This week I highlight publication of KCSIE 2025, Ofsted’s announcement that it will be offering schools webinars on the new inspection framework from September and publication of new Reading and Writing Frameworks for primary schools.

Publication of KCSIE 2025
The DfE has now published Keeping Children Safe in Education 2025 which comes into force on 1 September. The relatively minor technical changes are as follows:

• Guidance to be signposted later on – the DfE has confirmed that it “expects” to publish revised guidance on relationships, sex and health education (RSHE) and gender questioning children this summer.
• Updated list of safeguarding harms – the list of online safeguarding harms had been updated to include misinformation, disinformation (including fake news) and conspiracy theories.
• Statutory attendance guidance – it notes that the Working Together to Improve School Attendance guidance is statutory and every state school is now required to share daily attendance registers with the DfE, which was not specified in KCSIE 2024.
• The role of virtual school heads – now includes the extension of the roles of virtual school heads with a non-statutory responsibility to promote the educational achievement of all children in kinship care.
• Alternative provision guidance clarified – now contains updates to reflect existing guidance on alternative provision. It states “Schools should obtain written information from the alternative provider that appropriate safeguarding checks have been carried out on individuals working at their establishment (i.e., those checks that schools would otherwise perform on their own staff). This includes written confirmation that the alternative provider will inform the commissioning school of any arrangements that may put the child at risk (i.e., staff changes), so that the commissioning school can ensure itself that appropriate safeguarding checks have been carried out on new staff.” It adds that schools should always know where a child is based during school hours, including having records of the address of the AP and any satellite sites that a child may attend. That reviews of the placement should be frequent enough to have reassurance that the child is regularly attending and the placement is safe and meets the child’s needs. If a safeguarding concern arises, the placement should be immediately reviewed and terminated if necessary.

Andrew Hall, a Specialist Safeguarding Consultant and Director of Success In Schools Ltd has produced a video on the changes which you can access using this link.

Education inspection framework engagement programme
Ofsted has announced an engagement programme to help schools familiarise themselves with its new inspection framework. The watchdog will hold a webinar for each school type – maintained nurseries, primary schools, secondary schools, non-association independent schools, university technical colleges, special schools and alternative provision settings from September.

Schools can find out how to sign up to the webinars on the Ofsted website. The webinars will also be recorded and posted on YouTube.

DfE publication of Reading and Writing Frameworks
On Tuesday the DfE published guidance on new Reading and Writing Frameworks which aim to help schools meet the expectations set out in the Early years foundation stage (EYFS) statutory framework and the national curriculum. They align with Ofsted’s education inspection framework.

This week I report on the impending publication of KCSIE 2025 and the uncertain future of regional advisory boards.

KCSIE 2025
The DfE confirmed this week that KCSIE 2025 will be published this month, with only technical changes and will include links to revised guidance on Relationships, Sex, and Health Education and revised guidance on gender questioning children. As usual it will come into force on 1 September.

Future of regional advisory boards
The future of the DfE’s regional advisory boards seems uncertain as their three-year terms come to an end with no re-elections planned. The nine regional advisory boards challenge and advise regional directors (RDs) on decisions around academisation and multi-academy trust growth. There is speculation that the boards will be scrapped due to the emergence of the Regional Improvement for Standards and Excellence (RISE) teams and the pace of academisation has slowed.

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.

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.