This week I report on the publication of updated Governance Guides for both Academy Trusts and Maintained Schools, new Complaints guidance expected from the DfE shortly and Ofsted’s pledge that most inspections from November will include at least one inspector with relevant expertise in the type of setting being inspected.

Publication of updated Governance Guides
Yesterday the DfE published updated versions of the Governance Guides for both academy trusts and maintained schools. The Governance Guides bring together information from a range of sources on the governing body’s role in relation to legislative and contractual requirements as well as governance best practice in schools.

Whilst changes this year have been minimal with no substantial policy changes, notable changes include:

• A greater emphasis on the requirement for Governing bodies to demonstrate the active
  promotion of fundamental British Values.
• The need for all governors to have a basic understanding of the school’s legal
  requirements on procurement as well as on accountability and spending, along with links to relevant guidance and services.
• School funding information – addition of the teachers’ pension employer contribution grant, core schools budget grant, and the national insurance contributions grant; removal of the mainstream schools additional grant and the recovery premium after they finished at the end of the 2023/2024 academic year.
• A requirement for the Chair to sign off the school’s digital reporting form return detailing how the school has used its PE and sport premium allocation.
• Update to the legal basis for keeping admission and attendance registers under The School Attendance (Pupil Registration) (England) Regulations 2024 for providing information requested by the Secretary of State on attendance under the Education (Information About Individual Pupils) (England) Regulations 2024.
• Suggested guidance to support the promotion of good behaviour of pupils, including the use of mobile phones and searching, screening and confiscation in schools.
• A greater emphasis on the requirement for the school premises and facilities to be kept up to a standard where, as much as is reasonably possible, the health, safety and welfare of pupils is guaranteed.
• A new section on nutrition under pupil mental health and wellbeing to cover the Governing body’s role in school food. In line with the DfE’s school food guidance for governors, schools are expected to have a policy on school food.

New school complaints guidance to be published
The Government has advised it is drawing up new guidance for schools and parents to address the increasing number of complaints. The guidance will aim to reduce the burden on school leaders while maintaining parents’ right to raise concerns and will be published shortly.

The DfE will be conducting a seven day research project starting on Monday, led by Policy Lab, to better understand the school complaints landscape and generate ideas for improvement. The project will involve both teachers and parents who have experience with the complaints process.

Ofsted pledges specialist inspectors for most visits from November
Ofsted has announced that ‘most’ inspections from November will include at least one inspector with relevant experience in the type of setting being inspected. This aims to enhance the understanding of the specific context of the schools being evaluated. However, there may be exceptions where relevant expertise will be utilised post-inspection during the quality insurance process.

HMIs are civil servants who often work for Ofsted full-time, whereas Ofsted inspectors work for the watchdog on a freelance basis and usually hold other positions in the sector. Ofsted has confirmed that all inspections will be led by a current HMI or an inspector with recent HMI experience, which is expected to mean having worked as an HMI within the last three years. This is intended to ensure deeper inspection expertise.

This week I report on the launch of School Sport Partnerships and a national enrichment framework as well as a free webinar on AI.

New national network for PE and school sport announced
The Prime Minister has unveiled a new approach to PE and school sport this week, including the launch of School Sport Partnerships and a national Enrichment Framework to ensure all children and young people can access high-quality extracurricular activities.

The new national network will:

• Build stronger links between schools, local clubs, and National Governing Bodies
• Prioritise inclusion for girls and pupils with SEN
• Share inclusive best practice across all schools
• Be supported by school-level enrichment profiles detailing each school’s sport and activity offer

Free Webinar – Actionable Intelligence: AI in European Schools
Following up on last week’s release of guidance on AI from the DfE, an online conference has taken place which aimed to demystify AI in education and show schools in the EU exactly what to do next. The conference was free and has been uploaded onto YouTube here.

This week I highlight new DfE guidance on AI, review the impact of this week’s Spending Review on schools and confirmation of the delay to the changes to the Ofsted inspection progress.

DfE releases new AI guidance
The DfE has released new guidance to help schools make informed decisions about using artificial intelligence (AI). The guidance explores the potential of AI to reduce workload and enhance learning while also highlighting the importance of maintaining human oversight and discretion. The DfE announced an additional £1 million investment to push the development of AI tools, specifically designed to support teachers with tasks such as marking and providing detailed, personalised feedback to students.

Impact of the Spending Review on schools
This week the Chancellor set out Government spending plans for the next three years which included boosting the schools budget, extending the rebuilding programme and increasing Ofsted’s funding. However the funding increase will only amount to a roughly 1% average real-terms increase to per-pupil funding each year and it also has to cover cash for SEND reforms, the free school meals expansion and next year’s pay award. The headlines are detailed below:

• £4.7bn for schools – the core schools budget will increase from £64.8 billion this year to £69.5 billion in 2028, a cash-terms increase of £4.7 billion by the end of the spending review period. However, this includes the £410 million annual cost of the recently announced extension of free school meals, and the £615 million allocated earlier in the Spring to contribute to next year’s 4% teachers’ pay rise. Once schools’ rising costs are taken into account, the injection works out as a 1.1% average annual real-terms increase over the spending review period.
• SEND reforms – the Government has set aside £760 million for reform of the SEND system, with most of this falling in the 2026-27 year. The DfE confirmed to Schools Week that this money is part of the increase in the core schools budget. However, there is a continued rise in the number of pupils with special needs and councils are pushing for high-needs deficits to be wiped.
• Schools white paper in the Autumn (and not just for SEND) – the Government will set out its SEND reform plans in a schools white paper, to be published in the Autumn. Schools Week has reported that it understands that the white paper will be broader than just SEND and will include wider school reforms.
• Schools rebuilding programme – the Government has already committed to ramping up the school rebuilding programme, expecting to spend around £2.4 billion per year for the programme over the spending review period. However, it hasn’t said how many schools will now be targeted. Spending on school maintenance and repairs will also rise by around £400 million to around £2.3 billion a year by 2029-30.
• Ofsted funding boost for MAT inspections – despite reports Ofsted was unlikely to secure more cash at the spending review, documents show its budget will rise from just under £140 million in 2025-26, to nearly £159.4 million in 2026-27. This will fund the inspectorate to support the Government’s mission to break down barriers to opportunity, including developing and implementing multi-academy trust inspections to increase accountability of MAT leaders.
• Nurseries and libraries cash – the Government confirmed it has allocated £370 million across four years to deliver more school-based nurseries in spare primary classrooms. The DfE previously announced £37 million for the first tranche of projects. Ministers have also allocated £132.5 million of dormant assets to invest in school libraries and facilities to support disadvantaged young people to access music, sport, and drama.

Overall, the DfE’s total budget will increase by £109.2 billion by 2028, equivalent to an annual average real terms increase of 1.5%, which puts the DfE behind most other areas of spending. However, the Dfe has a much larger overall budget than many other Government departments and Education got the fourth highest increase.

Ofsted inspection plan delay
The Education Secretary has written to the Chief Inspector of Ofsted expressing her disappointment that Ofsted has delayed its consultation response on changes to the inspection system, with new inspections due to start in the Autumn term. Sir Martyn Oliver in his letter confirming the delay advised that it would hold briefings for school leaders and teachers in the first half of the autumn term, while routine inspections are on hold. Ms Phillipson’s letter also confirmed that Dame Christine Gilbert has been appointed as the new chair of Ofsted.

This week I highlight a free webinar from Governors for Schools on social mobility, the announcement that free school meals will be extended to all pupils whose household is on Universal Credit and the publication of a letter of thanks to governors and trustees from the Minister for School Standards.

Free Social Mobility – the impact of good governance Webinar
On Thursday 12 June from 8-9am Governors for Schools in conjunction with Better Governor will be hosting a webinar exploring what social mobility means for schools in 2025, and the crucial role governance plays in improving outcomes and life chances for all pupils. It will highlight key pupil groups, examine barriers to social mobility, and share practical examples of what’s working in schools. To book your place please use this link for the Governors for Schools website.

Free school meals extended to all from Universal Credit households
The DfE has announced that from the start of the 2026 school year, every pupil whose household is on Universal Credit will have a new entitlement to free school meals, however schools will not receive additional pupil premium funding for the children who become eligible for free lunches as part of the expansion. Currently only families with a household income below £7,400 can claim free lunches and the DfE estimates over 500,000 more pupils will be eligible for free school meals under the expansion.

Letter to governors and trustees in schools and academy trusts
A letter of thanks from Catherine McKinnell, the Minister for School Standards has been published recognising school and trust governance volunteers in England during Volunteers Week.