The idea for the Cambridge Primary Review goes back to discussions first initiated by Robin Alexander in 1998. During 2004-5 these discussions were firmed up into a detailed proposal and made the subject of consultations first with funding bodies and then with teachers, parents, LEAs, faith communities, national agencies, government and opposition. In 2005, the Trustees of Esmée Fairbairn Foundation approved funding for a two-year review of primary education in England, to begin in October 2006. The Review was extended to three years following the award of a further grant to cover dissemination in 2008-9.

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What will it achieve?

The Cambridge Review hopes to:

• Stimulate debate about the current condition and achievements of state primary education in England, and about its future purposes and character.
  
  
• Bring into that debate not just professionals and policy-makers but also parents, children and the wider public; and the work of experts outside as well as inside education.
  
  
• Link up with parallel debates and initiatives in other countries.
  
  
• Ask the questions about primary education that need to be asked, without fear or favour.
  
  
• Draw on a wide range of both national and international evidence.
  
  
• Disseminate findings as widely and quickly as possible while the Review is in progress.
  
  
• Produce a well-argued final report, backed by evidence, which contains recommendations for future policy and practice in English primary education.
  
  
• Generate ideas which, even if not implemented immediately or in their entirety, will remain influential and will continue to inform the educational debate.
  
  
• Begin to make a real difference to the character and quality of English primary education over the first decades of the 21st century, and to the contribution which that education makes to individual lives and the collective good, at a time of change, uncertainty and growing concern about the future.

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What was its remit?

The Cambridge Review’s approved terms of reference were:

1. With respect to public provision in England, the Review will seek to identify the purposes which the primary phase of education should serve, the values which it should espouse, the curriculum and learning environment which it should provide, and the conditions which are necessary in order both that these are of the highest and most consistent quality possible, and that they address the needs of children and society over the coming decades.
   
   
2. The Review will pay close regard to national and international evidence from research, inspection and other sources on the character and adequacy of current provision in respect of the above, on the prospects for recent initiatives, and on other available options. It will seek the advice of expert advisers and witnesses, and it will invite submissions and take soundings from a wide range of interested agencies and individuals, both statutory and non-statutory.
   
   
3. The Review will publish both interim findings and a final report. The latter will combine evidence, analysis and conclusions together with recommendations for both national policy and the work of schools and other relevant agencies.

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Who undertook it?

• The Cambridge Primary Review was funded by the Esmée Fairbairn Foundation, one of the UK’s largest independent funding bodies.
  
  
• It was directed by Professor Robin Alexander.
  
  
• It was undertaken by a central team based at The University of Cambridge's Faculty of Education, assisted in their assessment of the evidence by an appointed team of specialist research consultants.
  
  
• The Review was guided by a broadly-based Advisory Committee chaired by Dame Gillian Pugh.
  
  
• It was formally administered by a Management Group representing both the Foundation and the Cambridge team, and chaired by Hilary Hodgson, Education Programme Director at Esmée Fairbairn Foundation.
  
  
• The Review’s Director of Communications is Richard Margrave. Email: richard@margrave.co.uk .

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How independent is it?

As independent as we can make it. The Cambridge Primary Review is:

• politically independent – we are consulting all the main political parties, the statutory national agencies and the education unions, and hope to establish a constructive dialogue with them; but we are beholden to none of these bodies, and none of them is in any way involved in the commissioning, funding or oversight of the Cambridge Primary Review;
  
  
• financially independent – the Cambridge Review is funded by a major independent charitable foundation rather than a research council or government department and is therefore independent of the public purse;
  
  
• intellectually independent – the Cambridge Review is based in one of the world’s leading universities, with a strong commitment to the defence of academic freedom, and is undertaken and supported by people who share that principle.
  
  
• even-handed – it’s not enough to be independent; we also strive to be even-handed and objective in our consultations, evidence, analysis and conclusions, and to listen to the many different voices which on a matter of this importance have a right to be heard.

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When did it start, and when will it finish?

The Cambridge Primary Review formally began on 2 October 2006. Its implementation stage ends with the publication of the final report on October 16th 2009, and is followed during 2009-10 by a period of dissemination. Click here for more information about the dissemination conferences being held around the country.  

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What will the Cambridge Primary Review produce?

The Cambridge Primary Review will disseminate its thinking and findings in various forms, for example:

Media

• Press releases
• Newspaper articles
• Interviews

Information leaflets

• Basic information about the Review

Interim findings

• Interim reports and briefings from the research surveys, official data searches, submissions and soundings

Final report

The Cambridge Primary Review final report was published by Routledge on October 16, 2009. The report is entitled: Children, their World, their Education: final report and recommendations of the Cambridge Primary Review. This contains the report proper, presenting evidence and analysis together with conclusions and recommendations for policy and practice. More information on the final report is available on the Routledge website.

A complementary volume, The Cambridge Primary Review Research Surveys, contains revised and updated versions of the 28 research surveys which were published as interim reports between October 2007 and May 2008.

Related publications. 
* Download the briefing to the final report here.  
* Download the media release document to the final report here.

Dissemination events

• Following the publication of the final report there will be a programme of dissemination events. Click here for more information and booking details of our regional conference programme.

Format

• Most published material from the Review has been placed on this website. Briefings will also be circulated in print versions. The final report has been published in hard copy by Routledge, and summaries can be downloaded above and will also be widely circulated in print.

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Please contact the Review Administrator with any queries.

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