14 November, 2025

Top education news stories

Explore this week’s news roundup to uncover the key challenges and priorities for schools across the country.

6 min read

1. DfE announces 36 new attendance and behaviour hubs

The latest cohort brings the total number of hub lead schools to 57, with more expected to be announced, writes Tes.

The latest group of attendance and behaviour hub lead schools has been announced by the Department for Education.

There are 24 secondary schools and 12 primaries that have been added to the hub programme, which the DfE said will “offer direct one-to-one support reaching tens of thousands of pupils across hundreds of schools” through sharing best practice at events and open days.

The latest cohort brings the total number of lead schools to 57, after the first 21 were announced in August.

More are expected to be announced over the coming year, as the DfE previously said that the hubs will be “built around 90 schools with a track record of improving attendance and behaviour standards”.

The DfE has also announced that every school in the country will be given an individual minimum target to improve its attendance levels, powered by artificial intelligence.

Source: DfE announces 36 new attendance and behaviour hubs (Tes.com)

2. AI to set minimum attendance targets for all schools

Schools will be issued with ‘attendance baseline improvement expectations’ from this month, writes Schools Week.

The Department for Education (DfE) has announced that schools will be set the ‘attendance baseline improvement expectations’ from this month. The government will use AI to set minimum attendance targets for schools to meet this year in the latest bid to crack down on absence.

The targets will not be published, nor shared with Ofsted.

But schools that fail to meet the new attendance expectations will be referred for support through regional improvement for standards and excellence (RISE) teams.

The target will be set through an AI-generated report considering things like location, pupil needs and deprivation levels.

The plan is for each school to be given “minimum attendance expectations” for 2024/25 “from this month”. This year’s targets will be on a “test and learn basis”. Government said “progress will be interpreted thoughtfully, given attendance levels can sometimes be hit by local ‘shocks’.”

Each school will get an “attendance baseline improvement expectation” report, which will be based on schools’ circumstances – including location, pupil needs and deprivation.

This will be “AI powered”, and “aim to help lift the floor on school performance, as part of a ladder of progress helping schools and wider services back to Pre-Covid levels of attendance –without capping ambition”.

Leaders will also be given examples in their report of similar schools in the region with better attendance, “offering further insight to drive improvement”.

Some sector leaders have criticised this plan, with Paul Whiteman, general secretary of NAHT, saying: “The reality is that schools are already working tirelessly to improve attendance, with many going way above and beyond what should be expected of schools every single day. The government issuing them with yet more targets will not help them with that work and is the wrong way to go.”

Source: AI to set minimum attendance targets for all schools (schoolsweek.co.uk)

Improving Pupil Attendance: Actions for Leaders

DfE figures show that while overall and persistent absence dipped in autumn and spring 2024/25, severe absence rose to 2.26%, signalling a growing challenge among a smaller vulnerable group.

Read our recent blog for more insights on what’s behind this rise in severe absence and what leaders can do to help.

Read blog →

3. Stark inequalities in distribution of SEND pupils across mainstream schools

New research highlights the uneven distribution of pupils with SEND across mainstream schools in England, which is potentially leaving some schools under greater strain, writes NFER.

The NFER report finds that more than half (56%) of pupils with Education, Health and Care Plans are now educated in mainstream schools, up from 49% in 2015/16, with the fastest growth in primary settings.

In 2024/25, primary schools with the highest rate of pupils with EHCPs, had, on average, six times as many as those with the lowest rate.

A similar pattern is seen among secondary schools, where those with the highest rate of pupils with EHCPs had around five times as many as those with the fewest.

Primary and secondary schools with the highest rate of pupils with any form of SEND (including both pupils with EHCPs and SEN Support) have, on average, more than twice the proportion of pupils with SEND as those with the fewest.

While ‘high EHCP schools’ and ‘high-any-SEND schools’ are broadly similar to other schools, there are some notable differences in the pupils they serve and their outcomes.

Both groups are more likely to draw from more disadvantaged communities and have lower average test scores than other schools. This is particularly the case for ‘high-any-SEND schools’.

Interviews with Local Authorities also revealed that parental choice influences which schools pupils with SEND attend. Some families are drawn to schools known for inclusive practices, while others avoid those perceived as less supportive.

Additionally, accountability pressures also play a part. In some areas, performance concerns were reported to discourage schools from admitting pupils with SEND.

Alice Reeves, Research Grants and Programmes Manager at the Nuffield Foundation, said: “This report makes clear that the huge increase in the number of children with SEND over recent years has impacted some schools much more than others. The uneven spread of pupils with SEND has multiple drivers, including inconsistent admissions and identification practices, which the second phase of the research will further illuminate.

The Government must recognise and address these issues to achieve greater inclusion in mainstream schools.”

Sources: Stark inequalities in distribution of SEND pupils across England’s mainstream schools revealed in new NFER report (NFER)