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.

This week I highlight publication of a new report on the gender gap in maths and science performance at Y9, as well as updates to the DfE’s guidance on sustainability leadership and climate action plans and on meeting digital and technology standards.

Gender gap in maths and science performance
According to the latest report on England’s performance in the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study, boys’ performance in maths and science has risen significantly above that of girls. The report also found that pupils eligible for free school meals had a lower average score than those not eligible.

In maths at Year 9, boys’ average score rose from 516 to 538, while the score for girls dropped from 514 to 512. This is the first time since records began in 2003 that a statistically significant gap has been seen at Year 9 and was the largest for any of the countries participating in 2023. The findings have raised concerns over why a large gender gap has opened up, especially given the existing initiatives aimed at addressing this issue in maths and science.

Updated guidance on sustainability leadership and climate action plans
The DfE has added a short section on ‘Developing and storing your climate action plans’ to its guidance on Sustainability leadership and climate action plans in education, reminding schools that holistic climate action plans should cover the issues of decarbonisation, adaptation and resilience, improving the environment and biodiversity, and climate education and green careers.

Updated meeting digital and technology standards in schools guidance
The DfE recently updated its guidance to support schools to use the right digital infrastructure and technology and can meet the latest wireless network standards and associated technical requirements.

This week I highlight a free webinar from Governors for Schools on effective governor panel hearings, the announcement of a new DfE toothbrushing programme for early years settings and primary schools and the publication of an Ofsted report evaluating the impact of the Education Inspection Framework.

Free webinar on Effective Governor Panel Hearings
In conjunction with Better Governor, Governors for Schools are running a free webinar on Thursday 27 March from 8-9am on effective governor panel hearings. The session will explore the role of governors in complaints, exclusions, staff hearings and more, with emphasis on common elements and the role of the clerk. To book a place use this link for the Governors for Schools website.

New DfE toothbrushing programme
The DfE has announced that supervised toothbrushing will be rolled out in early years settings and primary schools in the most deprived areas of England. The programme aims to equip children aged between three and five years old with positive brushing habits and prevent tooth decay.

From April, £11 million is being given to local authorities to deliver the scheme who will work to identify early years settings in target areas and encourage them to enrol. The Government has also agreed a partnership with Colgate-Palmolive, who have committed to donate over 23 million toothbrushes and toothpastes over the next five years while also providing educational materials and a public facing children’s oral health campaign.

Ofsted’s new report on curriculum quality
Ofsted has published a new report evaluating the impact of the ‘Education inspection framework’ (EIF) on curriculum quality. The inspectorate’s research aims to assess whether curriculum quality has changed since the EIF was introduced, understand what role school leaders think the EIF played in these changes, and explore any unintended consequences of the EIF. However, the report is facing criticism for basing the findings on just 20 school visits.

This week I report on the redesign of the Free School Meals check system to boost take up and the publication of a NFER Report that indicates the development of essential employment skills, starting from the early years, is key to meeting future workforce needs.

Redesign of Free School Meals check system to boost take-up
The Government is redesigning its system for checking free school meals eligibility to allow parents and schools to use it independently of local councils.

Early Education Minister, Stephen Morgan, made the announcement at a committee hearing on Tuesday where the Government’s children’s wellbeing and schools bill was debated. Backbench MPs had tried to amend the bill to introduce automatic enrolment across the country, amid fears the opt-in system currently used is excluding around 250,000 eligible children.

At present, the Government’s “apply for free school meals” service simply points users to their local council’s website. Councils then have access to a digital portal to check their eligibility based on the benefits their families claim. The DfE hasn’t provided any details yet on what this will entail.

Curriculum review urged to look at employment skills
The Government’s review of curriculum and assessment should explore how more emphasis could be placed on schools developing skills essential for employment, according to a new report published by the National Foundation for Educational Research (NFER) yesterday.

The report says these skills should be developed alongside knowledge acquisition, as part of the teaching of core curriculum subjects. That providing sustained skills development from early childhood is key to meeting future workforce needs, which will change due to technological advances and demographic and environmental differences.

This week I highlight further DfE Prevent training sessions, confirmation of continued funding for the holiday activities and food programme and the announcement of the new Chief Regulator of Ofqual.

Prevent in education: training for governors and trustees in schools
A training package has been designed by DfE for school governors to understand their responsibilities and the importance of the Prevent duty. The next round of sessions are as follows:

Monday 10 March 2025: 5pm to 6:15pm Register here
Monday 12 May 2025: 5pm to 6:15pm Register here
Thursday 3 July 2025: 5pm to 6:15pm Register here

Holiday activities and food programme to continue in 2025/26
Earlier this week Stephen Morgan, the Minister for Early Education confirmed that the holiday activities and food programme will continue from April, but funding beyond the next financial year is subject to the spending review.

New Chief Regulator of Ofqual confirmed
Sir Ian Bauckham has been confirmed as the permanent chief regulator of exams watchdog Ofqual, the Education Secretary has announced. Parliament’s Education Select Committee agreed in December that Bauckham, who has served as Interim Chief Regulator at Ofqual since last January and was the Government’s preferred candidate to lead it permanently, should be given the top job.

This week I report on the launch of three new consultations on school inspection and accountability and the use of reasonable force, the publication of updated Alternative Provision guidance and the announcement of £2 million funding to further improve standards in reading and writing.

Three new consultations launched
School inspection and accountability consultations – both Ofsted and the DfE launched consultations on Tuesday with the aim of improving school inspections and accountability. Ofsted’s consultation on improving school inspections and implementing a new report card system is open until 28 April 2025. The DfE has launched a consultation on improving school accountability systems, which is running in parallel to Ofsted’s inspection consultation and will also close on 28 April 2025.

Use of reasonable force consultation – on Wednesday the DfE launched a consultation on proposed changes to guidance on the use of reasonable force and other restrictive interventions. The revised guidance will aim to help schools minimise the need to use reasonable force and use reasonable force safely and appropriately where it is necessary. The consultation closes on 29 April 2025.

Arranging Alternative Provision guidance published
The DfE had published updated guidance on statutory duties and powers concerning the use of alternative provision. It describes both statutory requirements and best practice and its definition of alternative provision is ‘education arranged by local authorities for children of compulsory school age who, because of exclusion, illness or other reasons, would not otherwise receive suitable education; alternative provision can also be used by schools for children on a suspension (fixed period exclusion); and for children being directed by schools to offsite provision to receive education intended to improve their behaviour’.

Elective home education and special educational provision otherwise than at school arranged under section 61 of the Children and Families Act 2014 (EOTAS) are not a form of alternative provision.

Government investment in reading and writing announced
Earlier this week, the Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson announced in a speech to the Centre of Social Justice that the Government would be investing £2 million to improve standards in reading and writing.

In Primary schools teachers will receive additional training to help children progress from the early stages of phonics in Reception and Y1 through to reading fluently by the time they leave primary school. This will be delivered through the English Hubs programme, a school-to-school improvement programme to drive up standards.

In secondary schools, teachers will be offered new training and resources this year to help them support readers at all levels, and next year the DfE will commission further training that will be focused specifically on struggling readers in secondary school who are at risk of falling behind.

This week I highlight new DfE guidance for governors on their SEND responsibilities and publication of an amendment to the wording of the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill to require academies to observe minimum pay rates and have regard to other national conditions.

New guidance for governors on their SEND responsibilities
Yesterday the DfE published new guidance to help governing bodies understand their role in supporting pupils with SEND. This guidance aims to empower governors and trustees to hold their schools accountable and ensure effective SEND provision.

DfE amends the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill
The DfE has published an amendment of the wording to the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill, which will require academies to observe minimum pay rates and have regard to other national conditions.