NATECLA is pleased to be contributing to the Department for Education's ongoing review of the Adult ESOL Core Curriculum (AECC).
Earlier this year, we worked with colleagues at the DfE to gather feedback from ESOL practitioners through a survey distributed to NATECLA members and conference delegates. We would like to thank everyone who took the time to share their experiences and insights. Practitioner voices are essential in ensuring that future policy and curriculum developments reflect the realities of ESOL teaching and learning across England.
The survey, conducted between June and July 2026, received 112 responses from teachers, tutors, curriculum leaders, managers and other professionals working across the ESOL sector.
What practitioners told us
The findings show strong support for the existing Adult ESOL Core Curriculum, with respondents favouring a refresh rather than a complete replacement.
Key messages included:
The Adult ESOL Core Curriculum remains highly valued, with most respondents familiar with and actively using it. Practitioners generally favoured updating examples and content to reflect modern life, including digital communication, AI, online services, employability and contemporary learner experiences.
Entry-level qualifications are important but do not meet all learners' needs, particularly those who require more time, confidence-building, literacy development or pre-entry support.
Many practitioners identified a significant gap below Entry 1, highlighting the need for more gradual progression routes for pre-entry, pre-literate and low-literacy learners.
Level 1 and Level 2 ESOL qualifications continue to play an important role, particularly for learners who need specialist language support before progressing to Functional Skills, GCSEs or vocational programmes.
Recognition of higher-level ESOL qualifications remains a challenge, with Functional Skills and GCSEs often perceived as carrying greater value for employment and further study.
Qualifications are highly valued overall, not only as evidence of achievement but also for their role in motivating learners, building confidence and supporting progression.
Non-regulated provision forms a crucial part of the learner journey, particularly for pre-entry learners and those preparing for regulated qualifications.
Progression pathways are rarely straightforward, with practitioners emphasising the importance of learner-centred placement and progression decisions.
The strongest call for change was for improved access and clearer progression pathways, alongside increased teaching hours, greater funding stability and more coherent national ESOL provision.
Taken together, these findings reinforce long-standing sector concerns around progression routes, access, funding and learner support, while also highlighting the enduring value of the current curriculum framework.
Looking beyond the curriculum review
Whilst we're continuing to engage positively with DfE colleagues as they undertake their review and welcome their willingness to share these research findings, we can't overstate the importance of the whole sector coming together to ensure its insights and voices are heard by decision makers throughout government. As well as engaging at Westminster, it's also increasingly important that we build relationships with the strategic authorities that will eventually hold the purse strings for adult education throughout England; through our branches, we also need to continue to build and strengthen NATECLA's profile at Holyrood, Cardiff Bay, Stormont and Leinster House.
To this end, NATECLA is delighted to be working closely with the Bell Foundation and other key stakeholders during this crucial period for the ESOL landscape within England. We've also been pleased to partner with Glasgow University (especially with Dr Francesca Stella from the NATECLA Scotland Committee) in a vital piece of research that has uncovered the extent of the ESOL crisis in Scotland; NATECLA also a proud partner in the LIFELANGS Project - a living observatory of shared languages throughout the island of Ireland, led by Queens University Belfast and Trinity College Dublin.
As the review progresses, NATECLA will continue to champion the expertise of ESOL professionals and ensure that members' voices are represented in conversations about the future of English language provision.