Fury as Bridget Phillipson aims to make national curriculum more ‘diverse’

Bridget Phillipson’s plan to make the national curriculum more “diverse” has reportedly left education experts and political leaders up in arms saying the changes would “undermine the education of young people”.

The education secretary has initiated a review to “refresh” what is taught in schools, pledging to “breathe new life into our outdated curriculum”, reports The Telegraph.

It will be mandatory to follow the new curriculum in all state schools, including academies that were previously free to opt out.

The Department for Education (DfE) in the UK has outlined clear objectives for its planned curriculum reform. Specifically, the DfE intends for the new curriculum to better represent the diverse makeup of British society, which includes acknowledging and integrating the different cultures, histories and perspectives that exist within the country.

The suggestions submitted to the review by unions and other teaching groups includes how to “decolonise” subjects which have been branded too “mono-cultural”, reports The Telegraph.

But Laura Trott, the shadow education secretary, criticised the decision.

She said: “Instead of spending time fiddling with our academic curriculum, which has led to English children being the best at maths and English in the Western world, the DfE needs to concentrate on getting absence rates down and kids back in the classroom.”

Sir John Hayes, the former Conservative education minister, said the changes would “undermine the education of young people” for ideological reasons, reports The Telegraph.

He added: “The truth of the matter is there’s a canon of English literature, there’s a factual basis to learning, and you can’t twist the facts to suit your political agenda.

“When you do you risk undermining the education of young people and leaving them ill-equipped for life beyond schooling.”

Announced in July, the review is being led by Prof Becky Francis, a feminist professor who started a call for evidence in November urging teaching experts to offer proposals on achieving the aims of the curriculum overhaul.

Meanwhie, the NASUWT teachers’ union, representing approximately 280,000 members across the UK, urged the review to “embed anti-racist and decolonised approaches” within the curriculum and recommended adopting “inclusive curricula that reflect diverse authors, cultures, and perspectives.”

Similarly, the Association of School and College Leaders highlighted concerns that “history and English curricula are seen as largely mono-cultural” and expressed support for efforts to “diversify the curriculum.”

The organisation, which represents over 25,000 senior secondary school teachers, also emphasized that “ethnicity and sexual orientation are particularly under-represented in the national curriculum.”