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Bridget Phillipson has been accused of ‘sacrificing’ the 3Rs for ‘political posturing’ on climate change in her curriculum overhaul. The Education Secretary was savaged in the House of Commons today after announcing all primary school children will get ‘citizenship’ classes. These will cover topics including climate change and media literacy – such as how to spot conspiracy theories on the internet. However, yesterday MPs asked how schools would fit it in when they already struggle to hit targets on the 3Rs – reading, writing, and arithmetic. During a ministerial statement on the changes, Laura Trott, shadow education secretary, said: ‘There is little honesty about what will be squeezed out.’ She added: ‘Forcing primary schools to use precious time to teach deprived pupils about media literacy and climate change before ensuring that they can read, write and add up is not going to encourage social mobility. ‘It is not clear at all how they’re going to make time for this. ‘What aspects of children’s education are being sacrificed for the Secretary of State’s political posturing?’ Munira Wilson, Liberal Democrat spokesman on education, raised the same concerns over plans for a new ‘enrichment’ entitlement for all children, which will see them engage in activities such as sports and outdoors pursuits. ‘Can the Secretary of State set out how she will protect time for other subjects?’ she asked. Mrs Phillipson’s overhaul has already attracted accusations of ‘dumbing down’ after it was revealed she will scrap several Tory policies aimed at making the curriculum more challenging. The plans, announced today, are based on a Labour-commissioned review led by Professor Becky Francis. Under the plans, the English Baccalaureate (EBacc) will be scrapped, the amount of time spent in GCSE exams will be reduced, and primary school grammar will be simplified. During the Commons session, Mrs Trott also took aim at the death of the EBacc, which requires pupils to take a language and a humanity alongside core English, maths and science GCSEs. She said: ‘Scrapping the EBacc is a backwards step – it will steer children away from history and languages. ‘The irony is not lost on me that the Education Secretary herself studied history and languages. ‘Why is she pulling up the drawbridge behind her and denying more young people the very opportunities that she benefited from?’ Mrs Phillipson, who studied French and History at Oxford, hit back at her critics, saying: ‘We can and will deliver high and strong academic standards alongside making sure that a broad and rich curriculum is the entitlement of every child.’ It came as more details were released about the Government’s plans under the curriculum review. The Progress 8 performance measure, which was introduced under the Tories, will get a makeover despite this being advised against in the Francis report. The measure rewards schools for ‘value added’ in attainment, and uses scores across a suite of eight subjects for each pupil. Under the proposals, greater weighting will be given to science, and schools will also be encouraged to enter creative subjects for their scores. The plans will be subject to consultation and rolled out from 2028. Labour MP Helen Hayes, chair of the Education Select Committee, said: 'I welcome the proposed changes to the curriculum, which are designed to ensure access to a greater breadth of subjects including within science and the arts, and that children and young people leave school with the skills they need to succeed in the modern world, particularly the focus on citizenship, digital and media literacy, climate science, oracy and enrichment.
