Sarah Ash and Sarah Millington, Health and Social Care and Child Development Subject Advisors

The eagerly awaited Curriculum and Assessment Review (CAR) was published on 5 November alongside the DfE’s response to the review.  

In this blog, I explore the key points and highlight what this means for our Health and Social Care and Child Development qualifications.

Overview

The first major review of the national curriculum in over a decade identified the key strengths in curriculum and assessment arrangements and whether the curriculum is still fit for purpose to allow transition from Key Stage 4 to Key Stage 5. 

It looked not only at core subjects but also on vocational learning, life skills, assessment and qualification pathways for children and young people up to the age of 19. 

The outcome of the review was that some qualifications and subjects were due a reform and required change. There was no specific mention of health and social care and Child Development in the report, but it recognised the importance of technical qualifications such as Cambridge Nationals and their role in enabling progression onto desired pathways. As you know, these have recently been redeveloped and are very popular in schools, so they are outside of the scope for immediate reform.

Post 16 reform

The report emphasised that 16-19 qualifications require extensive review to adapt to a digitally driven economy. New V Levels would sit alongside A Levels and T Levels and Post-16 foundation and occupational qualifications will be introduced at Level 2. 

Level 3 

At Level 3 it is suggested that there is a three-pathway system consisting of: 

• A Levels (academic) 
• T Levels (technical) 
• V Levels (vocational). 

These three pathways aim to create a clearer and more robust system. Students would have the flexibility to choose a study programme at 16-19 mixing qualifications to suit individual needs, except for T Levels which would form a complete programme of study as these are equivalent to 3 A Levels. 

Level 2 

At Level 2 the review recommends that the government introduces two separate pathways: a foundation certificate pathway and an occupational certificate pathway to Level 3, each serving different purposes and designed specifically to meet these purposes and improve learner outcomes. These should be focused and ambitious pathways to ensure that all Level 2 offers are valuable and high quality.

Timeline

The new qualifications will be rolled out over a four-year period beginning in 2027. 

We will know which subjects are in scope for first teaching in 2027 when the DfE consultation outcome is published. Keep in touch and sign up for updates (see below) so we can keep you up-to-date with any developments. 

For more details and useful links see our overview web page.

Stay connected

At Cambridge OCR we’re committed to making assessment straightforward and are here to support teachers and students at every step of the way. 

If you have any questions, you can email us at OCRHealthandSocialCare@ocr.org.uk or call us on 01223 553998. You can also sign up to subject updates to keep up-to-date with the latest news, updates and resources. You can always join our teacher panels to help us shape the development of these qualifications as we go through reform.

If you are considering teaching any of our qualifications, use the expression of interest form to let us know, so that we can help you with more information.

About the authors

Sarah Ash joined Cambridge OCR as a subject advisor in 2018. During her time with us she has supported centres with their queries, attended network meetings and contributed to the production of a number of resources. She is part of the team that redeveloped Cambridge Nationals and developed Cambridge Advanced Nationals. Before joining Cambridge OCR Sarah was a teacher of Health and Social Care and a moderator.

Sarah Millington joined Cambridge OCR after teaching Health and Social Care and Child Development over a period of 16 years. Having been a teacher, subject lead and moderator within her career, she has planned and developed subjects to meet the need of her students to allow them to become independent learners, focusing on effective teaching and learning skills. She has experienced and survived several qualification changes: GCSEs to Cambridge Nationals, and A Levels to Cambridge Technicals. In her spare time she enjoys open water sea swimming, travelling and cooking. Pie and cake are key favourites.