Monthly Archives: November 2025

20/11/2025
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Authentic Leadership

The Authentic Leader’s Playbook: Learning from The Devil in the Details

If you were to hire a consultant to design the perfect villain for humanity, they would eventually invent Satan. His journey from a minor celestial bureaucrat to the Prince of Darkness is history’s most successful case study in what Steven Pinker calls “Common Knowledge.”

Pinker argues that social coordination requires a recursive state of awareness: I know X, you know X, and we both know that the other knows X. This public certainty is the “lubricant” for collective action. By viewing the history of Satan through this lens, we can extract profound and practical lessons on influence, communication, and the mechanics of social organisation that are essential for any authentic leader.

I. Strategic Lessons for the Authentic Leader

The evolution of the Devil is a masterclass in how to manage narrative, drive coordination, and ethically frame challenges. An authentic leader should apply these four principles:

1. Differentiate Shared Knowledge from Common Knowledge

The distinction between the Devil’s original version (ha-Satan) and his iconic rebrand (Lucifer) is Pinker’s critical lever.

• Shared Knowledge (Private Belief): Everyone knows the organisational values (they read the memo), but they do not know if their peers actually buy in. This leads to private scepticism and low engagement.

• Common Knowledge (Public Certainty): The leader must create situations where “everyone knows that everyone knows” the values and goals are real and non-negotiable. This is achieved through public signals (visible recognition, transparent decision-making, and consistent enforcement), which creates the binding awareness necessary for collective, coordinated action.

2. Frame Your Narrative Simply

The original ha-Satan was too nuanced—a cosmic judge and jury in the cupboard. This is the risk of an overly complex, internal-facing mission statement.

• Simplicity Scales: The successful Lucifer was simple: Prideful Rebel = Source of All Evil. Authentic leaders must distil their complex vision into a clear, concrete, and sticky message that can be effortlessly repeated and understood across all levels of the organisation. An authentic leader’s personal values are only as powerful as the shared, simple story the team tells about them.

3. Ethically Externalise the “Enemy”

The Devil’s success was as an externalised scapegoat that unified humanity. A leader must engage with the ethics of this strategy.

• Unify Against Problems, Not People: The leader’s equivalent of “Satan” should not be an internal department, a rival team member, or even a competitor. It must be an abstract, concrete, and shared problem—things like inefficiency, market stagnation, or lack of innovation. By unifying the team against a specific, externalised process or problem, the leader provides a powerful rallying point that fosters internal cohesion and reduces the risk of destructive in-fighting.

4. Understand the Endurance of Symbols

The modern use of Satan by non-theistic groups demonstrates the durability of a powerful symbol, even when the original belief is gone.

• Symbols Outlive Facts: The authentic leader must recognise that their actions, symbols, and core principles will resonate long after they are gone. A genuine commitment to principles like rebellion against arbitrary authority (the Miltonian Lucifer) can be leveraged by future generations. Authenticity—the consistent alignment of stated values and public actions—is the only way to ensure the legacy of the symbol remains positive.

II. The Core Mechanism: From Bureaucrat to Brand

To understand these lessons, we must first look at the theological necessity that drove the Devil’s rebranding.

The Bureaucrat vs. The Brand: The Existential Rebranding

In the Hebrew Bible, the entity known as ha-Satan (the Bureaucrat) was too nuanced to spark a mass movement. In Pinker’s terms, this version of Satan created “Shared Knowledge” (people privately knew suffering existed) but failed to establish “Common Knowledge.”

This created an Existential Problem for the emerging Christian Monotheism: If God is all-powerful and all-good, and ha-Satan is his employee, then God is directly responsible for all evil and testing. This is difficult to market to a population facing famine and plague. The Church needed an escape clause for divine responsibility.

The Great Rebranding: A Cognitive Cascade

The solution was the transition to Lucifer, the Fallen Angel. The Hebrew helel (shining one)—a poetic jab at the pompous King of Babylon in Isaiah 14:12—was translated into the Latin Lucifer. This “cosmic typo” became the spark.

This narrative was sticky. It moved the concept of evil from the abstract (a philosophical problem) to the concrete (a specific guy named Lucifer who hates you). This created the necessary Common Knowledge for a dualistic worldview: everyone knew that everyone else knew that the Devil was real and the sole source of temptation, suffering, and disorder. This externalisation preserved God’s goodness while providing a tangible enemy.

III. The Cognitive Lever of Hell: Standardising the Enemy

With the “Lucifer” archetype established, the machinery of Common Knowledge kicked into high gear during the Middle Ages.

• Visual Lexicon: By standardising the image of Satan—horns, hooves, eternal fire, often borrowing from pagan gods—the Church created a universal signal. This visual language, reinforced across cathedral art and morality plays, meant a peasant in France saw the same monster as a theologian in Rome.

• Aural Enforcement: Public rituals like the Exorcism Rite and the Sermon transformed private fear (Shared Knowledge) into public, undeniable fact (Common Knowledge).

This shared certainty coordinated social behaviour with terrifying efficiency. The use of the Devil as a scapegoat provided the “plausible deniability” Pinker describes, but it also became a Common Knowledge multiplier: the accusation that a rival was “in league with the Devil” was instantly plausible because everyone knew that everyone knew the Devil was actively seeking agents. This justified and accelerated witch trials and inquisitions, turning a theological concept into a machine for social compliance and political purges.

The Devil, it turns out, is in the recursive details. We built a hell of our own design, not necessarily out of fire and brimstone, but out of the powerful, binding belief that everyone else sees the same monster we do.

For the authentic leader, the ultimate takeaway is that effective influence is not just about sharing a vision; it is about creating a self-reinforcing, public reality where the team’s goals, and the problems standing in their way, are the unquestioned Common Knowledge.

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13/11/2025
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The Authentic School Leader’s Communication Conundrum: “Shaka, When the Walls Fell”

The modern school leader’s kryptonite isn’t budget strategy or curriculum mapping—it’s the calendar. Specifically, knowing when to hit “Send” and when to call an “All-Staff Meeting.” For authentic leaders, this is less about simple task management and more about an act of curation—an intentional choice rooted in respect, transparency, and intentionality. The authentic leader understands that every communication channel choice sends a message about how they value their team’s time and talent.

The core challenge is this: how do you foster the kind of deep, exceptional connection that emerges in synchronous conversation, while ruthlessly protecting the finite attention of your team from unnecessary interruptions? The answer lies in understanding the decoded metaphor of the leader’s door.

Tangent Alley

Arguments about what is the best Star Trek episode can get heated and go on late into the night – I should know, I’ve been there. Moreover, I can be easily swayed. “The City on the Edge of Forever?” “The Inner Light?” “Mirror Mirror?” “Yesterday’s Enterprise?” Yes, yes, yes! They’re all the best episode. But when it comes time to discuss what is the most profound episode, I think I have a clear pick.

“Darmok,” from The Next Generation‘s fifth season, edges out some of the competition (like TOS’ fiercely pacifist “Day of the Dove” or “A Taste of Armageddon”) with its odd specificity. In other words, a message about the futility of war isn’t something you’ll only get from Trek. But “Darmok”’s story about a group or an individual so determined to communicate with others that they are willing to sacrifice themselves to make that contact – that’s something more unusual, even if it isn’t any less universal.

“Darmok,” of course, is the episode where a Tamarian (also known as the Children of Tama) named Dathon realises that great risks must be taken if his people are ever going to reach outside their own clan. Because of their unique fashion of speech which used metaphoric descriptions based on their own mythology, the universal translator is unable to make the usual connections. We’ll eventually realize that “Shaka, when the walls fell” means “failure,” but with no reference to Shaka (or his wall-falling misfortune) the UT program is unable to do so.

 It is a metaphor, referencing a story from the Tamarian culture where a hero named Shaka fails to save his people from a disaster. The phrase is used to express a situation of disappointment, defeat, or a complete breakdown. 

Same as it ever was. Disappointing communication is key; deciding what is actually important, almost impossible at times, and coaching those around us into understanding this is sometimes the hardest road we travel as leaders.

I often recognise that there is a vital difference between an email and a meeting. So, here, I make an attempt to define and explain both, although, if you are short on time, a meeting should have biscuits.

I. The Cost of Synchronicity: Respect for Time

Authentic leaders recognise that a colleague’s attention is the single most valuable, finite asset they control. Wasting it is a breach of trust. This dictates the core difference between the choices:

The Email Choice (Low Cost: Information Ledger)

  • Purpose: Information transmission, formal decisions, final agreements, or critical instructions. Email is the foundation of institutional memory and operational compliance.
  • Value: It demonstrates profound respect for individual productivity, allowing staff to absorb information asynchronously—when it fits their deep-focus work. Crucially, it creates a permanent, searchable ledger that prevents future confusion or “misremembering” and underpins accountability.
  • The School Leader’s Dilemma (The Failure): Despite its utility for clarity, the email choice can often be bypassed or ignored by overwhelmed staff, leading to compliance risks or, in the micro-sense, staff hearing vital information second-hand—like OFSTED changes on Radio 2—or the embarrassing question, “Could I remind them of an email I sent two days ago, because they had forgotten?” It’s a failure of information absorption and procedural compliance, a tragedy where clarity and accountability are missed: “Shaka, when the walls fell” (signifying failure or great defeat). The lesson here is that effective leadership requires both sending and ensuring the receipt and retention of critical information.

The Meeting Choice (High Cost, High Value: Collective Cognition)

  • Purpose: When simultaneous, immediate, and iterative input is required. Calling a meeting is an implicit contract: the value gained from synchronous discussion must outweigh the cost of everyone’s time. It’s essential for high-value tasks like brainstorming, rapid ideation, or complex problem-solving where non-linear discussion is beneficial.
  • The School Leader’s Value (The Triumph): As experienced in the last two weeks—13 meetings about KS3 data and Y11 mock results that could not have been an email—the synchronous discussion fosters shared ownership and reveals the outstanding, unique, or exceptional qualities of a colleague. The real value is the serendipity of spontaneous contribution; the quick, essential debate that occurs in the moment and moves the entire group forward in ways a static email thread never could.

II. Trust, Tone, and the Non-Verbal Code

When the subject is sensitive, potentially emotional, or nuanced—like strategic shifts, conflict resolution, or delivering bad news—email is a terrible vessel for tone. It strips away context, allowing the reader’s mood to dictate interpretation. A face-to-face setting allows a leader to convey empathy, read non-verbal cues (the slumped shoulder, the furrowed brow), and ensure the message is received authentically—not misinterpreted through cold text.

This is where the Tamarian idioms perfectly explain the decoded metaphor of the school leader’s door, which is often a portal to either genuine collaboration or tragic distraction:

The choice of communication channel aligns directly with the value being sought:

  1. The Official Invite (Meeting) signifies a High-Value, High-Cost conversation. This is the forum for genuine input, immediate feedback, and emotional nuance—a requirement for collective problem-solving where a joint effort overcomes an obstacle. The successful execution of such a meeting is captured by the idiom “Darmok and Jalad at Tanagra,” meaning Cooperation through a shared challenge. These intentional conversations are the source of shared stories, building the relational capital required for true connection and future trust.
  2. The Pop-in (Unintentional Asynchronicity) represents a Low-Value Interruption and is the unfortunate symptom of a lack of process or the failure to utilize the low-cost, documenting power of email for clear communication. It forces an interruption for information that should have been self-serve, ultimately showing a lack of operational discipline and respect for the leader’s focused time. The result is the tragedy of missed information and collapsed attention: “Shaka, when the walls fell,” signifying Failure, tragedy, or great defeat. This is the moment a system—or an individual’s attention—is confirmed to have collapsed due to preventable miscommunication.

For authentic school leaders, the choice isn’t transactional; it’s an act of curation of both attention and culture. By intentionally choosing the right channel, the leader moves beyond simply communicating to actively enabling their team to work together effectively, with mutual respect, and focused on tasks that truly matter.

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06/11/2025
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The Dawn of a Nuanced Accountability

The policy landscape, often a dense thicket of regulatory minutiae, has recently presented us with a vision of genuine clarity and strategic purpose in the form of the proposed Progress 8 reforms. For too long, the accountability metric, like an over-zealous accountant, valued the EBacc structure with an exclusionary zeal, subtly relegating the Arts to the sidelines of the academic pageant. Now, with the intended scrapping of the EBacc’s restrictive mandate  and the subsequent restructuring of P8, a necessary correction to the academic compass is at hand. This is not mere policy tinkering; it is a profound philosophical shift. It is the long-overdue assurance that our curriculum can be both robustly academic and truly reflective of the breadth of human endeavour.

The change to the subject slots, especially the guaranteed prominence given to Creative subjects on an equal footing with Languages and Humanities, finally dismantles the tyranny of the ‘EBacc core’. The fact that students’ subject choices will now be based on genuine interest and future opportunity rather than on the desperate calculus of historical league table drivers is a liberation for the soul of Key Stage 4. This proposed structure allows a student to weave a far richer tapestry of knowledge. The mandate for school leaders to proactively design options that promote true breadth in Arts, Languages, and Music  is a welcome pressure to ensure that a holistic education is the rule, not the exception.

Furthermore, the new accountability framework is a profound opportunity to tackle the systemic issue of complacency. The fact sheet wisely guides us to abandon long-established attainment patterns and instead focus on fluid accountability measures. By structurally guaranteeing the value of subjects like Art and Music within the new performance measure , the reforms necessitate a re-evaluation of resource allocation, staffing, and professional development. This is the necessary friction that sparks growth—a deliberate design for school leaders to move beyond mere compliance and into a period of strategic, intentional planning.

This bold restructuring, with its clear expectation for a “cutting-edge” curriculum and the championing of new enrichment benchmarks on civic engagement, life skills, and the arts, is the intellectual equivalent of reaching the summit of Jacob’s Ladder. It connects the academic enterprise directly to the external world and future opportunities. By aligning curriculum with high-value technical pathways like a post-16 Data Science and AI qualification, and formalising community partnerships, these changes ensure our schools are not simply factories for grades, but essential engines for relevant, tangible learning.

Authentic Leader Fact Sheet: Proposed Changes to Progress 8 Measures

Progress 8 is a key performance indicator used in secondary schools in England to measure the academic progress students make between Key Stage 2 (KS2 SATs) and their GCSE results. It compares a student’s progress in a set of eight subjects against that of other students nationwide with similar prior attainment.

A positive score means students at a school made more progress than expected; a negative score means they made less progress.

Current Progress 8 Structure

The current measure is based on a student’s performance across eight subjects, organised into three buckets:

  1. English (highest score from English Language and Literature): Double Weighted
  2. Mathematics: Double Weighted
  3. EBacc Subjects (three of the following: sciences, computer science, geography, history, or languages)
  4. Open Group (three subjects from the EBacc group or other approved arts, academic, or vocational qualifications)

Proposed Changes to Progress 8 Structure

The government is proposing a restructuring of the subject buckets to better balance a “strong academic core with breadth and student choice,” particularly aiming to boost the arts.

The total number of subjects remains eight, but the buckets are changing:

Slot NumberProposed Subject SlotWeightingNotes
1 & 2EnglishDoubleHighest score from English Language or Literature.
3 & 4MathematicsDoubleMaths is still double-weighted.
5 & 6Dedicated ScienceSingleTwo highest scores from: Combined Science (double award), Biology, Chemistry, Physics, Computer Science/Computing.
7 & 8Breadth SlotsSingleFour slots with specific requirements to ensure breadth.

How the Dedicated Science Slots (5 & 6) Work

These slots take the two highest scores from a selection of science subjects.

  • If a student takes Combined Science (a double award), the two-subject grade is averaged (e.g., a grade 5 and 6 averages to two scores of 5.5) and can fill one or both slots.
  • The options are: Combined Science, Biology, Chemistry, Physics, Computer Science, or Computing.

How the Breadth Slots (7, 8, 9, 10) Work

These slots are designed to ensure students study a wide range of subjects.

Breadth Slot NumberRequirementCategories to Choose From
7 & 8Must be filled by subjects from two of these three categories:1. Humanities: Geography, History, Religious Studies.
9 & 10Takes the two highest scores in any approved subjects.Any subject not already counted (including English language/literature if not used in slot 1 & 2), or other eligible subjects/technical awards.
2. Creative: Art and Design, Music, Drama, Dance, Design and Technology.
3. Languages: Modern Foreign Languages and Ancient Languages.

Key Technicalities

  • More than 8 Subjects: Only the highest grades relevant to the eight slots are counted.
  • Fewer than 8 Subjects: Students receive a zero score for any slots that are not filled, which negatively impacts the overall Progress 8 score.
  • Reasoning: The changes are intended to address criticism that the current system sidelined the arts and to put Creative subjects on an equal footing with Humanities and Languages.

When Will This Happen?

  • The government will hold a consultation on these proposals.
  • The final response is expected in the summer term of 2026.
  • The new structure is intended to be in place for schools to use when students make subject choices for the 2027-28 academic year.

Considerations for Future Curriculum and Assessment Planning

The proposed curriculum and assessment reforms, driven by the scrapping of the EBacc and the significant restructuring of Progress 8 (P8), demand immediate and intentional planning from school leaders. This involves moving beyond mere compliance to strategically integrating new subject priorities and adapting to revised accountability mechanics well before the 2028 implementation date.

Leaders must urgently audit the curriculum for new literacies, specifically mapping where topics like financial literacy and digital/AI misinformation can be woven into existing subjects like Maths, Computing, and PSHE. Furthermore, the removal of the EBacc’s restrictive structure offers a profound opportunity: Key Stage 4 (GCSE) subject options must be intentionally designed to promote true breadth in Arts, Languages, and Music, basing subject uptake on genuine student interest and future opportunity rather than historical league table drivers.

This intentionality must also address the logistical commitment of planning for a three-science pathway for all students, requiring proactive resource allocation, laboratory scheduling, and science staffing reviews.

A major risk during this transition period is complacency, especially concerning long-established attainment patterns and metrics. Leaders must actively anticipate and combat this by focusing intensely on diagnostic data and fluid accountability measures. The introduction of the statutory Year 8 reading test must be treated as a critical diagnostic tool, not just an assessment hurdle. Data from this test should immediately inform rapid intervention programs to tackle the known problem of widening attainment gaps during the first years of secondary school. Additionally, leaders must scrutinise the evolving accountability landscape; the promise to “reform” P8 means the goalposts are not static.

To combat complacency, a small working group should be tasked with tracking DfE announcements on the new P8 methodology, ensuring all subject leaders—particularly those in the Arts—understand that the value of their contribution is now structurally guaranteed to be viewed more equitably within the new performance measure.

Curriculum reform must be partnered with a commitment to championing growth in people and professional skills, ensuring staff are equipped to teach a “cutting-edge” curriculum. To effectively educate students on issues like spotting AI-generated content and misinformation, an immediate investment in digital CPD for all teaching staff is essential, focusing on the responsible use of AI in learning and assessment.

Another key area for growth is oracy and communication, which is being pushed to have the same status as reading and writing. This is not a departmental initiative; it requires embedding explicit instruction in speaking, listening, and debate across all subjects to build the critical communication skills valued by employers and universities.

This period of change also serves as an opportune moment to model reflective practice, prompting departments to review and better represent diversity and global contributions within their subject content while maintaining foundational knowledge.

Finally, the reforms require school leaders to inspire deeper connections between the curriculum and the external world, focusing on community and future opportunities. The new enrichment benchmarks on civic engagement, life skills, and the arts are now part of the accountability framework, making formal partnerships essential. Leaders should collaborate with local businesses, civic groups, and arts organisations to deliver these benchmarks meaningfully. For instance, lessons on financial skills like budgeting should be framed as a direct connection to financial wellbeing within the student’s community, making the learning relevant and tangible.

Furthermore, to ensure seamless progression, leaders must engage early with feeder colleges and sixth-form providers to discuss the proposed exploration of a post-16 qualification in data science and AI. By fostering these connections, the school’s curriculum is directly linked to the high-value technical and academic pathways that their students will ultimately progress to, giving the reforms maximum positive impact.

Authentic Checklist: Preparing for Progress 8 Reform

Immediate Actions (Next 6–12 Months)

  • Audit Curriculum
    • Map current KS4 subject offer against proposed Progress 8 buckets.
    • Identify gaps in Arts, Languages, and Humanities provision.
  • Form a Working Group
    • Assign responsibility for tracking DfE announcements and consultation outcomes.
    • Include subject leaders from Arts, Science, and Languages.
  • Plan for Science Pathways
    • Review feasibility of offering three separate sciences for all students.
    • Assess lab capacity, timetable implications, and staffing needs.

Medium-Term Actions (2026–2027)

  • Embed New Literacies
    • Integrate financial literacy and digital/AI misinformation into Maths, Computing, and PSHE.
  • Invest in CPD
    • Launch digital CPD for staff on AI use and misinformation detection.
    • Develop oracy training across all subjects.
  • Review Subject Diversity
    • Ensure curriculum reflects global contributions and diversity.

Long-Term Actions (2027–2028)

  • Redesign KS4 Options Process
    • Promote genuine breadth and student choice in Arts, Languages, and Music.
  • Strengthen Community Partnerships
    • Formalise links with local businesses, arts organisations, and civic groups for enrichment benchmarks.
  • Engage with Post-16 Providers
    • Discuss alignment with emerging qualifications (e.g., Data Science and AI).

Ongoing

  • Monitor Accountability Changes
    • Regularly update staff on evolving Progress 8 methodology.
  • Use Year 8 Reading Test Data
    • Implement rapid interventions for literacy gaps.
  • Champion Growth
    • Embed reflective practice and professional development across departments.

I said in my post yesterday it had just got interesting; and here we are. More interesting still.

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05/11/2025
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A Green and Pleasant Curriculum: initial thoughts on the Francis Review outcomes.

Key Reforms in England’s National Curriculum:

The government has confirmed the most significant overhaul of the National Curriculum in over a decade, largely adopting recommendations from Professor Becky Francis’s Curriculum and Assessment Review. The reforms are aimed at equipping pupils with “skills for life and work” for the 21st century.

Implementation Timeline

  • Final Revised Curriculum Publication: Spring 2027.
  • Full Implementation (First Teaching): September 2028.
    New Compulsory Subject Content
    The changes focus on introducing essential life and digital skills:
  • Financial Literacy: Teaching on budgeting and concepts like mortgages, to be integrated into Maths or compulsory Primary Citizenship lessons.
  • Media and AI Literacy: Greater focus on identifying misinformation, disinformation, and AI-generated content.
  • Compulsory Primary Citizenship: Citizenship will become mandatory in primary schools, covering financial literacy, media literacy, law, and democracy.
  • Climate Change and Diversity: The curriculum will include more content on climate change and feature better representation of diversity.
    Major GCSE and Accountability Changes
    Substantial shifts are planned for secondary school examinations and performance measures:
  • Scrapping the EBacc: The English Baccalaureate (EBacc) accountability measure will be scrapped, with the aim of encouraging a greater breadth of GCSE study, particularly in the arts and creative subjects.
  • Guaranteeing Triple Science: Schools will be required to work towards offering the three separate science GCSEs (Biology, Chemistry, Physics) as standard.
  • Reducing Exam Time: The Department for Education (DfE) plans to cut overall GCSE exam time by up to three hours for each student on average.
  • Progress 8 (P8): The measure will be reformed, though specific details on its final structure are pending.
  • New Statutory Year 8 Reading Test: A new mandatory reading test for Year 8 pupils will be introduced, intended to identify and address reading difficulties.
    Wider School Experience
  • Oracy: Oracy (speaking, listening, and communication) is to be given the same status as reading and writing in the curriculum, supported by a new oracy framework.
  • Enrichment Benchmarks: Schools must offer and advertise to parents a new set of core enrichment activities, covering:
  • Civic engagement, Arts and culture, Nature and adventure, Sport and Life skills.

Progress 8 (P8) Accountability Reforms

The government has confirmed it will reform the Progress 8 (P8) school performance measure, although the specific details of the final structure are still pending.

• DfE Stance vs. Review Recommendation: This is a point of divergence from the Curriculum and Assessment Review, which recommended retaining Progress 8 largely unchanged (other than renaming the EBacc section). The DfE’s decision to reform it is explicitly linked to the scrapping of the EBacc measure.

• The Aim of Reform: The goal of the P8 reform is to ensure the accountability measure now encourages students to study a greater breadth of GCSE subjects, specifically aiming to give equal status to the arts alongside humanities and languages.

• Progress 8 currently divides a student’s best 8 grades into three ‘buckets’: English & Maths (double-weighted), three EBacc subjects, and three ‘Open Group’ subjects.

• What is Expected: Given the removal of the EBacc as a measure, the P8 reform is highly likely to involve changes to the ‘EBacc bucket’ to reflect the new priority of a broader curriculum. However, the exact mechanism—such as how many non-EBacc subjects will be allowed to count or whether the points structure will change—has not yet been finalised by the DfE.

The government is aiming to publish the final revised National Curriculum, including the full details of these assessment changes, by Spring 2027

GCSE Triple Science Entitlement

The government has confirmed it will introduce a statutory entitlement for all GCSE pupils to be able to study Triple Science (separate GCSEs in Biology, Chemistry, and Physics).

Goal: The primary aim is to address the socioeconomic gap in Triple Science uptake, ensuring that access to this STEM pathway is not curtailed by a student’s background or the school they attend. Currently, a significantly lower proportion of disadvantaged pupils take Triple Science.

Mechanism (Access, Not Compulsion): The reform is about access, not mandatory uptake. The change requires all secondary schools to offer the three separate science GCSEs as standard, meaning every child will have the option to choose them. This is a significant change, as many schools currently only offer ‘Combined Science’ (a double GCSE).

Implementation: The Department for Education (DfE) has stated that schools will be expected to work towards offering Triple Science as standard, ahead of the full statutory entitlement. This staggered approach acknowledges the practical challenge of recruiting or retraining specialist science teachers—a key concern raised by school leaders.

So what now?

Elevate Intentionality: Strategic Focus on the New Curriculum

The new curriculum, slated for first teaching in September 2028, requires immediate, high-level planning. Intentionality means moving beyond mere compliance to strategic integration.

• Audit for New Literacies: Do not wait until 2028. Elevate intentionality by immediately mapping where financial literacy and digital/AI misinformation can be woven into existing subjects (Maths, Computing, Citizenship, PSHE). Design a whole-school strategy now, rather than rushing a few isolated lessons later.

• Design for Breadth (Post-EBacc): The scrapping of the EBacc and the reform of Progress 8 creates an opportunity. Intentionally design your Key Stage 4 (GCSE) curriculum to reflect true value, not just accountability measures. Ensure your staffing and options structure genuinely promote uptake in Arts, Music, and Languages based on student interest and economic opportunity, not just league table mechanics.

• Plan the Three Sciences Pathway: The commitment to ensuring all students can take three science GCSEs as standard is a significant logistical change. Be intentional about resource allocation, laboratory time, and science staffing needs, particularly for students who might have previously been guided towards Combined Science.

Combat Complacency: Accountability and Attainment Gaps

Complacency—particularly around established attainment patterns—is a risk during any transition. Leaders must actively target areas of underperformance.

• Tackle Year 8 Head-On: The introduction of the statutory Year 8 reading test is a direct government action to combat complacency regarding secondary-level literacy. School leaders must treat the results of this test as a major diagnostic tool, not just an assessment.

• Advice: Develop rapid intervention programs for pupils who do not meet the expected standard, using the data to address the “problem pupils experience during the first years of secondary school”—a known factor in widening attainment gaps.

• Scrutinise Accountability Metrics: Do not assume the goalposts are static. The DfE has promised to “reform” Progress 8 and scrap the EBacc.

• Advice: Combat complacency by forming a small working group to track DfE announcements on the new P8 methodology. Ensure subject leaders understand that the value of their subject (e.g., Arts) is now guaranteed to be viewed more equitably in the new system.

Champion Growth: People, Skills, and Curriculum

Growth is not just about student attainment; it’s about the professional development required to teach a “cutting-edge” curriculum.

• Invest in Digital CPD: To teach students how to spot AI-generated content and misinformation, staff themselves must be experts. Champion growth by commissioning immediate, practical CPD for all teachers on digital literacy and the responsible use of AI in learning and assessment.

• Prioritise Oracy and Communication: The push for oracy to have the same status as reading and writing is a profound call for growth in classroom practice.

• Advice: Embed explicit instruction in speaking, listening, and debate across all subjects. This is not just an English department initiative; it’s a whole-school effort to build the communication skills valued by employers and university pathways.

• Model Reflective Practice: Use the new curriculum as a moment for all departments to ask: “How can we better represent diversity and global contributions in our subject content, while maintaining our core foundational knowledge?”

Inspire Deeper Connections: Community and Opportunity

The reforms emphasize moving beyond the exam hall to prepare children for society and the world of work. Inspiring deeper connections is essential to this mission.

• Integrate Enrichment and Community: The new enrichment benchmarks on civic engagement, life skills, and arts are now part of the accountability framework.

• Advice: Inspire deeper connections by formally partnering with local businesses, civic groups, and arts organisations to deliver these benchmarks. Frame lessons on budgeting and mortgages not as abstract concepts, but as direct connections to financial wellbeing in their community.

• Connect Post-16 Pathways: Ensure the proposed exploration of a post-16 qualification in data science and AI is discussed early with your feeder colleges and sixth-form providers.

• Advice: This fosters a deeper connection between your school’s curriculum and the high-value technical and academic pathways your students will progress to.

By using this framework, school leaders can view the curriculum review not as a burden of change, but as a clear mandate to create a relevant, robust, and modern education system for their students.

It just got a little more interesting, didn’t it?

Good luck and I hope this is of some use to you and what you do next.

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