The DfE have issued updated Statutory guidance on relationships education, relationships and sex education (RSE) and health education - you can download it here.
Category: Department for Education
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.
Ofsted announces delay to consultation outcome
Ofsted had aimed to publish a response to its recent consulation during the summer term, but has now has announced that its response to the consultation on a new inspection model will be delayed until September 2025 due to the high number of responses received (over 6,500 responses from parents, education professionals and representative bodies). … Continue reading Ofsted announces delay to consultation outcome
How DfE handles whistleblowing disclosures
The DfE published information on how they define and deal with whistleblowing on 10 June. Here is the link to their policy statement.
Government AI guidance
The DfE released support materials to help schools and colleges use AI (artificial intelligence) safely and effectively on 10 June. There are four modules for staff and one for leaders: Understanding AI in education;Interacting with generative AI in education;Safe use of generative AI in education;Use cases of generative AI in education; Using AI in education: … Continue reading Government AI guidance
School and college voice: December 2024
The School and college voice report from DfE, based on a survey between 10 December and 23 December 2024, has been published (29 May). A wide range of issues were surveyed, and you can read the full report on the DfE website, here. Some of the findings are: The top two most helpful actions for … Continue reading School and college voice: December 2024
Teacher 2025 pay award
The DfE announced a 4% pay award on 22 may, but the catch is that schools will have to find 1% of this from their own resources. You can read the statement from the DfE on their website, here. The NGA's response both welcomes the early annoucement and level of award, but criticises the fact … Continue reading Teacher 2025 pay award
Education Secretary gives keynote speech at Education World Forum
Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson gave the keynote speech on the use of EdTech to improve opportunity in education at the Education World Forum on 19th May. Some key points were: Inequality and injustice still exist: "opportunity still lies beyond the grasp of too many people – here in this country and around the world"; One … Continue reading Education Secretary gives keynote speech at Education World Forum
Improved PE and sport for more than 240,000 pupils with SEND
The DfE has launched its Inclusion 2028 programme which will improve access to PE and school sports for pupils with SEND. The aim is to train 10,000 teachers and practitioners in England across three years and 8,000 schools. You can read the full press release here.
Support for children and young people with special educational needs
In response to the recent Public Accounts Committee report on the Government's handling of SEND, the DfE published their intentions on 9 May. In it they respond to the 7 conclusions that the PAC had published: The SEN system is inconsistent, inequitable and not delivering in line with expectations, which inevitably undermines parents’ confidence in … Continue reading Support for children and young people with special educational needs