Morning, Monday, 1st December 2025
Online
This conference will examine the way forward for literacy and numeracy in England’s schools and early years settings.
Taking place in the context of the Government’s ongoing aim of functional skills for all by 18, alongside the ongoing Curriculum and Assessment Review and publication of its interim findings which emphasised the need for literacy and numeracy to be effectively integrated across the curriculum and highlighting changes to the way in which are assessed. Sessions in the agenda will explore priorities for improving outcomes and progression in reading, writing, and mathematics.
It will bring together key stakeholders and policymakers to discuss next steps for strengthening early language and numeracy skills, including for disadvantaged children, following the extension of funding for Stronger Practice Hubs and the expansion of the Maths Champions programme. Attendees will consider support needed by early years practitioners to enable them to deliver high-quality provision, ensuring that curriculum design supports strong foundations, and best practice in easing the transition into primary school settings.
Delegates will assess the effectiveness of English and maths hubs and the £2m investment in training to support phonics and early reading, looking at options for further improvement in early literacy. They will consider priorities for assessment reform, including the future of the grammar, punctuation, and spelling tests at key stage 2, as well as how to make assessment better reflects pupils’ understanding and skills across different forms of writing.
Further discussion is expected on how to support struggling readers in secondary schools, the way forward for improving pupil engagement and reading enjoyment, and ensuring that all learners develop the functional literacy and numeracy needed for future study or employment.
With the agenda currently in the drafting stage, overall areas for discussion include:
- review outcomes and next steps:
- implications of interim findings - potential reforms to KS2 writing assessment
- evaluating grammar, punctuation and spelling tests - coordination with broader curriculum aims
- assessment reform:
- balancing technical accuracy with expressive capability in writing - addressing concerns that current writing assessments encourage formulaic responses
- ensuring assessments reflect real-world application of literacy and numeracy
- hub programmes:
- assessing effectiveness and outcomes from investment in English hubs and Maths Champions - addressing variation in hub coverage - consistency and quality of training delivered
- struggling readers:
- targeting support for secondary students at risk of falling behind - effective training for teachers - continuity in support beyond primary education
- early years quality:
- support and practicalities for maintained nursery schools in leading local improvement - funding adequacy and sustainability - achieving consistent pedagogy across providers
- governance and oversight:
- clarity on how local authorities should respond to new national curriculum and early years responsibilities - roles of nurseries, schools and academy trusts
- coordination across maintained and private providers - supporting consistent quality and avoiding gaps in provision as national reforms are rolled out
- curriculum design:
- achieving clarity and coherence across key stages - balancing specified content and consistency with flexibility to allow for professional judgement
- addressing concerns about content overload and ensuring that curriculum choices help pupils build understanding in a meaningful and sequenced way
- workforce:
- strategic and resource considerations for meeting training needs across early years and school phases - addressing gaps in specialist literacy and numeracy expertise
- latest thinking on tackling recruitment and retention pressures
- reading for pleasure:
- strategies to reverse the decline found in children’s reading enjoyment
- best practice approaches for promoting reading outside school - improving engagement with parents and carers in children’s literacy development
- equity and inclusion:
- ensuring access to high-quality foundational teaching disadvantaged and pupils and those with SEND - inclusive approaches in assessment and curriculum across settings
