As 2025 draws to a close, James and David come together for a wide-ranging Christmas conversation that reflects on a turbulent year in education – and looks ahead to where hope, change, and renewal might yet be found.
Kicking off with a powerful metaphor drawn from winter sea swimming, the discussion explores why schools currently feel so ‘choppy’, from behaviour and attendance to widening inequality and system-level pressures. Along the way, we reflect on what really matters in education – relationships, belonging, and being known – and why these often get squeezed out by accountability and assessment.
The episode revisits key debates sparked by the Curriculum and Assessment Review, including the future of GCSEs, the limits of ‘manageable change’, and the uneasy separation of curriculum, assessment, and pedagogy.
A detour into restorative justice, inspired by Punch and the story of Jacob Dunne, deepens the conversation about connection, responsibility, and what happens when people are truly seen. The parallels with schooling – and with how society treats its most vulnerable young people – are stark.
The episode closes on a hopeful note, spotlighting examples of schools doing brave, relational, and imaginative work within the current system, and outlining plans for the podcast in 2026: fewer trench wars, more light-shining on practice that actually helps children and young people thrive.
James also shares upcoming programmes and projects focused on oracy, behaviour, botheredness, and learning beyond subjects – all grounded in the belief that meaningful change is possible when we start with relationships and implementation.
In this episode, we explore:
- Why education feels ‘choppy’ – and what the winter swim metaphor reveals
- Behaviour, discipline, and the limits of coercive models
- Restorative justice, Punch, and the power of being known
- What the Curriculum and Assessment Review did – and didn’t – make possible
- GCSEs, adolescent development, and the problem of high-stakes exams at 16
- Why relationships matter more than systems – and what the evidence says
- Examples of hopeful practice already happening in schools
- What’s next for the podcast in 2026
Support #repod
The Rethinking Education podcast is brought to you by Crown House Publishing. It is hosted by Dr James Mannion and David Cameron, and produced by Sophie Dean.
This podcast is a labour of love, with the emphasis on both the labour and the love. If you’d like to support the podcast and convey your appreciation for these conversations, you can:
Become a patron: https://www.patreon.com/repod
Buy us a coffee: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/repod
All content for Rethinking Education is the property of Dr James Mannion and is served directly from their servers
with no modification, redirects, or rehosting. The podcast is not affiliated with or endorsed by Podjoint in any way.
As 2025 draws to a close, James and David come together for a wide-ranging Christmas conversation that reflects on a turbulent year in education – and looks ahead to where hope, change, and renewal might yet be found.
Kicking off with a powerful metaphor drawn from winter sea swimming, the discussion explores why schools currently feel so ‘choppy’, from behaviour and attendance to widening inequality and system-level pressures. Along the way, we reflect on what really matters in education – relationships, belonging, and being known – and why these often get squeezed out by accountability and assessment.
The episode revisits key debates sparked by the Curriculum and Assessment Review, including the future of GCSEs, the limits of ‘manageable change’, and the uneasy separation of curriculum, assessment, and pedagogy.
A detour into restorative justice, inspired by Punch and the story of Jacob Dunne, deepens the conversation about connection, responsibility, and what happens when people are truly seen. The parallels with schooling – and with how society treats its most vulnerable young people – are stark.
The episode closes on a hopeful note, spotlighting examples of schools doing brave, relational, and imaginative work within the current system, and outlining plans for the podcast in 2026: fewer trench wars, more light-shining on practice that actually helps children and young people thrive.
James also shares upcoming programmes and projects focused on oracy, behaviour, botheredness, and learning beyond subjects – all grounded in the belief that meaningful change is possible when we start with relationships and implementation.
In this episode, we explore:
- Why education feels ‘choppy’ – and what the winter swim metaphor reveals
- Behaviour, discipline, and the limits of coercive models
- Restorative justice, Punch, and the power of being known
- What the Curriculum and Assessment Review did – and didn’t – make possible
- GCSEs, adolescent development, and the problem of high-stakes exams at 16
- Why relationships matter more than systems – and what the evidence says
- Examples of hopeful practice already happening in schools
- What’s next for the podcast in 2026
Support #repod
The Rethinking Education podcast is brought to you by Crown House Publishing. It is hosted by Dr James Mannion and David Cameron, and produced by Sophie Dean.
This podcast is a labour of love, with the emphasis on both the labour and the love. If you’d like to support the podcast and convey your appreciation for these conversations, you can:
Become a patron: https://www.patreon.com/repod
Buy us a coffee: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/repod
Inside the Curriculum & Assessment Review: What Changed, What Didn’t – And Why
Rethinking Education
1 hour 56 minutes 30 seconds
2 weeks ago
Inside the Curriculum & Assessment Review: What Changed, What Didn’t – And Why
What really happens inside a national curriculum review?
In this episode, James and David go beyond headlines to explore the thinking, tensions and trade-offs behind England’s Curriculum and Assessment Review - with two people who helped shape it.
They’re joined by Lisa O’Loughlin, Principal and CEO of Nelson and Colne College Group, and Jon Hutchinson, Director of Curriculum and Teacher Development at the Reach Foundation - both panel members of the Curriculum & Assessment Review - who offer rare, first-hand insight into how the review was shaped and why its recommendations landed where they did.
This is an honest, wide-ranging discussion about ambition, constraints, evidence, politics, and what ‘high standards for all’ actually means in practice.
In this conversation, we explore:
What it was like to sit on the Curriculum & Assessment Review panel - workload, process, and pressures
Why the review focused on evolution rather than revolution
The hidden constraints baked into the review - political, practical, and systemic
Why post-16 recommendations matter more than many people realise
The case for broadening pathways beyond a narrow academic route
How oracy and the arts emerged as quiet winners in the final report
The limits of assessment reform - and why GCSEs remain so hard to shift
How evidence, professional judgement and lived experience were balanced
What the review does not do - and why that has frustrated many critics
This episode is essential listening for:
School and college leaders
Teachers and curriculum leads
Policy-curious educators
Anyone trying to make sense of what the review really changes - and what it doesn’t
Links
Curriculum and Assessment Review - Final Report: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/curriculum-and-assessment-review-final-report
Follow Jon - https://www.linkedin.com/in/jon-hutchinson-b3bbb568/
Follow Lisa - https://www.linkedin.com/in/lisa-o-loughlin-0637b553/
Follow David - https://www.linkedin.com/in/david-cameron-72061a15/
Follow James - https://www.linkedin.com/in/drjamesmannion
Support #repod
The Rethinking Education podcast is brought to you by Crown House Publishing. It is hosted by Dr James Mannion and David Cameron, and produced by Sophie Dean.
This podcast is a labour of love, with the emphasis on both the labour and the love. If you’d like to support the podcast and convey your appreciation for these conversations, you can:
Become a patron: https://www.patreon.com/repod
Buy us a coffee: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/repod
Rethinking Education
As 2025 draws to a close, James and David come together for a wide-ranging Christmas conversation that reflects on a turbulent year in education – and looks ahead to where hope, change, and renewal might yet be found.
Kicking off with a powerful metaphor drawn from winter sea swimming, the discussion explores why schools currently feel so ‘choppy’, from behaviour and attendance to widening inequality and system-level pressures. Along the way, we reflect on what really matters in education – relationships, belonging, and being known – and why these often get squeezed out by accountability and assessment.
The episode revisits key debates sparked by the Curriculum and Assessment Review, including the future of GCSEs, the limits of ‘manageable change’, and the uneasy separation of curriculum, assessment, and pedagogy.
A detour into restorative justice, inspired by Punch and the story of Jacob Dunne, deepens the conversation about connection, responsibility, and what happens when people are truly seen. The parallels with schooling – and with how society treats its most vulnerable young people – are stark.
The episode closes on a hopeful note, spotlighting examples of schools doing brave, relational, and imaginative work within the current system, and outlining plans for the podcast in 2026: fewer trench wars, more light-shining on practice that actually helps children and young people thrive.
James also shares upcoming programmes and projects focused on oracy, behaviour, botheredness, and learning beyond subjects – all grounded in the belief that meaningful change is possible when we start with relationships and implementation.
In this episode, we explore:
- Why education feels ‘choppy’ – and what the winter swim metaphor reveals
- Behaviour, discipline, and the limits of coercive models
- Restorative justice, Punch, and the power of being known
- What the Curriculum and Assessment Review did – and didn’t – make possible
- GCSEs, adolescent development, and the problem of high-stakes exams at 16
- Why relationships matter more than systems – and what the evidence says
- Examples of hopeful practice already happening in schools
- What’s next for the podcast in 2026
Support #repod
The Rethinking Education podcast is brought to you by Crown House Publishing. It is hosted by Dr James Mannion and David Cameron, and produced by Sophie Dean.
This podcast is a labour of love, with the emphasis on both the labour and the love. If you’d like to support the podcast and convey your appreciation for these conversations, you can:
Become a patron: https://www.patreon.com/repod
Buy us a coffee: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/repod
