinct teaching approaches.
Making oracy progression explicit ensures skill development and prepares schools for when these expectations become part of statutory guidelines.
3. Integrating Climate and Sustainability
With climate change and sustainability poised to feature more prominently in the revamped curriculum, schools should avoid superficial additions of isolated lessons or projects.
A more comprehensive strategy involves examining the curriculum across key stages to ensure students learn about environmental systems, engage with local examples, and explore innovative solutions in addition to problems.
Staff development is crucial, requiring updated knowledge in climate science and sustainability. Educators can leverage resources from subject associations, reputable charities, and professional networks, though care must be taken to avoid overwhelming staff.
The goal is for students to gain a coherent understanding of environmental issues, not just repetitive headlines.
4. Redefining Assessment Practices
Changes to qualifications may be gradual, but schools can begin by optimizing internal assessments. Many schools still prioritize assessments that are easy to grade over those that truly reflect the curriculum’s intent.
Schools should consider whether assessments evaluate essential knowledge and concepts, balance low-stakes practice with comprehensive tasks, and provide data that genuinely informs teaching and learning improvements.
Effective assessments are fewer in number but aligned closely with curriculum goals, positioning schools advantageously when new guidelines are introduced.
5. Strengthening Subject Leadership
The success of any curriculum rewrite will largely depend on the expertise of subject leaders, who need ample time to interpret and plan for the implications of reforms before they become mandatory.
Professional development should shift from sporadic training sessions to a structured CPD curriculum that builds subject and pedagogical knowledge over time. External support should align with ongoing efforts and ensure sustainability beyond consultant involvement.
Collaboration is vital, with multi-academy trusts, local networks, and subject associations offering platforms for sharing ideas and resources, helping schools avoid isolation and repeated errors.
The next year is crucial for preparation. While the national curriculum rewrite is on the horizon, the specifics will take time to unfold. By focusing on oracy, sustainability, assessment, and subject leadership now, schools can view the upcoming curriculum reform as a continuation of current, thoughtful efforts rather than a disruptive change.
Mark Enser is a writer and works in school support. His latest book How Do They Do It? is out now
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