CAR and the new dialogues about language education

This paper presents a collaborative synthesis of 19 submissions from professional bodies responding to the Department for Education’s Curriculum and Assessment Review (CAR). Coordinated by the Coalition for Language Education (CLE) and the Committee for Linguistics in Education (CLiE), the synthesis highlights broad consensus across the language education sector. Respondents collectively call for curriculum reform that supports multilingualism, promotes language awareness, and embeds inclusion as a guiding principle. The findings also stress the need for assessment reform, more flexible post-16 pathways, and greater recognition of oracy and digital literacies. Taken together, the submissions reveal a strong, unified voice for systemic change in language education, urging policymakers to address gaps identified in the CAR Interim Report and to create a curriculum that reflects the linguistic diversity of contemporary England.