What the Schools White Paper means for every learner and for ASDAN

The Government’s Schools White Paper, ‘Every child achieving and thriving’, sets out the most significant reshaping of England’s education system in more than a decade. While much of the public debate has focused on structures and accountability, the document marks a deeper shift: a redefinition of what England wants its education system to achieve. 

At ASDAN, we have examined the White Paper carefully. There is much to welcome, important questions that still need addressing, and major system changes that will affect how every school operates and what they choose to prioritise. Here, we outline what the reforms mean for learners, for schools, and for our work as an organisation. 

A vision grounded in high standards and inclusion 

The White Paper’s central message is one ASDAN has championed for 30 years: high standards and inclusion are not competing priorities but two sides of the same coin. The document is candid about where the system is falling short. UK 15‑year‑olds report the lowest life satisfaction among 27 European countries; one in five pupils misses a day of school every fortnight; a declining number of young people feel they belong in school; and despite decades of investment, the disadvantage gap remains persistent. 

The Government’s proposed shift, from a narrow focus on attainment to a broader view of what it means to thrive, mirrors ASDAN’s core purpose. The new requirement for all schools to measure and report on pupil belonging by 2029 is quietly transformative. It elevates belonging from a pastoral aspiration to a formal policy outcome and creates conditions in which ASDAN programmes and qualifications are proven to thrive.

A system transformed: all schools joining trusts 

One of the most significant reforms is the expectation that all state schools, academies, maintained schools and local authority schools, will join or form a multi‑academy trust (MAT). This marks the biggest governance change since the early phases of academisation. 

For school leaders, the shift will feel substantial. For learners, the impact will be less visible but no less meaningful. Curriculum and assessment decisions will increasingly sit at trust level. The strongest trusts will use this opportunity to build coherent, inclusive curriculum structures that serve every learner across their family of schools. The risk, particularly under accountability pressure, is a narrowing of what is taught.

This is why the forthcoming review of Progress 8 is so important. What Progress 8 rewards, trusts will prioritise and this will directly influence curriculum breadth, subject choice and the opportunities available to young people. 

ASDAN’s message to trust leaders is clear: your progress and disadvantage outcomes will be shaped not by your highest‑attaining learners, but by the middle 60%, those with significant potential who may not yet believe education is for them. Building their skills, confidence and self‑belief is not a distraction from accountability. It is the most effective route to achieving it. 

Progress 8: a review with far‑reaching consequences 

The White Paper commits to an improved Progress 8 measure that recognises “the full range of young people’s achievements across subjects”. The consultation launches this spring, with final proposals expected before subject choices for 2027. 

ASDAN welcomes this direction of travel. The current measure has created a curriculum monoculture that does not reflect the diversity of learners, does not match employers’ needs, and does not capture the breadth of what high‑quality schools deliver. 

In our response, we will argue that the revised measure must: 

Assessment should follow the learner and the world they’re entering, not the other way round. 

The SEND reforms outlined in the White Paper are more substantial than anticipated. The £1.6 billion Inclusive Mainstream Fund, the £1.8 billion Experts at Hand service and the statutory duty to record SEND in Individual Support Plans (ISPs) represent important steps forward. 

However, key questions remain. ISPs need enforceable legal rights, not simply a recording function. Schools cannot be expected to meet expanded lower‑tier SEND needs without appropriate funding. And EHCP phase‑transition reassessments must be co‑produced with families rather than used to restrict entitlement. 

To be successful, this must be an equity agenda as much as a standards agenda. Fairness requires systems that recognise difference and respond to it. 

What this means for ASDAN 

Rather than making ASDAN’s case harder, the White Paper makes it unmissable. 

This is the system ASDAN was designed for and we intend to help shape it. 

We will: 

Join the conversation 

If you are a trust leader, school leader, policymaker or practitioner and would like to discuss what these reforms mean in practice, we would love to hear from you