The problem is with the constantly changing units of work. If the government stopped changing things, books would last.
I'd like to see how the curriculum has changed in the other countries that use text books so successfully. I would imagine little has changed, but-hey, they're still better than us.
Our government seems to jump on any band wagon going and change what's 'good practice' on a whim so everything needs to be rewritten. It doesn't raise standards-if anything, their constant meddling is what's trashed education in this country. Ofsted blaming poor teaching and not enough oral feedback or afl is just irrelevant.
It's almost as if some MPs have second jobs in Pearsons or the OUP!