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.

This week I highlight confirmation of the pay rise being awarded to teachers for 2025/26, provision of further online Prevent training sessions for governors and confirmation that only schools receiving support through RISE will be eligible to apply for funding to improve connectivity.

Teachers to receive a 4% pay award from September
The DfE has confirmed it has awarded a 4% pay raise for teachers in 2025/26, 3% of which will be funded by the Government, leaving schools to cover the remaining 1% through efficiencies.

Prevent training for governors and trustees
The DfE has released additional dates for their Prevent in education training sessions for governors and trustees. The virtual sessions focus on the implementation of Prevent and have been designed to help those that govern to understand their responsibilities and the importance of the Prevent duty. There are six further dates available, running from July 2025 through to June 2026.

Wi-fi scheme only for ‘stuck’ schools after levelling-up plan dropped
It was confirmed today that only those schools receiving targeted intervention support through RISE will be eligible for grants to boost connectivity through the Connect the Classroom scheme. Previously, all schools located in an Education Investment Area (left-behind parts of the country) had been prioritised funding through the scheme.

Eligible schools will be contacted directly by the DfE and will receive funding if they fall below its “wifi connectivity standards”, which include having “fully functional signal from a wireless network” and “installing security features to stop unauthorised access”.

This week I report on the DfE’s expansion of mental health support in schools alongside the launch of new attendance and behaviour hubs and the publication of a new report showing the extent to which poor mental health and school absence is related; a consultation on indoor space requirements in EY settings and a new programme to improve PE and sport for pupils with SEND.

DfE sets out its mental health, behaviour and attendance plans
The expansion of mental health support in schools has been announced alongside the launch of 90 attendance and behaviour hubs.

Mental health support teams will be expanded to cover almost a million more pupils by next year. The DfE will invest £49 million to ensure that 6 in 10 pupils (incorporating an additional 900,000 children) will have access to a mental health support team by March 2026. The rollout will be prioritised based on NHS identification of local need and reach the most vulnerable children first.

Alongside, the DfE is launching 90 attendance and behaviour hubs as well as new attendance and behaviour ambassadors. Around 500 schools with “weak attendance and poor behaviour” will be supported by the hubs. Applications are set to open today for 90 lead schools for the new hubs which will start in September, before a full roll out in January and each hub will support six schools. Schools in line for support will have significant attendance and behaviour challenges although it is not clear how they will be chosen, but the hubs will work alongside the regional school improvement teams. The hubs will also support 4,500 more schools via training, events and open days.

The DfE has also published a report using longitudinal data and causal statistical techniques to show the extent to which poor mental health and school absences are related and whether poor mental health contributes to absenteeism.

Consultation on space requirements in early years childcare settings in England
The expansion of funded childcare for working parents requires additional childcare places and one of the barriers to expanding provision is the indoor space requirements in the EYFS frameworks. The DfE is now consulting on potential options for amending the EYFS indoor space requirements in addition to other initiatives planned to increase places by September this year. If you want to take part in the consultation you can use this link and it will close on 11 July.

New programme to improve PE and sport for more than 240,000 pupils with SEND
Yesterday the DfE launched its Inclusion 2028 programme to improve access to PE and school sports for pupils with SEND. Starting in September, with initial funding of £300k, ten thousand teachers will be given training to deliver PE lessons for pupils with SEND as part of a three-year programme.

A network of 50 Youth Sport Trust lead schools will provide training to help teachers create and deliver lessons that meet the diverse needs of all pupils, including those with physical, sensory, cognitive, communication or social and emotional needs. The programme also aims to provide opportunities for 1,500 pupils to develop activities for their peers, with schools set to host events inspired by the Paralympic Games and Commonwealth Games. The DfE plans to support 600 new extracurricular after school clubs to open through the programme offering pupils, including those with diverse needs, the opportunity to take part in a range of sports such as tennis, boccia and archery.

This week I highlight a free webinar to support governors with their school’s climate action plan, confirmation that the Schools Financial Benchmarking website will soon be switched off and the DfE’s announcement that it aims to produce a fully costed plan to improve the support system for pupils with SEND by April next year.

Free climate action planning webinar
Sustainability Support for Education is hosting a free webinar on Monday 19 May from 6-7pm to support governors with their school’s climate action plan. This free and interactive session will help governors to identify key actions to include in their plan and think about how they can support colleagues to access further support to develop and implement the plan. You can use this link to register.

Schools Financial Benchmarking website to be switched off
In Autumn last year, the Financial Benchmarking and Insights Tool (FBIT) was released and became the principal place for schools to examine their financial data and benchmark their spending. View My Financial Insights has already been switched off and the Schools Financial Benchmarking website will be switched off in the coming weeks.

DfE to set out a costed SEND plan by April 2026
The DfE has set outs its response to a report from the Commons Public Accounts Committee on the SEND crisis. It has accepted the recommendations for action and has said it aims to produce a fully costed plan to improve the support system for pupils with SEND by April next year.

The DfE has also said it intends to announce a plan for dealing with Council SEND deficits this summer, and to set out what inclusive education in schools should look like by the end of the year.

This week I highlight new SEND guidance which has been added to the School Governance Guides, a new short course for secondary school staff to support readers at all levels, the expansion of the DfE’s new Rise Teams and progress on proposed laws regarding branded school uniform.

Updates to the School Governance Guides
On Wednesday the DfE updated both the Academy Trust and the Local Authority Maintained Governance Guides with new guidance (SEN and disability duties: guidance for school governing boards) in the ‘Safeguarding, SEND and pupil wellbeing’ section. It aims to help governors and trustees with their role and responsibilities in relation to pupils with SEND and to empower them to hold their schools to account.

New short course for secondary school staff to support readers at all levels
A new short course for secondary school staff and for leaders to support readers at all levels has been developed for the DfE by Professor Jessie Ricketts of Royal Holloway, University of London. It can be completed in around an hour, either individually or in groups and both pathways include a series of videos, guidance and a workbook for reflecting and making notes.

DfE to expand RISE teams
The DfE has announced that more than 200 schools are now set to receive support from the DfE’s Regional Improvement for Standards and Excellence (RISE) teams, as the school improvement programme expands. The number of RISE advisors is also increasing, bringing the total to 65. These advisors will support schools that have received consecutive poor Ofsted judgments and eligible schools may also receive up to £100k to help improve the quality of education for children and young people.

DfE to cut school uniform costs
Schools will only be able to have three branded items (excluding ties) under proposed laws currently passing through the House of Lords. Analysis shows these changes could reduce the cost of uniform for families by £50 a year.

This week I highlight the NAHT’s call for anti-racism training to be made mandatory for all school staff and the publication of factsheets related to the Terrorism (Protection of Premises) Act 2025 which includes details on requirements for schools.

Anti-racism training must be mandatory for all school staff, says NAHT
The National Association of Headteachers (NAHT) will bring a motion to the Trades Union Congress Black Workers’ Conference this weekend, to call for a ‘proactive, anti-racist approach to education’. The union is calling for all teachers to receive mandatory anti-racism training as part of Keeping Children Safe in Education (KCSIE) training.

Terrorism (Protection of Premises) Act 2025: factsheets
The Home Office has published a series of factsheets related to the Terrorism (Protection of Premises) Act 2025, which received Royal Assent on 3 April 2025. These documents provide essential information about the Act, also known as ‘Martyn’s Law’, including details on its scope, capacity assessments, and responsibility requirements for schools and other venues.

This week I report on the Education Secretary’s keynote speech at the Festival of Childhood, the publication of the consultation outcome on updating the GCSE Computer Science curriculum and new non-statutory guidance on supporting service pupils in schools.

Education Secretary keynote speech at Festival of Childhood
In her keynote speech at the Children’s Commissioner’s Festival of Childhood, Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson reaffirmed the Government’s pledge to fund expanded nursery provision in 300 primary schools, aiming for 6,000 new childcare places. The Education Secretary also emphasised the importance of quality early education in overcoming socioeconomic disparities, as well as pushing against rising misogyny amongst pupils. Potential measures against this discrimination include tighter restrictions on smartphones in schools (to reduce children’s access to social media) and the hiring of male teachers who can serve as positive role models.

GCSE computer science subject content update
The DfE has published the outcome to its recent consultation on updating the GCSE computer science curriculum, which ran from May to July 2024. The report outlines five revisions to the content, addressing dated material such as the removal of references to “inside computers” and “common network topologies”. This move aims to provide greater flexibility for awarding organisations and ensure the curriculum stays relevant, with the changes set to take effect for exams starting in summer 2027.

Service Pupils in School non-statutory guidance
The Ministry of Defence and the DfE have released non-statutory guidance aimed at helping schools and LAs support the educational and wellbeing needs of service pupils – children whose parents are in the armed forces. The guidance offers insight on how to effectively address the unique challenges faced by these pupils in schools.

This week I highlight publication of an evaluation report on pupil premium and recovery premium examining how schools and trusts plan and utilise these funds, the announcement of £740 million for 10,000 new places for pupils with SEND and new guidance from the EEF on effectively deploying TAs to enhance educational outcomes.

Pupil premium and recovery premium evaluation
Earlier this week the DfE published an evaluation report on the pupil premium and recovery premium, examining how schools and academy trusts plan and utilise these funds. The report outlines the strategies employed and presents findings on their reported impacts, highlighting the implications for educational support.

£740 million allocated for 10,000 new places for pupils with SEND
The Government has announced its intention to invest £740 million to create 10,000 new school places for children with SEND as part of its Plan for Change. The initiative intends to make more spaces available in special schools and to expand specialist units in mainstream schools as less than 10% currently have SEND provision.

Deployment of Teaching Assistants
The Education Endowment Foundation (EEF) has published new guidance, providing five recommendations for effectively deploying TAs to enhance educational outcomes. Key strategies include ensuring TAs support rather than replace teachers, promoting pupil independence, and implementing structured interventions.

This week I report on the publication of the interim report of the Government’s Curriculum and Assessment Review, the DfE’s plans to boost creative education, the launch of a consultation on making digital standards a requirement for all schools and the announcement of £80 million funding for solar panels for schools.

Publication of the interim Curriculum and Assessment Review report
On Tuesday the interim report of the Curriculum and Assessment Review was published setting out initial findings and the next stage of its work which will focus on four key areas:

• Ensuring high standards for all – exploring how curriculum and assessment can be more inclusive and equitable, to ensure excellence for all.
• Addressing subject-specific challenges, and ensuring curriculum is consistently achieving depth and breadth – including an in-depth analysis of individual subjects to ensure appropriate depth and mastery of knowledge, and that subjects are cutting edge.
• Responding to social and technological change – examining how education can better prepare students to grasp the opportunities of the future, for example heightened digital skills and media literacy to address trends in digital information and the rise of AI, and scientific and cultural knowledge to meet the challenges of climate change.
• Ensuring pathways beyond GCSE work for all – examining the current pathways to ensure they work for all young people in supporting successful routes to further study or employment, especially those from less privileged backgrounds.

Despite calls for reform, SATs and other primary school assessments will remain as the Education Secretary has said these are non-negotiable in pushing standards up for every child and closing the attainment gap.

Plans to boost creative education
Alongside publication of the interim report on the Curriculum and Assessment Review the DfE also unveiled plans to enhance access to high-quality arts education and enrichment activities for young people in the UK. Key initiatives include the establishment of a National Centre for Arts and Music Education, an Enrichment Framework for extracurricular opportunities, and a Digital, AI and Technology Task Group to equip students for future job markets.

Consultation launched on making digital standards a requirement for all schools
An eight week consultation was launched today which will gather views on a long-term government ambition for all schools and colleges to meet six core digital standards by 2030, which cover the foundations of good tech – ensuring essential technology infrastructure and connectivity, digital security and leadership.

The core standards make up part of the eleven digital and technology standards, published by the DfE from 2022, to support schools and colleges to use the right digital infrastructure and technology.

DfE announces £80 million solar panel funding for schools
Today it was announced that around 200 schools are set to be given a share of £80 million funding from Great British Energy to install rooftop solar panels. Installation will begin this summer, with a typical school estimated to save on average around £25k on their annual energy bill.

Schools selected for the scheme will primarily be in areas of deprivation in the North East, West Midlands and North West, as well as at least 10 schools in each region.