A judicial review has been lodged challenging the DfE’s business case for setting up the Oak National Academy curriculum quango. Dr James Williams believes the DfE’s evidence to be thin and very questionable
The Department for Education has set out a “business case” (DfE, 2022a) for the setting up of an arm’s length body to provide curriculum resources for schools.
The body selected is Oak – the “academy” that quickly responded to the pandemic by providing online curriculum resources for schools. The DfE will task the new Oak quango or national arm’s-length body to commission further resources from teachers and others, then make them freely available. The amount of money required to deliver this is estimated to be £42.5m and some £39.3m has been secured. This is now subject to a judicial review launched by the British Educational Suppliers Association (BESA), the Publishers Association, and the Society of Authors.
