Lucy Powell, the education secretary, faces tough decisions on priorities as she plans curriculum reforms, including elevating speaking skills to equal status with reading and writing. The Guardian argues she must balance changes like oracy with pressing issues such as special educational needs reform and vocational qualifications.
01Summary
- 01Lucy Powell pledged to give speaking skills (oracy) equal status to reading and writing in English in a speech on Thursday.
- 02England's high scores in maths and science in international tests show improved standards, but an overly prescriptive English curriculum is putting pupils off.
- 03The government is committed to introducing new maths and English qualifications to replace GCSE resits, and is reviewing the Ofsted inspection framework.
- 04Reform of the special educational needs system is causing deep anxiety for families, schools and councils.
- 05Many college sector experts believe scrapping BTec qualifications in favour of T-levels and V-levels is a mistake.
02Why it matters
This matters because Powell's decisions on curriculum, exams and special needs reform will directly affect the quality of education your children receive, their job prospects in an AI-driven economy, and the financial burden of student loans.
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