Shaping education policy in 2026
2026 will be a pivotal year in education policy.
Chief among the policy developments will be the translation of the Curriculum and Assessment Review into implementation, ahead of the launch of the new national curriculum in September 2028. We brought together early reflections on what successful implementation could look like across three different areas that were included in the Curriculum and Assessment Review from some of our FEA members: The Country Trust, Association of Citizenship Teaching and Culham St Gabriel’s Trust.
Please get in touch if you would be interested in working with other members on the implementation of the Curriculum and Assessment Review. Email info@faireducation.org.uk with your details.
Commitment to an Enrichment Framework is welcome progress, but we still need to clear the path of barriers to access for more disadvantaged students, says Hannah Jones McVey of The Country Trust.
At The Country Trust, we welcomed the Curriculum Review, and particularly the commitment to an Enrichment Framework. As a charity working to provide enrichment opportunities across education, food, farming and nature, we see every day how learning comes alive when it is experiential. We also see that access to those experiences is far from evenly spread. To really deliver on enrichment for all children, we must focus not just on the content of the framework, but on the barriers to accessing it.
We work with schools in the areas of highest socio-economic disadvantage in England. Teachers in these schools are deeply committed to broadening their pupils’ experiences, but they are often working against a tide of practical and emotional barriers. Cost, parental anxiety, unfamiliar environments, confidence in managing risk, cultural concerns, and the cumulative impact of limited prior experience all shape whether enrichment feels possible. This was borne out by the recent release of this year's Children’s People and Nature Survey, which showed that 27% of pupils from families with an income under £15,000 had never been on school trips to natural places in comparison to 10% of those with an income between £15,000 and £49,000.
It is not enough to assume that schools simply need encouragement to seek them out. Our 40 years of experience suggest that coordination and signposting alone are rarely enough. In many cases, schools and families need structured support to navigate unfamiliar spaces and build confidence over time. To make a lasting difference, systems need to account for the less visible barriers - emotional, cultural and confidence-based - that shape whether children can truly engage.
If the curriculum is a racecourse, fairness is not achieved by expecting every child to run the same race at the same speed. It comes from shaping the course itself, replacing hurdles with enablers, and ensuring each child has the support they need to navigate it with confidence and a fair chance to progress. We look forward to supporting wherever we can, in schools and in government, as the journey of this review continues through to 2028 in the hope that, as the review promises, no one is left behind.
About The Country Trust
Through food, farming and countryside experiences, The Country Trust aims to empower children to be confident, curious and create change in their own lives and the world around them so that they, society and the planet can thrive. Since 1978, The Country Trust has made it possible for over half a million disadvantaged children to experience high-quality farm visits, and for farmers and landowners to share with them their passion for food, farming and the countryside. Their programmes help to close the attainment gap for children from low-income families by providing rich and diverse experiences and opportunities that develop character and resilience.
Find out more: www.countrytrust.org.uk
Adding Citizenship to the Curriculum is a long-overdue measure to tackle inequality. Now we must work to ensure schools get the support they need to make implementation a success, says Joe Bell from the Association of Citizenship Teaching.
The Government has confirmed the recommendations made in the Curriculum and Assessment Review to strengthen the role of Citizenship in the national curriculum, including making Citizenship statutory in primary education and strengthening the subject in secondary. The success of these reforms will depend on whether schools are supported to deliver Citizenship with sufficient curriculum time, specialist teacher expertise, and clear inspection and accountability expectations. As we move into 2026, our focus must shift from agreement on what belongs in the national curriculum to implementation planning.
The expansion of citizenship education establishes, for the first time, a clear commitment to a coherent Citizenship entitlement from Key Stage 1 to Key Stage 4 and post-16. This represents a significant step towards addressing long-standing inequities in access to democratic education. Citizenship is the national curriculum subject through which pupils learn about democracy, parliament and government, elections and voting, the law and rights, the media, finance, and how people participate in civic life. Making Citizenship statutory in primary, and strengthening it through secondary, ensures these areas are part of a guaranteed entitlement for all young people.
ACT’s research shows that pupils who study GCSE Citizenship Studies demonstrate higher political understanding, greater confidence and stronger intention to vote, with particularly strong impacts for young women and pupils from disadvantaged backgrounds. Evidence consistently shows that outcomes in Citizenship are strongest where the subject is taught regularly, in discrete lessons, and by trained specialist teachers. This focus on delivery is particularly important in the context of Votes at 16. Lowering the voting age represents a major democratic reform, but it will only succeed if young people are supported by high-quality Citizenship education. At present, we lack the specialist teachers and resources that would enable high-quality delivery of citizenship education.
The good news is that there is still time to inform how this policy is implemented. ACT will continue to work with policymakers, regulators and schools to ensure the Review’s recommendations are translated into consistent, high-quality Citizenship education in every school (and setting), particularly as democratic participation, media literacy and Votes at 16 become increasingly central to the education policy landscape.
About the Association for Citizenship Teaching
The Association for Citizenship Teaching is the membership association and education charity for all those involved in Citizenship education in schools and colleges. Their vision is for all young people to be active, informed citizens, equipped through effective Citizenship education with the knowledge, skills and experience to participate in and shape a strong and vibrant democracy based on equality, fairness and justice. They provide support to schools through professional networking, expert advice, training, CPD conferences and teaching resources via their website and journal, ‘Teaching Citizenship’. They also work with those in government and strategic education organisations to provide policy support and resources to support high quality Citizenship and democracy education in all schools.
Find out more: www.teachingcitizenship.org.uk
We can advance equity through religious education – the Curriculum and Assessment Review could be a game-changer, says Kathryn Wright of Culham St Gabriel’s Trust.
Educational equity means ensuring every child has access to a curriculum that prepares them for life and enables them to thrive in a diverse, democratic society. The Curriculum and Assessment Review report calls for RE to be inclusive, knowledge-rich, and reflective of contemporary society, emphasising religion and worldviews literacy as essential for life and work in modern Britian. However, the most important recommendation regarding RE in terms of advancing educational equity is the call for it to go into a new national curriculum.
RE is often overlooked in discussions about equity, yet it plays a unique role in fostering inclusion, respect, and critical thinking. Understanding religion and worldviews is essential for living well together in a plural society and RE teaches foundational skills civic participation and social cohesion. Its inclusion in the national curriculum, while not a panacea, is hugely important and will help address many of the systemic issues that previously left RE in a vulnerable position on the curriculum.
In recent years, provision has become inconsistent across schools and between year groups. Standards lack a national benchmark, resulting in varied expectations and outcomes across over 100 agreed syllabi, plus MAT and faith-based curricula. Content is similarly inconsistent, with poor sequencing, outdated GCSE material, and limited representation of lived religion and diverse perspectives. This creates educational and social injustice, with limited accountability, progression and assessment of RE.
Inclusion in a national curriculum is a huge step forward in terms of securing equitable provision, standards and content for every child. When RE is strengthened, it does more than improve subject knowledge-it cultivates empathy, resilience, and respect for difference. These are the qualities that enable young people to challenge misinformation, counter extremism, and contribute to a fairer society. In short, advancing RE is advancing equity.
About Culham St. Gabriel’s Trust
Culham St. Gabriel’s is an endowed charitable foundation, committed to providing teachers of religious education and other professionals with the support, connections, challenges and professional development they need. They want all partners to be positively aware of the benefits of a high-quality education in religion and worldviews. They provide project and individual funding through grants and scholarships and offer free e-learning and events to educational professionals. Lastly, they campaign and advocate for equity and justice in relation to religion and worldviews education in schools, universities and wider society.
Find out more: www.cstg.org.uk
