From Vision to Implementation: What the Curriculum and Assessment Review Means for Schools
What is the Curriculum and Assessment Review?
In November 2025, the Department for Education published the Curriculum and Assessment Review: Building a World-Class Curriculum for All, a major piece of national work that sets out a long-term vision for how schools and colleges can raise standards, narrow disadvantage, and strengthen teaching through a coherent, purpose-led curriculum.
The report signals a clear message: curriculum should be the central lever for improvement, not an administrative task or accountability measure.
This blog unpacks what the Review says, why it matters, and how schools and colleges can start to align their curriculum and careers provision to its vision.
The Curriculum and Assessment Review (CAR) outlines a national ambition for all pupils to access a high-quality, coherent, and knowledge-rich curriculum.
It’s built around five core principles:
- Clear intent: Learning goals must be explicit so teachers, leaders, and parents know what success looks like at every stage.
- Coherent sequencing: Curriculum content should build logically from prior knowledge, ensuring that what students learn today prepares them for what comes next.
- Assessment aligned to purpose: Assessment should inform learning, not simply measure it.
- Teacher development and materials: Professional learning and ready-to-use curriculum resources are essential for consistent delivery.
- System support: Accountability and inspection should focus on curriculum quality, not just performance data.
In short, the Review argues that curriculum coherence and assessment reform are essential if schools and colleges are to deliver genuine equity and excellence for all learners.
What are the Major Recommendations?
The Review stops short of introducing new statutory duties, but it does outline a powerful set of national expectations and next steps:
- Define non-negotiable national learning goals by subject and phase to ensure shared clarity.
- Publish model curriculum examples to support schools and reduce variation.
- Reframe assessment frameworks so they diagnose gaps and feed directly into teaching.
- Invest in continuous professional learning, focused on subject knowledge and use of materials.
- Strengthen governance and leadership pipelines to help schools implement ambitious curricula.
- Simplify accountability and reporting, reducing workload and aligning Ofsted inspection with curriculum quality.
These recommendations aim to shift the system from a fragmented, test-driven approach to one where curriculum design, teaching, and assessment respond to the needs of all learners.
Why does the Review Matter?
The Review is not just about subjects or timetables. It’s about what we value in education, and how we can make sure every pupil, regardless of background, benefits from a curriculum that builds understanding, aspiration, and confidence.
A focus on equity
The review aims to reduce disadvantage and ensure access to rich, coherent learning.
However, the review also recognises that equity must not become uniformity, local flexibility and contextual understanding remain vital.
A focus on teaching quality
By providing clearer end points, exemplar materials, and stronger professional development, the review recommends empowering teachers rather than prescribing to them.
A focus on purpose
Curriculum and assessment are reframed as tools for learning progression, not high-stakes accountability.
That’s a cultural shift, one that rewards reflection and collaboration more than compliance.
What are the Implications for Schools and Leaders?
The review offers practical advice for schools and trusts preparing to adapt.
Key actions include:
- Define clear curriculum end points: Start with a small number of outcomes that describe what pupils should know and be able to do by each stage.
- Map knowledge logically: Identify how learning builds from one year to the next, both within and between subjects.
- Use assessment diagnostically: Employ assessment cycles to identify misconceptions, adjust teaching, and celebrate progress.
- Invest in professional learning: Build teacher expertise through subject CPD and collaborative curriculum planning.
- Create or curate high-quality materials: Share resources across schools or trusts to reduce workload and improve consistency.
- Strengthen partnerships: Work with local authorities, Hubs, and MATs to align curriculum intent and support schools serving disadvantaged cohorts.
For many, these will feel like extensions of existing good practice, but the Review encourages schools to take stock, refine, and embed their approach to curriculum design with renewed clarity.
What are the Challenges and Concerns?
No national reform comes without debate.
The review’s ambition has been widely welcomed, but several challenges have been raised by school leaders, unions, and teachers:
- Centralisation vs autonomy: Some fear a more prescriptive national framework could reduce local flexibility.
- Workload and capacity: Curriculum redesign, CPD, and assessment reform will require time and funding.
- Implementation pace: The vision is ambitious, but timelines and accountability structures remain unclear.
- Equity tension: A one-size-fits-all approach could overlook contextual barriers for certain communities.
- Teacher voice: Many are calling for greater co-design and consultation at the classroom level.
The underlying challenge is one of balance, between national coherence and professional agency, between ambition and realism.
What does this mean for Careers Education and Work Experience?
While the Review doesn’t directly address careers or work experience, its core principles align powerfully with the modern careers education agenda.
A coherent curriculum should not only prepare pupils for exams, it should prepare them for life and work.
Embedding careers learning and meaningful employer encounters across the curriculum ensures that knowledge connects to the world beyond the classroom.
For example:
- Curriculum intent can explicitly reference career readiness and employability skills.
- Sequenced learning can link subjects to real-world applications through employer projects.
- Assessment for learning can include reflection on skills, confidence, and aspirations.
At The Changing Education Group, we see this review as an opportunity to strengthen the bridge between curriculum intent and career readiness.
By combining curriculum clarity with real-world experience, schools can prepare every young person to thrive in learning, work, and life.
Final Thoughts
The Curriculum and Assessment Review sets an ambitious but important direction for the education system.
It calls for coherence, clarity, and collaboration, principles that underpin not only curriculum design but the broader mission of education itself.
While the detail and timelines will evolve, schools that start aligning their curriculum and assessment practices now will be best placed to deliver equity, excellence, and readiness for the future.
The challenge is real, but so is the opportunity.
As the review reminds us, curriculum is not just what we teach; it’s what we value.