Plowden's 40th anniversary coincides with the launch of a new enquiry--the 2006-08 Primary Review--into the condition and future of primary education in England. This article outlines the scope, character and aspirations of the Primary Review, points up similarities and differences with Plowden, and draws some important lessons from the Plowden experience. Along the way, the article argues for Plowden to be rescued from the tangle of well-meaning interpretations and less well-meaning myths which have obscured its actual text; and stresses the need for a vision for primary education which provides a proper moral response to the fragile condition of the world which today's children will inherit.