A survey of 1,698 primary school teachers found that out of 20.5 average weekly teaching hours, 12 were being dedicated to English and maths, equating to 58%.
This breaks down as 6 hours 40 minutes for English, and 5 hours 15 minutes for maths.
Respondents to the survey, which was conducted by the National Education Union last term, include teachers working across key stages 1 and 2.
Unsurprisingly, the most time is being dedicated to English and maths in year 6 classrooms – 6 hours 53 minutes for English and 5 hours 34 minutes for maths. This equates to 61% of the around 21 hours of weekly teaching time in year 6.
The NEU’s study is being submitted to the government’s on-going Curriculum and Assessment Review, which is being led by Professor Becky Francis and which is due to publish its interim report later this term.
Teachers in the survey also reported the extent to which other subjects are being squeezed to make way for the focus on English and maths.
Narrow curriculum: Survey findings from the NEU show that 58% of teaching time every week is being dedicated to only English and maths study (source: NEU, 2025)
Some foundation subjects are studied for less than an hour per week on average. The survey found that average weekly teaching hours across key stage 1 and 2 for other curriculum subjects were:
- PE: 1:42 (1:45 in year 6)
- Science: 1:18 (1:22 in year 6).
- Art and design: 0:50 (0:52 in year 6).
- History: 0:49 (0:55 in year 6)
- Computing: 0:47 (0:46 in year 6).
- PSHE: 0:45 (0:43 in year 6)
- Music: 0:40 (0:35 in year 6)
- Geography: 0:40 (0:41 in year 6)
- Design technology: 0:27 (0:23 in year 6)
- MFL: 0:25 (0:35 in year 6)
The NEU analysis shows that some of the average weekly teachng time is so low that it is likely due to alternating timetables, whereby schools teach design technology, for example, one week and then art, for example, the next.
The report states: “We know from members both within this survey and elsewhere that this approach is regularly used, as it is in some schools with alternating history and geography.”
The NEU also warns that teachers from the most disadvantaged 20% of schools in the survey said they were dedicating just 93 minutes a week on average to PE – 15 minutes a week less than schools with the lowest levels of disadvantage.
General secretary of the NEU, Daniel Kebede, pointed out that the stated aim of the government’s review – “to deliver a curriculum which is rich and broad, inclusive, and innovative” – was at risk if schools are using “more than half of curriculum time for English and maths alone”.
He continued: “For decades the profession has known that SATs and the culture surrounding these assessments mainly benefit the government and the publication of league tables. They do not benefit learning, and do a great deal to damage the potential for a broad and balanced curriculum.
“We welcome the government’s intention to move back to a national curriculum for all schools, including academies, but this is only effective if we do not suffocate other subjects to serve government tests in English and maths.
“The pressures of these high-stakes assessments are clearly constraining the range that schools can offer. That some are reporting weeks without history teaching is shocking.
“For the government’s review to work they must end SATs and reduce the burden of assessments in primary schools so that they can breathe again and children can thrive.”
In its submission to the Curriculum and Assessment Review, the NEU argued that the results of tests “are misused for school accountability, leading to damaging, perverse consequences to curriculum breadth and student and staff wellbeing”.
- NEU: Primary curriculum survey, January 2025: https://neu.org.uk/latest/library/primary-curriculum-survey