Changing the National Curriculum and Assessment System for Social Justice  

In November last year, Michelle Daley, ALLFIE’s Director, and I worked on ALLFIE’s submission for the Department for Education’s Curriculum and Assessment Review Consultation (hereafter, the Consultation). We used this as an opportunity to further ALLFIE’s argument for Inclusive Education, stressing that the current national curriculum and assessment system is discriminatory and rooted in exclusionary practices. We argued for the introduction of a new national curriculum and assessment system that would achieve social justice for all pupils. In particular, the curriculum and assessment system should ensure that all pupils learn and participate in Inclusive Education within mainstream settings. There is also a need to remove systemic barriers to the assessment process which disproportionately disadvantage Disabled people, particularly Disabled individuals from marginalised groups. 

A curriculum and assessment system that is not fit for purpose 

As part of our evidence gathering process for the Consultation, we spoke to teachers in both mainstream primary and secondary schools to get their views on the current curriculum and its impact on Disabled children and Young Disabled people. Some of these teachers told us that Disabled pupils operating below the national curriculum benchmarks or learning objectives are disproportionately disadvantaged when compared to their peers. The teachers described teaching the current curriculum as a rigid “tick box exercise” which does not support and encourage “meaningful progress” for pupils.     

The teachers told us that barriers to “meaningful progress” exist at every stage, with the focus of the entire curriculum being on “engineering” pupils to pass their GSCE’s. The sequential nature of the curriculum requires this “engineering” to begin at primary school, where the curriculum aims to develop essential skills in maths and English as the foundation for learning in later years. However, these skills are often taught in ways that do not take account of the barriers Disabled pupils experience in accessing these subjects. Thus, the curriculum fails to equip pupils with the skills necessary for progression in their learning and education from an early stage.  

In secondary school, students’ choice of subjects is often limited and disadvantages pupils who would benefit from the subjects that schools do not offer. Schools tend to focus more on core subjects and other subjects which are generally considered to be more valuable than others. This is because Ofsted ratings and league tables focus on the results of these subjects alone. As a consequence, schools are less inclined to offer diverse subjects which would enable pupils’ greater choice to meet their learning style and future aspirations. On top of that, some Disabled pupils experience barriers in national exams, including the compulsory GCSE Maths and English exams. As a result, Young Disabled people usually have lower pass rates in national exams than non-disabled Young people and limited pathway opportunities post-16.   

This one-size fits all approach to education stifles the opportunities available to Young Disabled people during their time in school and when they leave school. In particular, it limits their post-16 pathways and opportunities, such as access to further education and employment, thus increasing their risk of living in poverty and a cycle of other issues. 

Limiting curriculum and assessment access through Segregated Education  

Disabled pupils’ access to the curriculum is also limited through segregated provisions such as special schools, units and alternative provisions, and home schooling. Disabled children and Young Disabled people in these segregated settings are often engaged in non-academic activities such as basic life skills or excluded from applied learning such as science experiments. In addition, they are often excluded from subjects and activities that would increase their opportunities post-16, such as progression to further education or employment. Some are excluded from national assessment and exams; they leave school with no national recognisable record of achievements by educational establishments or employers. As a consequence, Disabled children and Young Disabled people in these segregated settings often have limited pathways and opportunities after completing compulsory education. 

Achieving Social Justice in Curriculum and Assessment 

The current curriculum and assessment system is not accessible to many Disabled children and Young Disabled people, limiting their life opportunities. Action needs to be taken to address this systematic injustice. ALLFIE believes that the curriculum and assessment system should be redesigned to ensure just and equitable outcomes for all pupils.  To achieve this, the Government should: 

• Develop a curriculum and assessment system that ensures that Disabled individuals are not disadvantaged based on socioeconomic background such as their impairments, class, gender, race, sexuality and the lack of appropriate support.  

• Re-evaluate the objectives of education and learning to ensure that they are not discriminatory to Disabled people. 

• Adopt universal inclusive teaching practices for everyone, ending discriminatory practices based on individuals’ characteristics and backgrounds. 

• Decolonise the curriculum so that it ends intersectional biases within the curriculum design and teaching practice.  

• Ensure schools are adequately resourced to support all pupils to have access to the full curriculum and assessments.  

• End parallel programmes and curriculums designed for Disabled people only.  

• Engage Disabled People’s Organisations with the relevant skills and experience to make the curriculum and assessment system inclusive. 

• End current Ofsted ratings and league tables with school rankings which are biased, perpetuate societal inequalities, and reinforce harmful hierarchies that devalue Disabled individuals over prioritising Inclusive Education in mainstream settings. 

The above actions achieve one of the six demands stated in ALLFIE’s Manifesto. ALLFIE’s Manifesto seeks to promote the realisation of the equity, equality and the right to Inclusive Education for ALL Disabled people, through the necessary supports in mainstream settings. 

Conclusion 

Without the introduction of a new national curriculum and assessment system based on the principles of Inclusive Education as set out in the UNCRPD, which are meant to ensure just and equitable outcomes for all students, the oppression of Disabled people will continue within the education system and reinforce societal inequalities. Beyond changing the content, there is a need to ensure equitable access for all students through inclusive teaching practices, flexible assessment practices, adequate resourcing, and school inspections that prioritise inclusion in mainstream settings.