24 October, 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. Schools white paper delayed until next year

Ministers will use additional time to ‘test’ SEND reform policy options with parents and experts, as five key principles revealed, writes Schools Week.

Last week, the government announced that the schools white paper will be delayed until “early in the new year”, as ministers take more time to draw up SEND reforms.

The government has consistently promised the white paper will be published in Autumn. Alongside SEND reforms, ministers had promised the paper would “lay the path for national renewal to take schools into the 2030s”. However, last week, education secretary Bridget Phillipson told the education select committee in a letter that the white paper will now be published “early in the new year”.

“To help us deliver the most effective set of reforms we can, I have taken the decision
to have a further period of co-creation, testing our proposals with the people who
matter most in this reform – the families – alongside teachers and other experts as
you highlight in the select committee’s report,” Phillipson said.

She added: “We will bring forward a full schools white paper early in the new year, underpinned by our belief that high standards and inclusion are two sides of the same coin.”

The committee had called for ministers to urgently set out its SEND reform thinking.

New schools minister Georgia Gould will lead the “ramped-up period of engagement with parents and experts”, a government source said. Phillipson added that the extra time will allow the government to “test policy options being considered and seek views through listening sessions in every region of the country, and fortnightly ministerial meetings with key parent and expert groups.”

Details of these will be publicised.

Source: Schools white paper delayed until next year (schoolsweek.co.uk)

2. NEU and ASCL join legal action against Ofsted

The two unions will provide witness statements to support the NAHT’s bid for a judicial review over Ofsted’s new inspections, writes Tes.

The NEU teaching union and the Association of School and College Leaders will provide formal support to the NAHT school leaders’ union’s legal action against Ofsted.

The NEU and ASCL have agreed to provide witness statements and will support the NAHT’s judicial review going forward, it has been announced today.

The legal action against Ofsted was launched over the potential impact of its new inspections on the mental health of school leaders and staff, and NAHT began its legal challenge earlier this year, warning that “adequate consultation has not been conducted regarding the plan for a new five-point scale to grade schools”. The union also said that Ofsted had not properly considered the wellbeing of school staff in its development of the new inspection framework.

Ofsted is pushing ahead with its plan to judge schools using a five-point grading scale from November, despite “grave concerns” raised by unions representing leaders and teachers.

Paul Whiteman, the union’s general secretary, said that the support of fellow unions sent a “clear message that the sector is united in its view that…the revised framework represents a clear risk to the health and wellbeing of those we represent”.

Daniel Kebede added: “It is not inevitable that school inspection should be so high-stakes, so punitive and so burdensome for schools. It is certainly not the solution to recruit and retain a motivated and successful school workforce.” Meanwhile, ASCL general secretary Pepe Di’Iasio said it was a “sorry state of affairs” and that legal action was the only avenue available for unions to get Ofsted to reconsider its plans.

An Ofsted spokesperson commented on the situation by saying: “It’s really disappointing that these unions have taken this stance – even after months of genuine discussions between us. Our pilot inspections have gone very well, which makes us confident that headteachers will recognise a positive change when inspections begin.”

Source: NEU and ASCL join legal action against Ofsted (Tes.com)

3. School uniform: New rules to meet Labour’s cap revealed

Government guidance tells schools to confirm changes ASAP, consider legal advice and lets parents complain to government, writes Schools Week.

Schools must “confirm as soon as possible” and consider legal advice on any uniform changes needed for a new cap on branded items, with parents able to escalate any disputes to the government.

Labour’s schools bill will see branded items limited to three at primary schools and four at secondary, including a tie, from next September. The rules will apply to the PE kit and clothes for after-school activities. And today, the government has updated current guidance and published draft statutory guidance for schools to consider before the restrictions are rolled out next year.

The draft guidance urges schools to take several steps before parents look to get their hands on uniforms next summer.

These include reviewing uniform policies “to determine if they should remove any compulsory branded items to adhere to the limit, or if any other changes are required”.

Furthermore, leaders should “confirm as soon as possible” which pieces of uniform will be compulsory. Other optional items can be specified, but they should be kept “to a minimum” and with “generic alternatives” permitted. Revised policies should be “easily understood” and published on school websites.

Current guidance has also been tweaked. It now tells schools to “ensure non-uniform days are accessible to all pupils”. They “should consider the impact on families on low incomes and their ability to fully take part” as this “can affect attendance”. Participation “should not be dependent on parents or pupils making a financial contribution” as well.

Additionally, parents will also have the chance to escalate disputes over uniforms to the DfE.

Sources: School uniform: New rules to meet Labour’s cap revealed (schoolsweek.co.uk)