Subject experts are hoping to see exam reform, changes to curriculum content and a focus on teaching pupils about sustainability when a government review publishes its recommendations next year.

Labour has launched a curriculum and assessment review led by Professor Becky Francis, which is set to call for evidence.

The review will span all key stages and aims to “deliver a new national curriculum which is rich and broad, inclusive and innovative”, with recommendations published next year.

The government’s commissioned review comes amid wider calls for exam and curriculum reform.

Several subject bodies have outlined changes they would to see, exam board OCR has called for a shake-up to both key stages 3 and 4 and a cross-party Lords committee last year called the 11-16 curriculum “stifling”.

Here is a breakdown of what subject experts and associations want the curriculum review to focus on:

Maths

The Royal Society has made comprehensive reform recommendations for maths in its Mathematical Futures report.

The report recommends that the government sponsor a task force to plan and implement changes to the current maths curriculum.

It says maths should be reconceptualised as “mathematical and data education”. A newly proposed framework would include more focus on computing, data and technology within maths.

The Royal Society also recommends another stream for pupils who do not want to study more traditional maths called “general quantitative literacy”. This would aim to teach pupils how to apply maths and data skills to everyday contexts.

English

A working group on GCSE English reform concluded earlier this year that the current GCSEs are “not fit for purpose”.

It warned that the GCSEs have become too narrow in content, too linked with assessment, and opportunities to read diverse and contemporary texts have taken a hit.

The group recommended reform should see more diverse texts in the curriculum, as well as students studying other forms of media. It would also like to see more varied writing tasks, a refocusing of teaching on literature as a whole, rather than specific texts, and assessment of speaking and listening.

Art and design

The national curriculum created in 2014 refers mostly to fine art and “does not reflect the rich breadth” of UK art, according to the National Society for Education in Art and Design (NSEAD).

NSEAD said the current curriculum does not prepare learners to progress and be part of the creative workforce.

”The backwards-facing, reductive art and design curriculum we currently have does not serve the purpose for which it is intended,” a spokesperson added.

A report by the Runnymede Trust and Freelands Foundation found only 10.8 per cent of art exam papers mention any art by people from minority ethnic backgrounds. This is despite nearly two-thirds of students wanting to study artists from a wider range of backgrounds.

NSEAD is hoping reform will strengthen pathways into the creative industries and give better access to resources to support a more diverse curriculum.

It also said that the art and design curriculum must address sustainability and the climate emergency, as they cannot just be covered in geography, science and design and technology.

Science

The Association for Science Education (ASE) said that alongside scientific content, the curriculum needs to prioritise critical thinking, pupils learning via inquiry, teaching competencies in scientific literacy and numeracy and learning how to use data.

The association also called for less reliance on high-stakes testing at KS4 and KS5, with a move instead towards assessment practices that “prioritise and nurture critical thinking and problem solving”.

Instead of being about data, accountability measures should prioritise “holistic student development”.

ASE would also like to see a single science route introduced at KS4 and the incorporation of climate education into the curriculum.

Along with ASE, the Royal Society of Chemistry, the Institute of Physics and the Royal Society of Biology have also proposed a new primary science curriculum. The proposed curriculum recommended several “essential experiences” children should have in each science subject by age 11.

ASE also echoed calls for an emphasis on incorporating sustainability and climate education into the science curriculum.

Geography

Steve Brace, chief executive of the Geographical Association, told Tes that the geography curriculum must make sure young people acquire the geographical knowledge to address key challenges such as climate change, securing the UK, and deciding where to build new homes and creating sustainable communities.

Design and technology

Like many other subject experts, the Design and Technology Association hopes to see more content on sustainability at all key stages.

It is also pushing for primary schools to have increased access to loan 3D printers to learn more about design and prototyping. These were trialled on loan in some primary schools recently.

At KS3, the association said there is a need for “significant changes to pedagogy”. Chief executive Tony Ryan said the association would like to see more focus on process and problem solving, rather than the end product of making something.

He added that the current focus at KS4 on knowledge acquisition has forced design and technology teachers away from offering the GCSE and instead focusing on art and design, which is less exam-heavy.

But the association warned that with the school workforce in its current state of depletion, it has “serious doubts” about the appetite for engaging in significant curriculum change.

PSHE

The PSHE Association said it will be giving “careful consideration” to the curriculum review - particularly while it waits for the outcome of the review of the draft statutory guidance for relationships and sex education and health education published last year.

The draft guidance was published under the previous government.

The association would also like to see PHSE given the “same status as other subjects” rather than being “separated off”.

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