New Year message from Stuart Shaw, CIEA Chair
Season’s Greetings
A very blessed, peace-filled, and fruitful New Year to all CIEA Members.
As we approach 2026, what memories have we retained from the past year?
Research indicates that just 3% of life events are highly memorable. So, over the course of an average year approximately 17 experiences will make it into our long-term memory. The other 97% fades into the black hole we know as the subconscious. However, the remaining 3% can have a profound impact on our lives. No doubt in our personal and professional experiences across 2025 we retain memories of good times, not so good times, and challenges – some of which may (or will) provoke substantive life changes. This is as true for educational assessment as it is for life in general.
What are the major changes in education and assessment proposed in 2025 that will influence the content, tone, and direction of educational assessment across future years - especially in relation to the Institute?
I’m sure we are all very much aware of the independent, major review led by Professor Becky Francis with a panel of experts, exploring what children and young people aged 5 to 19 learn in schools and colleges in England. The ‘Curriculum and Assessment Review’ was published by the UK government in November 2025 and constitutes a decisive moment for education, representing as it does, the first major changes to the National Curriculum in over a decade (the last review taking place under the Coalition Government). The Review’s vision is to develop a world-class, world-leading curriculum for all and to equip young people with a more well-rounded education for a rapidly changing world. The final curriculum will be published in spring 2027 and implemented from September 2028.
Inevitably, the Government will be making changes based on the Review findings. We can certainly expect substantive transformations for secondary education focusing on inclusion, flexibility, and smarter use of data. Review recommendations include five-year-olds learning about climate change, a curriculum that focusses less on exams and more on life skills, more diversity, fewer exams at GCSE (reducing GCSE exam volume by around 10%), new Year 8 diagnostic tests, and updated content to enhance digital and AI literacy. Recommendations also propose abandoning the English Baccalaureate performance measure. The new V-level qualification is endorsed by Review panellists whilst recommending continuing commitment to T-levels. Importantly, and from the stance and perspective of the CIEA, the Review indicates a system-wide move towards assessment that is “lighter but smarter”, with a focus on early identification of learning needs.
And all this against the backcloth of an inexorable, inevitable infusion of digitised technologies - including advances in ubiquitous generative artificial intelligence!
“ … when technology changes, then what it means to be human changes - and thus, education also needs to change.” (Wegerif & Major, in press).
As 21st century knowledge-based societal needs change, the institute will need to reflect the changing education landscape. Social and economic transformations of 21st century knowledge societies necessarily demand new ways of thinking and learning. Knowledge alone is no longer sufficient; a broader range of skills and abilities is needed to navigate a moving landscape characterised by the increasing importance of information and communications technologies, the decline of functional skills-based professions, and increasing competition. The Institute will need to consider what influential role it can play in the changing educational assessment panorama in 2026.
As always, I would like to sincerely thank all CIEA members for their invaluable contributions throughout 2025 and encourage other members to contribute their knowledge and experience to the expansion and impact of the Institute in 2026, including undoubted challenges it will encounter. Special thanks also to Joe Toko who served as Director replacing Ali McCree at the beginning of the year. Although Joe was with the Institute for only a brief period, he contributed a wealth of experience garnered from across primary, secondary, further, and higher education. Joe’s replacement – Khalil Akbar, is an experienced educational leader with a career spanning both primary and higher education. He brings extensive experience in assessment, curriculum innovation, and professional development, with a strong commitment to improving educational outcomes, particularly for disadvantaged learners. His contributions in 2025 have been quite excellent.
By way of conclusion, my hope for 2026, is that I see and interact with many of you as the year unfolds.
Kind regards,
Stuart (CIEA Chair, Board of Trustees)
Wegerif, R., & Major, L. (in press). A Dialogic Theory of Educational Technology. In O. Erstad, B. E. Hagtvet, & J. V. Wertsch (Eds.), Education and Dialogue in Polarized Societies: Dialogic perspectives in times of change (pp. 121-144). Oxford University Press.