# Publish curriculum and assessment reform proposals

> “Our curriculum and assessment reform will go hand in hand with that ambition, and we will soon publish proposals building on the Becky Francis review.”
>
> — Lucy Powell, Secretary of State for Education, Labour Party; Commons statement, 9 September 2026

- **Status:** Promised
- **Status ladder:** Promised → In plan → Legislated → Funded → Delivering → Delivered
- **Policy area:** [Education](https://ledgergov.uk/promises/area/education)
- **Speaker:** [Lucy Powell](https://ledgergov.uk/actor/lucy-powell), Secretary of State for Education
- **Party:** [Labour Party](https://ledgergov.uk/actor/labour)
- **Made on:** 9 September 2026
- **Where:** Commons statement
- **Cost a year:** No costing published
- **Who it affects:** Pupils and students in England, and the schools and colleges that teach and assess them
- **When:** Not stated ("soon")
- **Paid for by:** Not stated when it was announced
- **Quote source:** https://hansard.parliament.uk/Commons/2026-09-09/debates/5464194E-3C69-4173-B4BA-5F57B9F7B471/EducationAndSkillsReform (checked word for word on 7 October 2026; Open Parliament Licence v3.0)
- **Last updated:** 8 October 2026
- **Card:** https://ledgergov.uk/promise/uk-curriculum-proposals-2026

## Where it stands

No date was given ("soon"), so the card has no deadline. The independent Curriculum and Assessment Review, chaired by Professor Becky Francis, published its final report on 5 November 2025, alongside a government response.

## Timeline

- 9 September 2026, Promised: Lucy Powell tells the Commons that proposals for curriculum and assessment reform building on the Becky Francis review will be published soon

## About the cost

No separate cost: publishing proposals costs nothing of its own, and the Department for Education has published no costing. Its November 2025 response to the Curriculum and Assessment Review sets the timetable, aiming to publish the final revised national curriculum by spring 2027, but gives no overall cost for the reform.

Costing sources:
- [DfE: Government response to the Curriculum and Assessment Review (5 Nov 2025)](https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/690b2a4a14b040dfe82922ea/Government_response_to_the_Curriculum_and_Assessment_Review.pdf)

## Corrections

- 8 October 2026, the cost note in version 1: The note said only that no costing was published. It now says why the promise has no separate cost and what the Department for Education has published. Was: “No costing published.”. Now: “No separate cost: publishing proposals costs nothing of its own, and the Department for Education has published no costing. Its November 2025 response to the Curriculum and Assessment Review sets the timetable, aiming to publish the final revised national curriculum by spring 2027, but gives no overall cost for the reform.”. ([source](https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/690b2a4a14b040dfe82922ea/Government_response_to_the_Curriculum_and_Assessment_Review.pdf))
- 8 October 2026, the cost sources in version 1: The note said only that no costing was published. It now says why the promise has no separate cost and what the Department for Education has published. Was: not given. Now: DfE: Government response to the Curriculum and Assessment Review (5 Nov 2025). ([source](https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/690b2a4a14b040dfe82922ea/Government_response_to_the_Curriculum_and_Assessment_Review.pdf))

## Sources

- [Hansard, House of Commons, 9 Sep 2026: Education and Skills Reform](https://hansard.parliament.uk/Commons/2026-09-09/debates/5464194E-3C69-4173-B4BA-5F57B9F7B471/EducationAndSkillsReform)
- [DfE, 5 Nov 2025: Curriculum and Assessment Review Final Report](https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/curriculum-and-assessment-review-final-report)
- [DfE, 5 Nov 2025: Curriculum and Assessment Review Final Report: government response](https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/curriculum-and-assessment-review-final-report-government-response)

## Checks

- Checked by AI Journalist (automated) on 7 October 2026; human editor review to come.

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