The curriculum and assessment review will publish its interim report “in the spring”, the schools minister has confirmed, as she ducked calls to rule out cutting core subjects back or scrapping SATs. And the education secretary Bridget Phillipson has insisted that “scaremongering” about the impact of its policy to introduce VAT on private school fees on state schools has not “come to pass”. Phillipson took education questions in the House of Commons chamber alongside schools minister Catherine McKinnell and early education minister Stephen Morgan. Here’s what we learned. 1. Curriculum review interim report coming in ‘spring’ The government previously promised its curriculum and assessment review panel would publish its interim report in 鈥渆arly 2025鈥. Today, schools minister Catherine McKinnell confirmed 鈥渢he interim report will be published in the spring鈥. She said Labour “will bring forward a cutting edge curriculum that ensures all our children leave school ready for work and ready for life.鈥 2. No ‘reassurance’ core subjects won’t be cut back Curriculum review chair Becky Francis has said “if we鈥檙e putting things in, we also need to find things to take out鈥, acknowledging complaints that it is 鈥渙verstuffed鈥 in some areas. Catherine McKinnell But shadow minister Neil O鈥橞rien asked ministers today to 鈥渞eassure the house that time will not be taken away from the core academic subjects as a result of this review, and that their content will not be cut back as a result of this curriculum review?鈥 However McKinnell gave no such reassurance. 鈥淭he government entered office to unprecedented challenges, crumbling public services, crippling public finances,鈥 she said. 鈥淎nd in the face of a significant black hole in finances, we are taking tough decisions to fix the foundations, but we are protecting key education priorities, rebuilding schools, including rolling out breakfast clubs, and we will continue to do so.鈥 3. And minister doesn’t rule out end of SATs McKinnell was also challenged by Tory MP and former Downing Street chief of staff Nick Timothy to 鈥渞ule out abolishing SATs in primary schools鈥. Again, the minister made no guarantee. 鈥淎ssessment clearly has an important role to play in supporting achievement and supporting development within schools also,” she said. 鈥淲e will consider how the reform curriculum and assessment will affect schools, and we recognise the importance of supporting schools with any changes that come forward in the interim and the final report.鈥 4. ‘We’ll say more on SEND reform this year’ One of the biggest issues facing the government is the growing crisis in special educational needs and disabilities support. The government has appointed a panel of experts to make recommendations on reform of the system. Asked for the timescale for this, McKinnell told MPs 鈥渨e will be announcing more details of reform plans this year鈥. 鈥淲e do recognise the unprecedented pressures that local authorities are under and indeed families also that want the best for their children, the best education possible, and a system that does not currently deliver that as quickly or as thoroughly as it should.鈥 The Guardian has reported a SEND white paper is being planned. 5. Private school VAT ‘scaremongering’ hasn’t ‘come to pass’ Labour鈥檚 policy of introducing VAT on private school fees has prompted warnings it could push pupils out of the system and into state schools that lack capacity. But the Guardian London Councils reported 鈥渘o obvious impact鈥 from the policy, with the proportion of families in the capital getting their first choice up by 1 percentage point this year. And a survey of 70 councils outside London by the Press Association found a rise in first choice offers in 44. Two had no change and 24 reported a fall. Bridget Phillipson told MPs today that 鈥渃ontrary to all of the scaremongering that we have seen from the private schools lobby more children at national offer day last week got their first choice place. 鈥淭he scaremongering that they have been suggesting just hasn’t come to pass.鈥 6. Delivery has started on half of rebuilds Stephen Morgan At the autumn budget, the government announced a 拢1.4 billion extension to the school rebuilding programme, which will rebuilt or significantly refurbish 518 schools. But the programme has been slow getting off the ground. Early education minister Stephen Morgan told MPs today that 鈥渁ll projects have been given indicative timelines for delivery based on prioritisation of need, and around half have been commenced various stages of delivery activity so far鈥. 7. 拢90m advertising contract needed for recruitment The Guido Fawkes blog reported last month that the DfE had issued a 拢90.7 million one-year contract for 鈥渁dvertising and media services鈥 to agency Manning Gottlieb. Today, the shadow education secretary Laura Trott asked Phillipson 鈥渉ow on earth鈥 she could justify the spend when cutting programmes like the 拢4 million Latin excellence programme, adding: 鈥渄oesn’t this show that the secretary of state’s priorities are all wrong?鈥 On the Latin programme, Phillipson said the Conservatives had also 鈥渄esigned the scheme to terminate in February. Maybe she can tell us why that was.鈥 She also insisted Labour was investing in schools. 鈥淎nd yes, some of the investment we do need to make is about making sure people come forward to train as teachers, particularly because of the chronic issues we face around recruitment and retention because of the mess left behind after the last Conservative government.鈥 It comes after the DfE , Every Lesson Shapes a Life. It will also restart its further education recruitment campaign, Share Your Skills.鈥 Big spends on teacher recruitment adverts are not unusual, even under Conservative governments. A Freedom of information request found the DfE spent more than 拢37 million on advertising for teacher recruitment between the 2016-17 academic year and 2018-19.
Chris 11 March 2025 Labour’s references to “first choice schools” statistics to argue that “scaremongering hasn’t come to pass” makes zero sense, as it focusses purely on entry years and ignores “In Year” transfers where the anger and frustration of private parents is highest. I live on the boundary of Surrey and the London Borough of Sutton. It was reported that Surrey completely ran out of secondary school places in December (), and Sutton’s real-time vacancy checker shows that they only have Year 7 spaces in a single school (www.sutton.gov.uk/w/sutton-schools-vacancy-checker). So for existing private school parents, there is literally NO ALTERNATIVE but to stay private.