11 July, 2025

3 top education stories

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

6 min read

1. KCSIE 2025 “information version”

The DfE released the Keeping Children Safe in Education 2025 “information version” on 7 July 2025. Read more here.

Keeping Children Safe in Education (KCSIE) guides trust leaders, headteachers, teachers, and other education professionals by providing them with the legal duties schools must follow to safeguard and promote the welfare of children and young people under the age of 18 in an educational setting.

The latest update to this guidance comes into force on 1 September 2025, giving safeguarding leads eight weeks in the summer to brief colleagues and align policies.

According to the DfE, the final version will be published when it comes into force on 1 September.

As previously flagged, this year’s updates are largely technical. They include refreshed links and references, along with new mentions of safeguarding risks such as misinformation, disinformation, and conspiracy theories.

Additional updates signpost new DfE resources on generative AI and the ‘Plan Technology for Your School’ service. Notes have also been added to indicate that updated guidance on Relationships, Sex and Health Education (RSHE) and support for gender-questioning children is expected later this summer, with links to be added in the September version.

Explore the updates in more detail here: KCSIE 2025: What’s changed and what to do next

2. Key stage 2 SATs 2025

National key stage 2 SATs results show another slight increase in the proportion of pupils meeting the “expected” standard, writes Schools Week.

The data shows 62% met the benchmark in reading, writing and maths, up from 61% in 2024.

Results have been going back up after dropping to 59% in post-pandemic 2022. However, the headline figure has still not reached its 2019 level of 65%.

The data for individual subjects shows that…

In reading, 75% of pupils met the expected standard, up from 74% in 2024.
In maths, 74% of pupils met the expected standard, up from 73% in 2024.

In writing, 72% of pupils met the expected standard, an increase of 0.5% from 72% (rounded) in 2024.
In grammar, punctuation and spelling, 73% of pupils met the expected standard, up from 72% in 2024.
In science, 82% of pupils met the expected standard, up from 81% in 2024.

Source: Key stage 2 SATs 2025: 62% meet expected standard as results inch up (schoolsweek.co.uk)

3. Suspensions and exclusions reach ‘shocking’ record highs in 2023/24

State school suspensions near 1 million and set a new peak as exclusions cross the 10,000 threshold, writes Tes.

The number of suspensions and exclusions reached record highs in England’s state schools in 2023/24, according to new data from DfE.

The number of suspensions neared 1 million for the first time, hitting 954,952 last academic year, the highest number on record and a 21% increase from the previous year (786,961). This is equivalent to a suspension rate of 11.3%.

The number of permanent exclusions crossed the 10,000 threshold for the first time (10,885), up 16.1% on the year prior (9,376). The permanent exclusion rate was 0.13%, also an all-time high, and up from 0.11% in 2022/23.

Boys (7,695) were again more likely to be permanently excluded than girls (3,190), with the gap widening. Additionally, those receiving free school meals (FSM) are still suspended, as well as permanently excluded, at an increased rate compared with those who are not eligible for FSM.

Primary school suspensions and exclusions rose to 106,265, a new record and up 24.3% on 2022/23. This was faster than the rate of increase in secondary (20.9%) and special schools (20.7%).

Sources: Suspensions and exclusions reach ‘shocking’ record highs in 2023/24 (Tes.com)