Commission Witnesses
2026 Report
The Teaching Commission would like to thank all our witnesses, whose expert evidence helped us to identify and think through the key issues raised by the Curriculum and Assessment review. Their evidence is referenced through the report.
Meeting 1, 16 January 2026
Margaret Mulholland, SEN and Inclusion Specialist, ASCL
Margaret spoke about the ambitions of the White Paper, Every Child Achieving and Thriving, to increase inclusion, and the need for the 2028 curriculum to remove barriers for pupils with SEND.
Professor Mary Richardson, Professor of Educational Assessment (UCL IOE)
Mary gave evidence about assessment, why it matters, what changes are proposed for 2028, and why we need a focus on assessment literacy for teachers and pupils.
Meeting 2, 13 February 2026
Gareth Conyard, CEO Teacher Development Trust
Gareth drew on TDT research to give an overview of the current state of CPD for teachers and leaders in England, before reflecting on what needs to change to support effective implementation of the 2028 curriculum.
Helen Arya, Education Leadership Consultant
Helen is also a Commissioner. She presented the results of extensive work to gather the views of teachers and leaders of the review’s proposals, how prepared they are to implement the 2028 curriculum, and what is needed to improve readiness.
Meeting 3, 13 March 2026
Jack Worth, Lead economist, NFER
Jack gave evidence on teacher recruitment and retention trends, based on NFER’s annual School Teacher Labour Market in England report, launched on 19 March 2026.
Bennie Kara, Co-founder of Belonging Effect and Shareen Wilkinson, Executive Director of Education at LEO Academy Trust
Bennie spoke about the importance of diversity within the 2028 curriculum, and the support needed so that teachers can be empowered to develop and teach a diverse curriculum. Shareen reflected on the implications of the proposed changes for primary teachers who are responsible for teaching all subjects.
Meeting 4, 24 April 2026
Sam Gibbs, Trust Curriculum and Development Lead, Greater Manchester Education Trust
Sam is also a Commissioner. Drawing on her roles as Trust Leader and Deputy Chair of the Trust-Wide CPD Leaders’ Forum, she reflected on professional learning as system architecture. She presented the work of GMET in developing a professional learning system that supports teacher agency.