UKLA and NATE have worked togther to create a joint set of Statements of Principle in response to the ongoing Curriculum and Assessment Review.
Our shared statements draw on extensive classroom practice and research to set out a vision of what a world-class English curriculum should provide for every child and young person.
We argue that:
• Reading must be conceptualised as a cumulative, meaning-making discipline — extending beyond decoding to encompass vocabulary, knowledge, inference, interpretation, the evaluation of (mis-/dis-) information, and reading for pleasure.
• Writing should be recognised as a complex act of making meaning and social/civic participation, supported by explicit but non-reductive teaching of language, authentic texts and strong communities of writers.
• Drama should be embedded across primary and secondary phases, enriching comprehension, composition and cultural participation.
• Grammar must be taught as a resource for understanding and as a choice — strengthening metalinguistic awareness rather than promoting compliance-driven feature spotting.
• Media and multimodal texts should be integral to the curriculum, reflecting the forms of communication that shape contemporary life.
• Oracy should be foregrounded as a mode of thinking and participation in its own right.
• GCSE reform should prioritise authenticity, critical judgement, and purposeful communication over formulaic responses.
Across all phases, we advocate for progression, professional trust and an approach that recognises English as a socially situated, culturally responsive and intellectually ambitious subject.
Curriculum reform must enable all learners to become knowledgeable readers, thoughtful writers, confident speakers and critically engaged participants in society.
We urge policymakers to engage with the full Statements of Principle as the curriculum is rewritten, using them as a resource in the creation of a more empowering and equitable scheme of English education.
Read the full document below.