This week I report on the long awaited publication of two new governance guides (one for maintained schools and one for academies) which have replaced the Governance Handbook, the outcome of the Spring budget and Ofsted’s publication of a subject report on the quality of English in primary and secondary schools in England.

New Governance Guides
Yesterday the DfE published two new governance guides (one for maintained schools and one for academies) replacing the Governance Handbook that was last updated in 2020. The documents are an essential reference guide to the roles and duties of governing bodies. There are no new requirements, so you don’t need to do anything right now, except to be aware of, and able to access, the right guide for your school setting.

Spring Budget 2024
On Wednesday the Chancellor delivered the Spring Budget confirming that Education sector is set to receive £81.9 billion in funding by the end of the 2023/24 financial year. For 2024/25 funding is planned to rise to £84.9 billion, an increase of £3 billion.

£105 million in funding will be committed to building 15 new special free schools, creating over 2,000 additional places for children with SEND in England and the location of these schools will be confirmed in May 2024. The Government also confirmed the location of 20 Alternative Provision free schools and that it is introducing two new data pilots to drive high quality AI in education.

Ofsted releases a Subject report series on English
Ofsted has released a subject report on the quality of English in primary and secondary schools in England. This report evaluates the common strengths and weaknesses of English that Ofsted has recognised in schools.