Today we all woke up to big, highly-anticipated news – and I’m not talking about Mamdani’s election in the US.
Dr Becky Francis’ Curriculum & Assessment Review is out today (5th November 2025), seeing Citizenship education take centre stage in what is the most significant shake-up in state guidance for educators in over a decade.
This review finally puts Citizenship Education where it belongs, at the heart of developing young people and their skills, starting early.
It builds on what we’ve always known here at Young Citizens: citizenship is more than a subject, it’s a set of competencies to prepare young people to thrive in the wider world.
I have spent my career seeing what it looks like up close, when civic education is used to help young people navigate the world around them. The pattern is the same: when young people apply their citizenship, it sticks. A Year 4 class testing out what “fair” means. Year 10s on their feet in a Mock Trial. A group of teenagers debating an online safety law with someone who helped write the real thing. They argue a case, challenge a claim, make a budget decision – not just read about it.
For nearly 40 years, our charity has been helping teachers make that real – from lessons and assemblies that fit the school day, to immersive programmes that link young people to actual institutions and experts on civic themes.
From law and rights to financial and media literacy, this is about preparing every young person for life in modern Britain and the world. And with Votes at 16 coming into effect, this has never been more urgent. The Year 6s in our classrooms today will be able to vote in the next General Election.
Citizenship education isn’t preparation for “someday”, it’s preparation for now, so they feel confident in how to take part, speak up, and understand the decisions shaping their lives.
Meaningful updates to the Curriculum
Importantly, the Review delivers on key recommendations Young Citizens put forward, including through our work with the Youth Shadow Panel. It’s a real win for youth voice.
This emphasis on law, rights and the justice system is particularly meaningful. For decades, Young Citizens has been the UK’s leading provider of public legal education, helping young people understand how the justice system works and their place in it. As educators, we need to respond to the rise of AI, misinformation and ever-shifting modes of communication. It is the only way we can ultimately tackle global crises such as the climate emergency, as well as local issues such as the loss of community belonging.
Our top highlights:
- Citizenship becomes statutory from Key Stage 1 onwards. The Government has accepted this, and implementation will begin from 2028.
- The statutory primary school Citizenship curriculum will prioritise the fundamentals including:
- Democracy and government, including readiness for Votes at 16
- Law and rights – an exciting new programme of study on fairness, equity and responsibilities that Young Citizens already helps deliver through campaigns such as The Big Legal Lesson
- Media literacy and financial literacy
- Climate and sustainability education – no longer limited to science & geography
- Skills and real-world relevance for young people will be emphasised, to ensure oracy, critical thinking, media literacy and wider aptitudes that underpin democratic learning like disagreeing respectfully and fairness are embedded.
- Secondary content will be clarified to help guide teachers on meeting the existing KS 3 and 4 Citizenship curriculum, not expanded, to ensure smooth progression from primary and to address contemporary challenges such as media misinformation, equity and countering hate.
This will complement the changes to Ebacc and exams, as well as the wider call for a rich curriculum that reflects the students it aims to prepare.
What needs to happen next
Whether it’s our resources and teacher guides or our programmes, we are already delivering on the above for state schools, but we are linking up and refining our support to see that all schools can benefit.
My take on what we must do to deliver on the Curriculum Review opportunities and ensure a strong start for every young person:
💡 Learn from NCS missteps. When civic learning and enrichment sits outside the school day, the students who most need it are the least likely to access it. Embed it in the timetable or it won’t be equitable.
🤝 Civic experiences as a rite of passage at school. Skills building comes from application and connection to community. Active citizenship should be the standard of how the curriculum can be delivered whilst building empathy, belonging, social capital and celebrating diversity.
🧾 Teachers thrive with clarity. Most schools don’t have specialist citizenship teachers and many worry discussions could feel ‘political’. Guidance being explicit also means seeing that teachers can access the expert content – which is where providers like ourselves can help– so teachers can do what they do best, engaging and tailoring to their young people.
📌 And finally: DfE, pull the right strings. The providers exist; make sure we’re in the room. There are expert-informed, classroom-ready materials out there, like ours, adaptable, relevant and rooted in real life. We need to collaborate, with funding that amplifies to improve support not reinvent the wheel for the sector.
This is how we see civic skills and literacies where they belong: at the heart of all classrooms, not just for the lucky few. But teachers shouldn’t be left to translate policy alone.
Our work: supporting schools now
The review may not be fully brought in until 2028, but we know teachers, schools and their students want this now. We are already:
- Launching our Primary Civic Leads programme and regional cohorts
- Hosting a webinar to break down what this Review means in practice
Keeping our Citizenship Resource Library free for all state schools and colleges - Continuing to deliver immersive secondary programmes, including national Mock Trials
What you can do
But we are changing our approach: we are working in-depth with our school partners across the UK, and in underserved areas, to see that schools are accessing a full mix of our resources and programmes, and partners. This allows a fuller offer – so you’re citizenship confident and delivering beyond the basics – that fits your students’ and local area needs when it comes to great citizenship education in your school or college.
- Register your interest for Primary School Civic Lead training and Regional Cohorts.
- Sign up for our webinar on Tuesday 25th November explaining what it means for schools.
- Subscribe to access our free library of Citizenship lessons and assemblies by signing up here.
And where we’re going
This is a real opportunity to make Citizenship a third pillar of a great education system, alongside academic learning and employability, helping young people thrive in their communities and helping the UK thrive as a whole.
Let’s use it.