Letters: A cautionary lesson for England’s schools

Lessons to learn

Sir: Your leading article ‘Requires improvement’ (7 September) rightly raised concerns that a curriculum review in England might reverse the excellent progress in schools following the Gove reforms. Fortunately, there are two very good examples of what happens when you replace rigour and the acquisition of knowledge with left-wing dogma and woolly thinking. The introduction of the Curriculum for Excellence in Scotland has led to a dramatic fall in standards in Scottish education and a resultant collapse in its Pisa [Programme for International Student Assessment] ranking. Last year Wales recorded its lowest-ever Pisa ranking. Its new national curriculum is closely based on the Scottish model, so it would seem likely that Wales will suffer yet further and a generation of children will be let down by a flawed model.

A quick review of the career of Becky Francis, who has been appointed to lead the government’s review of curriculum and assessment, should cause further alarm.