At this year’s Labour Party Conference, the Education Policy Institute has partnered with Cambridge University Press & Assessment to hold a public panel on: ‘Getting curriculum and assessment reform right for young people’
As we await the final report of the Curriculum & Assessment Review, it’s clear that change is needed. But what type of reform will work most effectively, and how should the Government prioritise those changes? Above all, what will make young people’s lives better?
Cambridge OCR’s Striking the Balance shed light on some of the challenges affecting 11-16 year olds and their teachers, finding an over-reliance on assessment at the end of GCSEs and an outdated and over-full curriculum.
When Professor Becky Francis published her independent review’s interim report, it drew from Striking the Balance, promising to consider carefully whether there are opportunities to reduce the overall volume of assessment taken at age 16 without compromising the reliability and rigour of these qualifications. It notes that while there is strong evidence that securing mastery in a subject is vital for raising standards and enabling future expertise, the balance between breadth and depth of content in the current curriculum appears to be inhibiting this.
What should the 11-16 curriculum and assessment system look like? What is needed from the Review’s final report and recommendations to make meaningful change to the lives of young people in this critical phase of education? How can we balance breadth versus depth across subjects and ensure young people finish Year 11 with respected qualifications that support them to pursue their next steps?
This timely panel will bring together experts and practitioners with young people to consider these questions.
Speakers will be announced in due course.
** Note: This event will take place in the conference secure zone. To access the secure zone you will need to obtain a pass directly from the Labour Party.**
