Curriculum and Assessment Review: The System is Not Working Well for All

In a country that speaks the language of opportunity, education should be its strongest dialect. Yet the interim findings of the Curriculum and Assessment Review confirm a disquieting truth: the system is falling short, especially for those who need it most. Designed for a different era, the current curriculum is failing to equip young people with the tools required to thrive in a digital, interconnected, and increasingly automated world.

The Digital Divide

The shortfall is sharpest where it matters most: digital skills. In an economy shaped by rapid technological change, digital literacy is foundational. Yet 7.5 million people, 18% of UK adults, lack the basic digital skills required for work. This is not merely a problem of adult education; it is a systemic failure that begins in school. For pupils from low-income households or with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND), digital education is often inconsistent, under-resourced, or entirely absent. The very learners who stand to gain the most are being left furthest behind.

Artificial intelligence is no longer an emerging phenomenon, it is embedded in everyday life. Research conducted for the Department for Education (DfE) found that parents of children aged 14-16 identified AI as the second highest learning priority for their children, following finance and budgeting. Yet the curriculum has not kept pace. Where AI is addressed in schools, it is often within Computing or RSHE (Relationships, Sex and Health Education). These subjects are not reaching enough students and are not designed to deliver the breadth of critical and technical skills that the modern world demands. By age 14, 94% of girls and 79% of boys no longer study Computing. RSHE, important though it is, cannot accommodate the ethical, civic, and technical complexity that AI introduces.

This misalignment has long-term consequences. Young people are entering further education and the workforce without the digital literacy they require. Employers report ongoing skill shortages, while citizens struggle to navigate an online information ecosystem that is increasingly sophisticated and, at times, deceptive. Public participation is diminished when individuals cannot meaningfully engage with the digital systems shaping public life.

Current Challenges and Proposals

The Digital Poverty Alliance (DPA), in its response to the consultation, called for the Department for Education to act decisively to address the digital skills gap. The interim report’s acknowledgement of digital and media literacy is therefore welcome. However, proposals suggesting that such competencies be confined to Computing and RSHE are inadequate. These subjects already suffer from low enrolment and limited scope. To contain digital skills within them reinforces the misconception that such knowledge is specialist, rather than essential for all.

Digital competence underpins most aspects of life and work, from communication and collaboration to financial management and civic participation. Yet the curriculum does not reflect this reality. Nor are teachers sufficiently supported to deliver digital education at scale. Research by the DPA indicates that only 17% of teachers have received formal training in digital skills. This represents a significant 

barrier to meaningful reform. Teachers must be equipped with the resources, knowledge, and time required to prepare pupils for a digital future.

The Path Forward

Addressing this challenge requires structural change. Digital education must be embedded across subjects and year groups. Assessment models should evolve to reflect applied, interdisciplinary competencies, not just traditional academic attainment. Teacher development must be prioritised, ensuring educators have the expertise and confidence to deliver high-quality digital learning.

Digital skills are not limited to the technical. They include the ability to question who designs technology, to identify whose interests it serves, and to understand who is excluded. Teaching young people to navigate misinformation, evaluate bias in AI, and protect their data is not simply a technical undertaking, it is a civic one.

Several countries are already adapting their systems accordingly. Estonia has introduced coding at the primary level, and Singapore is integrating AI and data science across secondary education. If the UK does not act, it risks being left behind not only in competitiveness but also in the capacity of its citizens to participate fully in contemporary society.

The Curriculum and Assessment Review creates space for progress, but it must be followed by clear, evidence-based action. There is already a strong mandate for change from educators, parents, and civil society. What is required now is political will, long-term investment, and systemic reform.

The system, as it stands, is not working well for all. Whether this review marks a turning point will be determined by what happens next.

By Elizabeth Anderson, CEO of the Digital Poverty Alliance