Commenting on Professor Becky Francis as the leader of a new Government review of the curriculum, Daniel Kebede, General Secretary of the National Education Union, said:
“Professor Becky Francis has an important role now to shape and improve the future of education. Having recently participated in the NEU-organised Education Renewed conference, she will appreciate there is a wide consensus that there is a lot to be done.
"Making the curriculum more modern, engaging, inclusive and fit for the future, whilst ensuring that all students have access to the full breadth of subjects, is absolutely crucial. For too long these aspects of the curriculum have been eroded. It has contributed to student disengagement and to their not being properly prepared for their future.
"Assessment in England, across the phrases, is fundamentally broken. It is designed for accountability, rather than teaching and learning.
"We are pleased to see the review will consider how any changes would affect staff. The previous government’s changes were rushed through at an unmanageable pace and caused significantly more teacher workload. This review must learn the lesson from previous reforms.
"We have had productive conversations with Labour about the need for a review of the curriculum and assessment. Teachers are experts in their field, designing curricula and assessing their students every day. Their involvement in this review to improve the educational experience of children and young people is essential."