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Schools research: what the Curriculum and Assessment Review means for education businesses

The UK government's Curriculum and Assessment Review was published in November 2025, and while the headlines focused on schools, the implications stretch much further.

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If you work with schools as a publisher, EdTech company, resource provider or training organisation, the changes coming down the line affect you, too. Schools will need support preparing for everything that's ahead—and this post covers what's changing, how schools are responding, and where the opportunities lie for education businesses.

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What was the Curriculum and Assessment Review?

Published on 5 November 2025 and led by Professor Becky Francis, the Curriculum and Assessment Review is the first major overhaul of the national curriculum in over a decade. Drawing on more than 7,000 responses, the 197-page report sets out a broad programme of change. The full revised curriculum will be published in early 2027, with teaching beginning in September 2028 and new GCSEs sat for the first time from 2029.​​

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What changes is it proposing?

The Review touches almost every part of school life. Here's a summary of the main proposals:

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Primary schools

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  • Oracy skills embedded from the early years 

  • Digital literacy added, covering online safety and identifying misinformation 

  • Financial education introduced 

  • Citizenship made mandatory in Years 1 to 6 

  • Changes to grammar teaching at Key Stage 2

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Secondary schools

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  • Triple science as standard for all pupils 

  • Arts GCSEs given the same weighting as humanities and languages 

  • EBacc weighting reduced 

  • Exam duration cut by 10% 

  • New V Levels introduced for 16 to 18 vocational routes 

  • A possible new data science and AI qualification at Level 3​
     

All schools 

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  • Every pupil entitled to enrichment — covering arts, sport, civic engagement, nature and life skills 

  • Ofsted to inspect enrichment provision 

  • Two hours of PE stays on the curriculum 

  • Climate and sustainability education to be strengthened

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What does it mean for schools?

Schools have a lot to think through before 2028 arrives. Here's a snapshot of where their focus is likely to fall.​

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What schools need to prepare

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  • Auditing current provision against new requirements — digital literacy resources, enrichment offer, triple science capacity 

  • Planning CPD for staff in new content areas including digital literacy, financial education, citizenship and oracy 

  • Budgeting for new materials, IT infrastructure, enrichment equipment and potentially new specialist staff 

  • Taking enrichment seriously as an Ofsted accountability measure — it's not optional any more

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The pressures schools are facing

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  • 65% of school leaders and teachers cited workload as the biggest barrier to implementation ​

  • 61% pointed to insufficient funding 

  • 52% raised staff recruitment and retention, particularly acute for Triple Science and Computing


Source: Insightful Research survey of 100+ teachers and school leaders, November 2025

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How are teachers and school leaders responding?

Within days of publication, Insightful Research surveyed more than 100 headteachers, senior leaders and heads of department about their reactions. Overall, 54% responded positively, 43% had mixed feelings and 3% were negative. Nearly half — 48% — felt the amount of change proposed was about right.

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That said, 57% felt the Review hadn't fully grasped the real day-to-day challenges facing schools, with funding, workload and inspection pressures all coming up repeatedly — areas largely outside the Review's remit. For the full findings, read our blog post on What do teachers really think about the Curriculum and Assessment Review?
 

What are the opportunities for education businesses?

Schools know change is coming, and they're already thinking about what they'll need. When we asked them directly, here's what came up most:
 

  • ​Clear practical implementation guidance — 42% 

  • New or updated teaching and learning resources — 40% 

  • Subject-specific training and CPD — 36% 

  • New or updated assessment materials —36%

  • Support delivering enrichment programmes — 15% 

  • AI-enabled resources for marking, assessment and resource creation — 13%

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One finding worth pausing on: many teachers interpreted the reduced EBacc weighting as the EBacc being scrapped entirely, when the Review only proposed scaling it back.

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If you're building messaging or developing products based on what you assume schools understand about the changes, this is a useful reminder of how quickly assumptions break down. Getting in front of your audience and asking directly is a much safer option. 

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Why now is the right time to conduct schools research

The full curriculum will be published in 2027, with teaching starting in 2028—but product development, testing and going to market takes time. Schools will be making purchasing decisions well ahead of that September 2028 start date, not during it.

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Knowing what schools think they need and what will genuinely support them through change are two different things—and that gap is exactly where good research earns its keep. The EBacc misunderstanding demonstrates this. Even teachers directly affected by the proposal misunderstood a core part of it. Businesses who commission schools research now will:

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  • Understand how their target audience actually perceives the changes 

  • Know what schools are genuinely prioritising 

  • Test new products before committing to development 

  • Get to market ahead of competitors who waited

How Insightful Research can help

Insightful Research carries out in-depth qualitative research with school leaders and teachers throughout the year. With 12+ years working alongside publishers, EdTech businesses, resource providers and training organisations, we bring real education market knowledge to every project. The November 2025 survey is a good example of the kind of timely, practical insight our team produces. Get in touch for a free, no-obligation consultation.

How can we help?

If you would like to ask our advice, book a
no-obligation 30 minute consultation with us to discuss your research requirements or to simply have a chat and find out more about what we do.

Alternatively, use the briefing form to start discussing a new project, give Jill Elston a call on +44 (0)7703 462179 or email us jill@insightfulresearch.co.uk

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