Policy
Get the latest updates on education policies, government initiatives, and school funding decisions. We cover key announcements from the Department for Education (DfE), Ofsted, and policymakers, offering insights into how policy changes affect primary, secondary, and sixth form education.
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Nov- 2025 -26 November
BUDGET: Income tax bands frozen, minimum wage to increase, NI-exempt pension threshold scrapped
Income tax and NI thresholds will be frozen while the minimum wage will rise by 50p from April 2026, the chancellor Rachel Reeves said in her Autumn Budget statement today. Reeves announced a series of tax changes in other areas, including salary-sacrificed NI contributions on pensions, as part of measures to…
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21 November
Inquiry highlights failures in government’s handling of school closures
The UK government failed to carry out detailed assessments of the consequences of closing schools during the first national lockdown, according to the latest volume of the UK Covid-19 Inquiry. The report notes that no full equality impact assessments were conducted before schools were shut in March 2020 – either…
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17 November
EPI CEO and co-founder to step down after a decade
The Education Policy Institute’s (EPI) chief executive, Natalie Perera, will step down from her role at the end of January 2026 following a decade at the helm of the organisation. Perera co-founded EPI in 2015 and over the past 10 years, has led its “significant” growth and established it as a…
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11 November
Teachers warn resource gap could hinder curriculum reform
Primary teachers broadly support the government’s Curriculum and Assessment Review priorities but warn that insufficient resources and training could undermine successful implementation, new research from Kapow Primary suggests. A survey of 660 educators by Kapow Primary found that 77% of teachers back the review’s focus on digital literacy, while 46%…
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5 November
DfE appoints Dame Annie Hudson to lead Social Work England review
The Department for Education (DfE) has announced that Dame Annie Hudson will lead its newly-launched independent review of Social Work England, which aims to assess how effectively the regulator is maintaining standards and public confidence. As the former chair of the Child Safeguarding Practice Review Panel and a former director…
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Oct- 2025 -30 October
UK order laid to support new Scottish education reforms
The secretary of state for Scotland, Douglas Alexander, has laid an order before parliament to update UK legislation following the creation of new education bodies under the Education (Scotland) Act 2025. The Education (Scotland) Act 2025 (Consequential Provisions and Modifications) Order 2025 makes amendments under section 104 of the Scotland…
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22 October
Johnson admits children ‘paid a huge price’ for lockdown decisions
Boris Johnson has said children “paid a huge price” for lockdown decisions during the Covid-19 pandemic, as he admitted to mistakes in government handling of school closures and the wider impact on pupils. Giving evidence to the public inquiry, the former prime minister said he “takes full responsibility” for decisions…
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17 October
EPI calls for national auto-enrolment system for free school meals
The government should implement a centralised system of auto-enrolment for free school meals (FSM) to ensure all eligible pupils receive the support they are entitled to, according to new research by the Education Policy Institute (EPI). The study found that large numbers of children who qualify for FSM are not…
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17 October
Ofsted chief calls for ‘collaborative reform’ to drive school standards
Ofsted chief inspector Sir Martyn Oliver has urged academy trusts to embrace the watchdog’s reforms and use their collective agency to drive improvement across the education system. Speaking at the Confederation of School Trusts (CST) annual conference in Birmingham, Oliver said the new inspection framework marked one of the most…
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16 October
Phillipson pledges ‘national renewal’ in upcoming white paper
Education secretary Bridget Phillipson has said the forthcoming schools white paper will set out a “path for national renewal”, promising to extend opportunity to every child and strengthen schools as “anchors in our communities”. Speaking at a conference of trust leaders on 16 October, Phillipson said the white paper would…
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