This new guidance from the DfE will help schools and academy trusts understand how to respond to: parents’ and carers’ requests that the school their child attends considers establishing wraparound or holiday childcare childcare providers’ requests to use school facilities for wraparound or holiday provision at times when the school is not using them It … Continue reading Responding to requests for wraparound childcare
Category: Department for Education
Education for 11 to 16 year olds
Following a report from The House of Lords on secondary education, the government has now published a response in which it rejects most to the Lords' recommendations. This report lists each of the House of Lords Education for 11-16 Year Olds Committee's recommendations, and [provides its detailed response in each case. You can download the … Continue reading Education for 11 to 16 year olds
Primary assessments: future dates
The DfE provides guidance that summarises future assessment dates in primary schools, to assist schools with their forward planning. This covers: Academic year 2023 to 2024 Academic year 2024 to 2025 Academic year 2025 to 2026 This is available on the DfE website, here.
Flexible working in schools
The DfE has issued an updated version of its non-statutory guidance for employers and staff who want to make arrangements for flexible working. This guidance is for: employers developing flexible working policies or processing flexible working requests, including headteachers governors chief executive officers local governing bodies trustees school employees requesting flexible working local authorities providing … Continue reading Flexible working in schools
Government confirms plans to permanently remove RAAC from all schools and colleges in England
The DfE announced on 8 February 2024 that measures to permanently remove Reinforced Autoclaved Aerated Concrete (RAAC) from all affected schools and colleges, have been confirmed by the Government. You can read the announcement on their website here, which includes a list to all the schools and colleges affected.
Government responds to Ofsted criticism in RE row
The BBC reported that Ofsted had criticised Wolverhampton's RE - in a report to Wolverhampton SACRE, Oftsed had said that the city's religious education was not sufficient to prepare young people for adult life in such a diverse and multicultural community. The BBC then approached the DfE for a response, and reports that they stated … Continue reading Government responds to Ofsted criticism in RE row
Ofsted’s work with schools – Education Committee Report
The House of Commons Education Committee has published its report on Ofsted. Some of the report's conclusions are: School inspections are not currently carried out in sufficient length or depth to cover the full range of areas of a school’s work. The short notice period appears to be causing operational difficulties for many schools. There … Continue reading Ofsted’s work with schools – Education Committee Report
Financial distress in local authorities – impact on SEND
In its report "Financial distress in local authorities" published today (1st February 2024) the Levelling Up, Housing and Communities Committee comments in detail on the current funding issues in local authorities. This includes a chapter on SEND, in which it notes: The amount of funding provided by the Department for Education has not kept pace … Continue reading Financial distress in local authorities – impact on SEND
Digital leadership and governance standards
The DfE has updated its standards on digital leadership and governance. This includes coverage on: Assigning a senior leadership team (SLT) member to be responsible for digital technology Keeping registers relating to hardware and systems up to date Including digital technology within disaster recovery and business continuity plans Having a digital technology strategy that is … Continue reading Digital leadership and governance standards
Generative AI in education: educator and expert views
The The Open Innovation Team from the DfE has today (24 January) published a research findings report on the use of Generative AI (GenAI) in education. The introduction states: Although GenAI is not new, recent advances in the underlying technology and greater accessibility mean that the public can now use it more easily. This poses … Continue reading Generative AI in education: educator and expert views
Minimum service levels in education consultation
The DfE is seeking views on introducing regulations to implement minimum service levels in education services in Great Britain during strike action. This is obviously hugely controversial and follows similar trends for other public services. Here is your chance to respond to the government's proposals! You can find the consultation survey here.
Major national drive to improve school attendance
The DfE is focussing on driving up school attendance, partly in the face of the recent Centre for Social Justice (CSJ) report based on polling by YouGov which found that nearly three in ten parents (28%) surveyed agree that the pandemic has shown it is not essential for children to attend school every day. Less … Continue reading Major national drive to improve school attendance
Gender Questioning Children: Non-statutory guidance
The DfE has issued a consultation document on Gender Questioning Children. The Department for Education, working closely with the Government’s Equality Hub, has produce this guidance to provide clarity for schools and colleges, and reassurance for parents. Social TransitioningSchools are facing requests to take actions such as changing names, uniforms, or using different facilities to … Continue reading Gender Questioning Children: Non-statutory guidance
School Teachers’ Review Body remit letter for 2024
Secretary of State for Education Gillian Keegan’s letter to Dr Mike Aldred, Chair of the School Teachers’ Review Body (STRB) is available here on the DfE website (PDF file). Although she does not provide any details, she strongly hints at a tighter view towards pay increases in the coming year. She also lists seven areas … Continue reading School Teachers’ Review Body remit letter for 2024
Working together to safeguard children
The DfE has issued new statutory guidance and the government's consultation response. You can find links to the two main documents on our Key Documents page, and you can also visit the DfE website for these and other related documents: Working together to safeguard children Government consultation response
dsga.org.uk 