Amy Jones, Maths Subject Advisor

The final report from the Curriculum and Assessment Review (CAR) was published in November 2025, after two years of consultations and conversations. The Department for Education (DfE) subsequently published response to the review, to the CAR’s recommendations. If you’d like to explore the CAR report in more detail, visit our landing page.

In this blog, I’ll break down the key recommendations that directly affect maths from the DfE’s response to the CAR. I’ll explore what these may mean for teachers and students in the classroom and how they could shape planning, assessment and day-to-day teaching.

Resequence the curriculum

CAR has recommended maintaining the existing KS1 to KS3 content but has called for a reordering of the topics to build deeper understanding, enable complex problem-solving and reduce repetition. At Cambridge OCR, we are pleased to see our call for curriculum reform reflected in these changes, as laid out in our Striking the Balance report. We know that sequencing matters and we’ve discussed this with many of you. Content needs to be structured in a way that supports mastery and progression, giving students the best chance to develop confidence and tackle challenging problems.

Financial literacy

Parents and students have long suggested that financial literacy should be covered more explicitly in the curriculum, but we’ve also heard from many teachers that the maths curriculum is already difficult to cover in the teaching time available. It is encouraging to see that the CAR has taken these points on board by recommending that core mathematical concepts are covered first in maths, before being applied in other subjects – such as financial education in citizenship. This links well with the recommendation to review the overall sequencing of the maths curriculum.

KS3 diagnostics

The CAR recommended the introduction of a mandatory Year 8 maths diagnostic test to identify and address gaps in student knowledge during KS3, before they start KS4. The government response instead said that they expect schools to assess pupil progress in maths in Year 8, with flexibility on how this is done and with no specific test or tool required.

Formulae sheets

Formulae sheets were introduced in 2022 as a temporary measure in GCSE (9-1) Maths and our Level 3 FSMQ: Additional Maths, to mitigate the effect of learning disruptions from COVID-19 lockdowns. Following public consultations, it was then agreed that they will stay in place until 2027. We have collected extensive feedback from teachers on how we could improve the formulae sheet, so we welcome the recommendation from the CAR to review GCSE formulae to ensure that exams test application rather than rote memorisation, where appropriate.

Stepping stone qualifications

The government also published their Post-16 education and skills white paper in November, which proposes new Level 1 qualifications in maths and English for 16–19 learners to support progression to Level 2. We have heard from many teachers and learners in the post-16 space about just how challenging this area can be, so we are pleased to see that the government is reviewing how best to support learners here. 

Although there is uncertainty around what these stepping stone qualifications will look like, we are supportive of their introduction. We’ll be engaging closely with centres to hear how such qualifications might support students at GCSE.

Changes to Progress 8

Although the CAR did not recommend any changes to how Progress 8 is calculated, the government’s response proposed a change to the ‘buckets’ that make up the Progress 8 calculation. English and maths will continue to be double-weighted, as they are currently. The six remaining ‘buckets’ are currently for three EBacc subjects and three are open. This is changing to two for science and four for ‘breadth’.

Progress 8 Proposal (source: Department of Education)

In terms of relevance to maths, it means that for Year 11 students taking an additional maths qualification (such as our FSMQ), it can count towards their Progress 8 score as one of their ‘breadth’ subjects.

Next steps

Now that these recommendations and proposals have been published, there will be a period of consultation where the government will seek input from teachers, exam boards and other education stakeholders. At Cambridge OCR, our mission is to champion the views of our teachers – so please reach out to have your voice heard. We are committed to making assessment straightforward and that means we need to understand what challenges and concerns our teachers are facing. 

You can contact us by email (maths@ocr.org.uk) or on social media (@OCR_Maths on X). You can also sign up to our maths teacher panel to help us shape the development of these qualifications as we move through reform.

Join our CAR briefing webinar 

We’ll be running a free CAR briefing webinar at 4pm on 4 February 2026 to explain the impact of the Curriculum and Assessment Review on maths. You’ll have a chance to ask our subject advisors your questions and pass on your thoughts about the proposed changes. You can join any of our subject briefings by signing up on our teacher networks 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. Contact us if you have any specific questions about the CAR, or what it means for you and your students. 

To stay up to date with subject news from us, make sure you sign up to receive emails. You can also follow us @OCR_Maths on X (formerly Twitter).

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About the author

Amy (previously Amy Dai) joined OCR in 2023 after teaching for five years in both state and independent schools. She provides support across all the OCR Maths qualifications, but with a focus on GCSE, A Level Maths and Further Maths. She graduated from the University of York with a degree in Mathematics and Economics before gaining a PGCE in Secondary Mathematics and an MA in Education.