Building a world-class curriculum

What the review means for sport, physical activity, and school PE

The government’s new Curriculum and Assessment Review: Building a World-Class Curriculum for All, led by Professor Becky Francis, sets out an ambitious vision for the future of education in England. Its central idea is that every young person deserves a curriculum combining deep knowledge, practical skills, and meaningful experiences, which reaches across the system from early years to post-16.

CIMSPA’s Associate Director of Education and Career Development, Natasha Schofield shares her thoughts on the recommendations from the review.

As someone deep seated in the education and physical activity landscape, my immediate response is that the review signals both opportunity and challenge. It asks how post-16 learning can better prepare young people for work and life, and how school PE can be more clearly connected to the skills, values and confidence that shape future participation and employment.

A clear theme in the Review is that post-16 education must be broader, fairer and more coherent. It argues that the current system places too much emphasis on narrow assessment and not enough on experience, skills and readiness for adulthood. It calls for programmes that balance rigorous academic and technical learning with enrichment including activities such as sport, culture and civic engagement as well as the development of personal and transferable skills.

This redefinition of the 16–19 phase, with a foundation of “knowledge and skills for life”, has significant implications for how sport and physical activity are taught and valued. The Review emphasises that qualifications should develop not only subject expertise but also communication, digital capability, financial literacy and critical thinking. This learning is already integral to well-designed, endorsed sport and physical activity courses although it is not always made visible in assessment frameworks.

It also points to the need for greater equity in the post-16 system. With a significant number of learners entering further education without Level 2 English or maths, and the Review emphasises the importance of supporting them to achieve these core competencies. For sport and physical activity learning providers, this reinforces the need to integrate literacy, numeracy and digital skills naturally into learning, for example, through data analysis in performance studies or communication and report-writing in coaching modules.

For colleges, sixth forms and training providers delivering sport and physical activity qualifications, the Review offers both a mandate and a challenge.

It provides a platform to elevate these subjects as serious, future-facing components of a world-class curriculum. Post-16 sport and physical activity courses have long developed leadership, teamwork, problem-solving and communication which are exactly the “skills for life and work” the Review champions. The task now is to make these outcomes explicit in course design, assessment and partnership with employers.

The Review’s emphasis on applied knowledge also supports a more experiential model of education which often exists already as part of our sector’s endorsed learning provision through projects linked to local clubs, community activity initiatives, or fitness and wellbeing enterprises that can give learners the real-world context the Review wants to see embedded in all post-16 study. Assessments that test understanding through authentic tasks such as planning, delivering and evaluating physical activity sessions also fit closely with the Review’s call to reduce unnecessary high-stakes testing in favour of practical demonstration of competence.

There is also a strong message within the Review about coherence and progression. The Review encourages more consistent pathways from 16–19 study into apprenticeships, higher education and employment. For the sport and physical activity sector, this strengthens the case for closer alignment between education providers, awarding organisations, employers and professional standards frameworks. Ensuring that qualifications map directly to recognised job roles, and align with employer skills needs, will help demonstrate that post-16 courses are both rigorous and career-relevant. Many colleges are working with CIMSPA to ensure that their curriculum and the courses that they offer align with employer needs and the sector’s professional standards, providing learners with the opportunity to gain professional status which boosts their employability.

The Review does warn against fragmentation and inconsistency in vocational provision and calls for simplification of qualification offers and for a system that enables learners to see clear routes forward. For our sector that means avoiding a proliferation of overlapping or poorly understood awards, and instead the continuation of building clear, quality-assured pathways that align with professional recognition and employer demand, which is exactly the role that CIMSPA fulfils on behalf of the sector.

Another of the Review’s most significant themes is its insistence on high-quality, lifelong careers guidance. It describes careers education as a core entitlement, not a bolt-on, and argues that every learner should be supported to understand how their studies connect to future pathways whether that happens to be academic, technical or vocational.

This has several practical implications as schools and colleges will need to ensure that learners are aware of the range of opportunities across sport, physical activity and active wellbeing, from coaching and community engagement to sport science, policy and business roles. The Review’s call for stronger employer engagement in curriculum design dovetails neatly with the sector’s drive to link education more closely to real workforce needs through local skills accountability boards.

Providers delivering post-16 sport and physical activity courses can take advantage of this policy direction by embedding careers guidance into their programmes, for example, through industry talks, work placements, or projects with local clubs and activity organisations. Sector employers can also play a more active role by offering insight into current job opportunities and helping learners see how the skills developed through sport translate into a wide range of professions.

The enhanced focus on careers education represents an opportunity for the sector to showcase its diversity and its contribution to public health, wellbeing and community development, positioning careers in our sector not as a niche pursuit, but as a socially valuable industry with long-term career potential.

I believe that what the review sets out creates a strong landscape for sport and physical activity learning, and one that values applied knowledge, real-world experience and the development of transferable skills. However, it also raises expectations that post-16 providers must ensure their courses are robust, inclusive and aligned to professional standards. Employers will need to work closely with educators, through professional bodies to demonstrate the credibility and outcomes of these pathways.

The Review’s focus on rigour and consistency also means the sector cannot rely on goodwill alone. Courses must show measurable progression and impact and to do this they must be resourced properly with access to facilities, technology and staff expertise, and they must integrate English, maths and digital literacy in meaningful, contextual ways.

The Review’s vision of enrichment and applied learning also filters back into the school system. Sport and physical activity are highlighted as central to a broad and balanced curriculum, alongside culture, nature and civic engagement. This gives renewed significance to PE, positioning it as part of a wider entitlement to physical, social and emotional development.

Schools will need to consider how PE can contribute to the Review’s goals of life and work readiness. That might mean greater emphasis on leadership, collaboration and self-management, or integrating technology and data into lessons. Strengthening the link between PE and post-16 pathways will also be vital in helping pupils see how their skills in sport and physical activity can lead to future study, qualifications and careers.

The Review’s focus on inclusion should encourage schools to make PE accessible and meaningful for every pupil. As well as the health and wellbeing benefits, a positive experience in PE could be the spark that leads to greater engagement with learning more generally.

I believe that the Curriculum and Assessment Review offers a strong opportunity for the sport and physical activity to assert its place within the education system. Its call for a curriculum that is rich in knowledge, applied in context and open to all learners aligns perfectly with what this sector already stands for.