Andy Case

Former maths teacher, now Senior Policy Adviser @NEUnion

[Andy Case @AndyCaseNEU]

The exam obsession Milburn has highlighted holds back young people.

Assessment methods in England must be broadened in order to support them to develop the knowledge and skills which are actually relevant for the world they will enter

[Andy Case @AndyCaseNEU]

So many issues well identified through this Review:
"the limited range of assessment approaches in KS4 in England means that some students are effectively set up to fail... That is not because they lack ability. It is because the system defines ability in ways that exclude them"

[BBC Breaking News @BBCBreaking]

More than one million 16-24 year-olds not in education, employment or training, as report warns of "lost generation" - follow live https://t.co/2WeDmHgb7H

[Andy Case @AndyCaseNEU]

It was a privilege to contribute to @HLSocMobility inquiry. Delighted to see the final report highlight our evidence - the curric. is narrow & outdated

Gov must listen & give students the chance to develop skills necessary for a successful future

📺here: https://t.co/6ziEoyClkN

[House of Lords Social Mobility Policy Committee @HLSocMobility]

We set out steps to improve opportunities for young people.

We outline steps to improve opportunities for young people, including:
🔹 Stronger local partnerships
🔹 A GCSE curriculum aligned with today’s labour market
🔹 Wider access to maintenance support for higher education

[Daniel Kebede @DanielKebedeNEU]

**1️⃣** The NEU welcomes the curriculum principles in the Review - especially the focus on preparing young people for their futures through oracy, critical thinking and digital literacy. Better representation in the curriculum is a step forward.

**2️⃣** Good to see the Review acknowledge what teachers have long said: relentless rote learning of grammar terms like *fronted adverbials* in primary is counterproductive. But retaining SATs means teaching to the test will continue - narrowing the curriculum and stressing young children.

**3️⃣** Let’s be clear: keeping SATs undermines the entire purpose of this Review. The Government signalled months ago they would keep them. Today’s outcome sadly reflects that.

**4️⃣** A win for educators, parents and campaigners - the EBacc is finally gone. It has squeezed creativity from our schools and pushed the arts to the margins. Its abolition is long overdue.

**5️⃣** The Review recognises that curriculum content must be teachable within the time available. Now we need real, tangible reductions. Our curriculum is overloaded and unsustainable for staff and students.

**6️⃣** We’re disappointed the Review failed to push for fairer assessment in secondary education. Young people deserve more than just high-stakes end-of-course exams to show what they can do.

**7️⃣** Teachers’ professional skills and agency matter. They must be central to designing the new curriculum. We will hold the Government to account to ensure teacher voices lead this process.

**8️⃣** The elephant in the room? Funding and poverty. You cannot talk about “opportunity” while children grow up in poverty and 86% of schools face real-terms cuts by 2025/26. No curriculum reform can overcome that.

**9️⃣** If the Government were serious about improving education, they wouldn’t tolerate child poverty or chronic underfunding. Our children deserve better. Our schools deserve better. We will keep fighting for it.

[Michael Rosen 💙💙🎓🎓 NICE 爷爷 @MichaelRosenYes]

@DanielKebedeNEU @bphillipsonMP Irony: it's an admission that the phonics, checking, KS2- testing, Ofsted-overseeing regime for Years 1-6 has failed! And the remedy is....? More of the same! More testing. What mega-brain in the DFE worked this one out? They're not education-addicts, they're test-addicts.

[Andy Case @AndyCaseNEU]

👇👇👇💯

[Daniel Kebede @DanielKebedeNEU]

What I find most disappointing about this article from @bphillipsonMP is how it portrays our union - a union representing over 500,000 teachers and support staff - as obstructionist.

That’s simply wrong, and frankly, offensive.

I’ve spent my whole career teaching white working-class children. No one cares more about their progress than @NEUnion members.

More mandatory tests are not the answer.

Pigs don’t get fatter the more you weigh them - and children don’t learn to love reading by being tested repeatedly.

If we’re serious about improving outcomes for working-class pupils, we need to address the real issues:

1) Child poverty must come down

2) School funding must go up

Yet under this government, child poverty is rising and education spending as a share of GDP is at its lowest in 25 years.

https://t.co/6wHsqpoNDC

[More Than A Score @MoreThanScore]

80% of children in year 1 passed the phonics check this year, but the pass rate for those with SEND was only 43% and for those eligible for free school meals the pass rate was 67%.

As schools are put under more pressure to meet the new target, these are the children who will have to spend more time revising phonics instead of learning to love reading and enjoying books.

The government’s priority should be to give the best support to the 5- and 6-year-olds who need it most, not to simply set another target for a test.

[Andy Case @AndyCaseNEU]

Where does this ideological blindness end?

More tests + arbitrary targets = higher standards is such nonsense & lack of understanding!

Never mind the fact that government themselves commissioned a review to look at these issues but are making changes before it’s even reported!

[Tes magazine @tes]

The government is set to announce a 90% 'expected standard' target for the Year 1 phonics screening check and a national reading test for Year 8 students
https://t.co/PYFvvvNZTD

[Daniel Kebede @DanielKebedeNEU]

The real issue isn’t that we don’t have enough teachers - it’s that too many qualified teachers have been driven out of the classroom.

To make teaching a job that is compatible with family life again, we must:

- Tackle unsustainable workload: driven by large class sizes, high levels of pupil need, inadequate resources, and too few support staff. FUND EDUCATION

- End the regime of fear: scrap Ofsted’s punitive inspection system that inflates workloads. Halt the Nandos score card.

- Build in flexibility: guarantee at least 20% PPA time (with the option to take it from home), and allow staggered starts.

- Recognise teaching as a gendered profession: every school should have robust policies covering maternity, menopause, and conditions such as endometriosis.

- Raise pay: salaries must be competitive with other graduate professions.

[Andy Case @AndyCaseNEU]

This ideological obsession must end

Do a test = high standards is such a flawed mantra

To become re-engaged students need a broad, fit for purpose curriculum, fewer national tests & teachers with lower workload who are trusted and empowered to support them

[National Education Union @NEUnion]

England’s state school pupils could face a mandatory Year 8 reading test from 2028-29.

“It is beyond belief that this government’s response to students disengaging in secondary isn’t to consider the impacts on curriculum caused by the tests that already exist in primary but rather is to suggest an additional test in year 8.” - @DanielKebedeNEU 🔗 https://t.co/xJm3MuCRmw

Read our full comment here.👉 https://t.co/aQR9n5cnXZ

[Andy Case @AndyCaseNEU]

I don’t know what other word to use than shocking. In the literal sense: I was shocked when I first read this proposal

Just cannot believe the lack of understanding of the current educational landscape to think that ANOTHER national test will help re-engage students

[Schools Week @SchoolsWeek]

Responding to our exclusive, @DanielKebedeNEU said: 'It's beyond belief this government’s response to students disengaging in secondary isn’t to consider the impacts on curriculum caused by tests that already exist in primary - but to suggest an additional test in year 8'

[National Education Union @NEUnion]

🧵Congratulations to all receiving results today. The hard work and effort of students, teachers and those supporting them should be commended.🙌

[YoungMinds @YoungMindsUK]

A message to everyone getting their A-level results today.

[Daniel Kebede @DanielKebedeNEU]

🎉 Results Day is here – and it’s not just A Levels. It’s BTECs, T Levels, and other Level 3 achievements.

Every path, every student matters.

To every young person who put in the work, and every teacher, support staff & school leader who stood with them – huge respect. 💪

But one high-stakes test can’t capture all talent. We need fairer, more diverse ways to assess learning – and an education system where poverty never decides the outcome.

We need a government that invests in young people and in education. An end to the two-child benefit cap and a return to spending in excess of 5% of GDP on education.

🎓✊ #ResultsDay2025

[Andy Case @AndyCaseNEU]

Standing room only at the curriculum fringe at #NEU2025

Great appetite for curriculum improvement in the profession

Teachers must be empowered to create and deliver lessons relevant and engaging for their students

3 great new reports from the NEU https://t.co/RB3Ji5mnEL

[Andy Case @AndyCaseNEU]

The School Wound - something inflicted upon children by schools. A powerful concept.

Really interesting session from @GregBottrill at #NEU2025 Early Years fringe.

The language we use is powerful - there is a wonder child inside everyone!

[Daniel Kebede @DanielKebedeNEU]

In 🇮🇸 as part of the 🇬🇧 delegation for 'International Summit on the Teaching Profession'.

Have just visited a Primary in Reykjavík.
- 22 pupils per teacher.
- teachers work in pairs.
- fully stocked art cupboard
- dedicated technology rooms
- Music studios
- free school meals to 16.

🇮🇸 is one of the worlds happiest place to be a child.

[Daniel Kebede @DanielKebedeNEU]

SATs and high stakes primary assessment should end

They:
- lead to a narrowing of the curriculum. Less sport, art, etc.
- Put excessive mental pressure on the under 12s

Most importantly DON'T raise standards

Its not Testing that improves education

Where is the funding again?

[The Arts and Minds Campaign @ArtsMindsCmpgn]

It’s time to ensure all children can learn creative subjects throughout school.

Join the campaign ➡️ https://t.co/k3JRPqoXT2

[Andy Case @AndyCaseNEU]

With the CAR Interim Report due soon, a Monday reminder not to let anyone tell you teacher assessment (TA) is less accurate or valid than other methods. The only yr with QA and TA (2021) saw just 2% of centres asked to revisit grades & just 195 out of 5.7m grades changed 1/2