In her speech at the Confederation of School Trusts conference on 15 October Secretary of State for Education Bridget Phillipson announced that statutory assessment in year 8 to assess reading fluency and comprehension is to be introduced. She followed this up with an open letter explaining her reasoning. You can read it on the DfE … Continue reading Bridget Phillipson announces Year 8 reading assessment
Category: Department for Education
Fraud awareness: good practice for education and training providers
The DfE has published guidance on fraud covering: general advice on fraud; suggestions for developing counter fraud policies and approaches; information on cyber related fraud You can download it here.
SEND reform
The Education Select Committee has published its long-awaited report on SEND reform on 18 September 2025. You can download it from the UK Parliament website here. Speech and Language UK gave the report an 8 out of 10 mark and identify two areas where it falls short - you can read about them on their … Continue reading SEND reform
New statutory guidance on RHSE comes into force
From September this year a new set of statutory guidance for RHSE has been published by the DfE. In paragraph 61 it states: "As well as fulfilling their legal obligations, governing boards and proprietors of academy trusts should also make sure that: all pupils make progress in achieving the expected educational outcomes teaching is accessible … Continue reading New statutory guidance on RHSE comes into force
Martyn’s law for education settings
The DfE have this month published a policy paper on how to implement the Terrorism (Protection of Premises) Act 2025, commonly known as Martyn's law. You can download the report here.
National behaviour survey report: 2023 to 2024 academic year
The DfE have recently published the latest report on school behaviour (for the academic year 2023-24). It covers school behaviour culture and policies, pupil experience, frequency and impact of misbehaviour and response. You can download the full report from the DfE website here, and some of the findings include: 98% of school leaders said they … Continue reading National behaviour survey report: 2023 to 2024 academic year
GCSE 9 to 1 grade scale explained
From DfE here's a guide to the GCSE 9 to 1 grade scale and how it compares to the previous A* to G scale. Link to DfE website.
Government speeds up reforms to protect children from harm
Vulnerable children are to be better protected from harm after the government speeds up children’s social care reforms that prioritise prevention through its Plan for Change. An extra £18 million will be spent on rolling out early intervention child protection reforms to councils in England to stop families from reaching crisis by strengthening leadership and … Continue reading Government speeds up reforms to protect children from harm
Statutory guidance on relationships education, relationships and sex education (RSE) and health education
The DfE have issued updated Statutory guidance on relationships education, relationships and sex education (RSE) and health education - you can download it here.
RISE teams: everything you need to know
Earlier this year, the DfE launched Regional Improvement for Standards and Excellence (RISE) teams. These teams, also known as regional school improvement teams, are a key part the DfE's strategy to drive up education standards in classrooms across England. RISE teams are currently working with over 200 schools identified by Ofsted as needing to improve. … Continue reading RISE teams: everything you need to know
National Year of Reading for 2026
The DfE and National Literacy Trust have joined forces to launch a National Year of Reading, starting in January 2026. Bringing together parents, schools, libraries, businesses and literacy experts, the campaign aims to foster a love of reading for pleasure in children and young people, ensuring all children get the best start in life. Find … Continue reading National Year of Reading for 2026
Keeping children safe in education 2025
Keeping children safe in education is the government's key guidance for Safeguarding and is updated each year. This year's update - which comes into force in September - is now available: you can find a link to it on our Key Documents page here, where there is also am link to a useful summary of … Continue reading Keeping children safe in education 2025
Thousands of children with SEND to benefit from assistive tech
With SEND so much in the news lately, it's no suprise that the DfE is providing funding for new resources in education, inlcuding a pilot with up to £1.7m available to help children with SEND achieve and thrive at their local school. ‘Lending libraries’ will be set up in up to 32 local authorities and … Continue reading Thousands of children with SEND to benefit from assistive tech
Local authority school places scorecards
The latest scorecards, which display a snapshot of the progress each local authority across England, are now available on the DfE website, here. The scorecards cover the following areas: Number of places that have been delivered between 2009/10 and 2023/24; Percentage of unfilled places in 2023/24; DfEs estimate of places still needed for 2026/27; DfE's … Continue reading Local authority school places scorecards
Updated DfE guidance on governance
The DfE have relased an update (25 June) to the Maintained schools governance guide 2025 which was initially released in October 2024. The June 25 update is summarised on their website here, and the full manual is available here. Similarly updated guidance for academies is available here, and the full manual here.
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