Curriculum Review 2025: What It Means for Hands-On STEM in Primary Schools
- Laura
- Nov 11
- 4 min read
When the government commissioned Professor Becky Francis CBE to lead a national curriculum review in 2024, teachers and school leaders knew change might be coming. The final report, published last week, has already sparked lively discussion across the sector, and for good reason.
Whatever your view of the recommendations, the review offers an important moment to reflect on what children most need from their education today, and how schools can equip them for a rapidly changing world.
For those of us working in STEM education every day, many of the priorities raised - from sustainability to digital literacy - will feel both familiar and welcome.
A Quick Overview
The review set out to examine whether the curriculum introduced in 2014 still prepares young people for the future. Drawing on evidence from schools, subject associations and education experts, it points to several recurring themes:
the need for greater coherence and progression across key stages
more real-world, practical learning linked to issues such as the climate crisis and AI
and a renewed focus on creativity, problem-solving and inclusivity
While the detail of future reforms remains to be seen, these themes resonate strongly with what many teachers already recognise as essential to modern education.
Key Messages for Primary STEM
Design & Technology (D&T)
“Evidence gathered during the Review suggests that D&T in schools has long been in poor health.”
Experts recommended clarifying D&T’s distinctive, practical nature and helping pupils think like designers and engineers. The subject, they argued, should take a leading role in developing green knowledge and skills so children learn how to design sustainable solutions to real-world problems.
For schools, that means making D&T purposeful again: less about crafting for display and more about creative engineering and design thinking connected to everyday life.
Science
The review highlights some long-standing challenges:
Inconsistency in the time and depth given to science across schools
The need for clearer progression and better balance between biology, chemistry and physics
Cross-curricular links with subjects like maths, geography and D&T
A decline in hands-on practical work since 2016
Limited attention to climate science, and too few diverse role models in teaching materials
The takeaway is not that primary science needs a complete overhaul, but that it must become more connected, investigative and inclusive, helping every child see that science is both for and about them.
Digital Literacy & Computing
Another strong thread is the call for improved digital understanding.
“Young people should understand how AI works, its capabilities and limitations, and learn how to use it effectively without becoming dependent on it.”
Rather than simply learning to use software, pupils will need to understand how digital systems, especially AI, operate and impact our lives. For many schools, that will mean integrating technology discussion and ethics earlier and more explicitly.
How Inventors & Makers supports these priorities
Whatever the outcome of future policy, these themes echo the work we do every day. Our mission has always been to inspire every child to see themselves as an inventor and engineer.
And here’s how our programmes already help schools deliver the kind of learning the review envisions:
Engineering & the Environment workshops (EYFS – KS2)
Children explore climate change, the energy crisis, and engineering as a solution, through practical challenges. They design, build and test their own ideas, gaining the sort of sustainable design and problem-solving skills the review highlights.
Hands-on learning, every time
Every Inventors & Makers session involves children building, experimenting and testing, giving them the purposeful practical experiences that research shows have been missing from many classrooms.
Making D&T accessible
We help schools deliver rich, creative D&T experiences without requiring specialist teachers or materials, ensuring all pupils benefit from real design and technology.
Strengthening science links
Our workshops often include physics concepts that can be overlooked in primary science and make cross-curricular connections with maths, history and geography, just as the review recommends.
Artificial Intelligence workshops
Our new AI sessions teach children how AI works, exploring both its opportunities and risks. Pupils gain early digital literacy and critical-thinking skills for the world ahead.
STEM Heroes resources
Each week, over 3,000 teachers receive our free STEM Heroes email, celebrating diverse inventors, scientists and engineers and providing ready-to-use classroom resources
👉 You can sign up for these free weekly resources here.
Taken together, these programmes show how schools can meet the curriculum’s emerging priorities now: building the creativity, curiosity and confidence that last a lifetime.
Why This Matters
The review reminds us how fast the world is changing and how vital it is that children learn to apply knowledge creatively. Facts still matter, but so do the skills and mindsets to use them: collaboration, experimentation and problem-solving.
Teachers don’t have to wait for official curriculum updates to start doing this. Many already are: through practical STEM projects that connect learning to real-world challenges.
That’s where we’re proud to play our part - supporting schools to offer meaningful, hands-on STEM education even without specialist equipment or expertise.
Looking Ahead
As schools adapt to evolving expectations around sustainability, inclusion and digital understanding, demand for curriculum-aligned, hands-on STEM provision continues to grow.
Through our network of qualified teachers - our Inventioneers - Inventors & Makers is helping children across the UK experience the joy of creative engineering and scientific thinking.
“The national conversation is moving toward the very skills we’ve been championing since day one - creativity, curiosity and engineering thinking.”
Comments