Policy

Towards A Curriculum For All

Mel Ainscow provides an inspiring manifesto for curriculum development and change centred around learner diversity, local solutions and inclusive policy and practice.
Group of smiling secondary school students gathered on steps.

Quality education for all

The decision to review the curriculum and statutory assessment systems in England opens up new possibilities for addressing our greatest challenge: that of ensuring that all children and young people are included. This relates to a global debate that has been going on over recent years.

In 2016, a series of Sustainable Development Goals were adopted by all United Nations Member States. Sustainable Development Goal 4 aims to ‘ensure inclusive and equitable quality education for all’. This led to the publication of the Education 2030 Framework for Action, which emphasises inclusion and equity as laying the foundations for quality education.[1]

Key propositions

My experience of attempts to address this agenda, in this country and internationally, suggests that the following propositions can help move things forward[2]:

1. Inclusion and equity must be seen as principles that inform all educational policies.

These principles are particularly important for the curriculum and assessment processes. Given the need to engage many stakeholders, clarity of purpose is crucial. With this in mind, policies for curriculum and assessment should be guided by the UNESCO mantra: 'Every learner matters and matters equally.'[3]

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