In response to the schools white paper and other recent developments in education.

At NACE, our vision is that all young people, including the more able, have the opportunity to develop their abilities without limits – no matter what barriers to learning they may face and no matter what school they attend.

With this in mind, we welcomed many of the key messages and priorities outlined in the policy paper published in February 2026 – Every child achieving and thriving.

Our own recent research has focused on the theme Removing barriers to opportunity and achievement – and we therefore welcomed the white paper’s recognition of the scale of current inequities caused by such barriers. Despite repeated calls for excellence and equity in our national education system, the data shows widening gaps in outcomes and opportunities for learners who encounter disadvantage: potential is too often unfulfilled. Recognising and understanding this is essential.

We were also pleased to see the white paper recognise that those being underserved include all children and young people who are not currently being challenged and supported to achieve as highly as they could. The paper acknowledges that challenge is the right of every child – and that this goes hand in hand with an emphasis on inclusion and on belonging. 

“High standards and inclusion are two sides of the same coin, with our best schools combining challenge and care every day.”

“Every child should have the opportunity to be stretched and challenged, within and beyond the curriculum and whatever their starting point. This includes both supporting those furthest behind and ensuring that children who are progressing but capable of more are stretched to achieve the very top grades.”

“Parents, teachers and young people should never have to choose between academic excellence and inclusion, knowledge and skills, belonging and stretch.”
Every child achieving and thriving – February 2026

These messages align with NACE’s belief that every child has the right to cognitive challenge, to opportunities to discover and develop their abilities as fully as possible – and that this is key to inclusion, equity and social justice.

What is NACE calling for?

There is much within the white paper that aligns closely with NACE’s latest research and resulting publication. We agree that high-quality teaching is central to this mission, alongside access to a broad and enriched curriculum; we echo the emphasis on effective engagement with parents and carers, and the importance of belonging and relationships; likewise the key role of early identification and support, and the need to reinvigorate provision at Key Stage 3.

As we move to the next stage of implementing the policies outlined in the white paper – alongside the Curriculum and Assessment Review, new Ofsted Inspection Framework and other recent developments – we know that schools are not short on “priorities”.

With this in mind, we are calling for the following seven core messages to remain at the fore. All are highlighted in our research as low-cost, high-impact ways for schools to remove barriers to opportunity and achievement.

1. A systemic understanding of disadvantage

Disadvantage should be understood not as a pupil identity, category or deficit, but as the negative effect of barriers to learning which may be encountered by any young person. Disadvantages can be temporary, overlapping, hidden and context-specific. They are often created or amplified by school structures, including those relating to curriculum, grouping, assessment and enrichment access.

This is a conceptual shift from “who learners are” to “what schools do”.

2. A fluid and inclusive approach to ability, grouping and enrichment

Every decision made by schools has a potential impact on equity. This includes approaches to identifying ability, decisions about grouping, and aspects of provision typically seen as extracurricular.

(i) Identification of ability

Many schools still identify “more able” learners almost entirely through prior attainment data. However, ability is often latent and may not yet be visible in outcomes. Many “more able” learners are underachieving, and ability may only emerge when curriculum access improves, cognitive challenge increases, and learners feel safe to take risks.

The comfort of tidy registers risks leaving many young people underserved. We need to make the leap from static lists and labels, to continuous reidentification.

(ii) Grouping

Ability grouping can be one of the key mechanisms through which disadvantage compounds, with groups and sets becoming de facto ceilings. Decisions about learner grouping – whether within class or through setting – must be viewed not as neutral or technical arrangements, but as equity decisions.

(iii) Enrichment

Access to extra- and supra-curricular activities too often depends on factors such as learners’ individual circumstances, confidence, awareness, funding and timings. NACE believes the curriculum should be viewed as encompassing all aspects of planned activity, within and beyond the official school day. Enrichment activities should not be seen as “extras”, but as central to equitable and aspirational provision.

Every aspect of provision has an impact on equity.

3. Cognitive challenge as the right of every child

Recent national policy and Ofsted guidance places explicit emphasis on high expectations for all learners, teaching that adapts without capping ambition, and inclusion as a “golden thread”.

NACE welcomes this emphasis, and the accompanying focus on adaptive teaching and “teaching to the top”. Such pedagogical approaches are not just a way of stretching those already achieving highly, but an equity mechanism that prevents ceilings being imposed prematurely. They can help to protect against unconscious bias, avoid deficit assumptions, and bring hidden potential to light.

Lowering the level of cognitive challenge is a form of inequity.

4. Metacognition as a mechanism for social justice

Many schools use metacognition as a learning-to-learn strategy. We believe it can and should be a mechanism for countering disadvantage, by reducing gaps in learning capital, enabling self-advocacy, and promoting agency, aspiration and belonging.

Metacognition can and should be used as a mechanism for social justice.

5. Oracy as core infrastructure for cognition

We have welcomed the growing focus on oracy, and the move towards putting this at the heart of every curriculum area. Oracy is a prerequisite for cognitive challenge, metacognition and academic identity. Structured talk frameworks should be used to break down barriers and democratise participation.

All learners should develop oracy skills for success within and beyond school.

6. An approach to nurture which seeks to empower

As the white paper highlights, “challenge and care” must go hand in hand. A supportive, nurturing environment fosters curiosity, resilience, and a love of learning. This helps to eliminate disadvantages by ensuring all learners feel valued, supported, motivated and empowered to succeed.

It is important to note that nurture must also include cognitive challenge and access to powerful knowledge, aspiration and ambition. Nurture at its best not only supports learners in the present; it helps them develop the skills and confidence for future success.

Nurture must focus on empowering young people for future success.

7. A commitment to working alongside young people

Learner voice can be filtered or overly focused on the positives. NACE believes that the views and experiences of young people should be used to interrogate school structures, adult assumptions and “well-intentioned” practices. Our own research includes feedback and critique of the system from learners’ perspectives. Such dialogue must be built into this next stage of development in our school system, alongside strengthening collaborations across the sector.

Young people’s voices must be genuinely heard.

Conclusion

Far too many young people do not receive equitable opportunities for current success, or mobility to educationally, socially and economically secure futures.

While recognising the problem and our concerns for the future, we celebrate the successes demonstrated by schools every day. Our latest publication aims to stimulate thinking about current practice and provoke ideas where change is possible – while appreciating those who already know their learners well and help them to become the best that they can be.

The young people whose voices informed our latest research recognise the commitment of their teachers. They appreciate teachers’ expertise and the support and guidance they offer. They do not feel disadvantaged when they learn in environments with high-quality teaching, well-directed support and excellent relationships. They become confident and ambitious and enjoy engaging with the challenges of learning.

Although our “removing barriers” research was conducted and published shortly before the schools white paper was released, we are pleased to see the close alignment between our own findings and current national policy: prioritising equity, inclusion and high standards.

We look forward to working with schools, partners and learners to make this vision a reality for more young people in the coming years. We look forward to seeing many of you at our event in June on this theme, and welcome opportunities for discussion and collaboration.