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30 October, 2026
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Key Education News Stories – What’s New
Keeping up with the news can be a challenge. See our summary of must-read news stories in education from the last two weeks to stay informed and empowered.
Read more1. Budget 2026: everything schools need to know
Mainstream school spending is projected to fall in real terms, while – in a Budget with few mentions of education – the chancellor announces additional funding for PE and books for young children, writes Tes.
Forecasts published alongside the Autumn Budget project that mainstream school spending will fall by 2% a year in real terms between 2028/29 and 2031/32. They rest on Treasury assumptions that hold per-pupil funding flat in real terms, so total spending drops as pupil numbers decline.
These are projections rather than confirmed cuts, as spending beyond 2028/29 is still to be decided. SEND remains the biggest pressure. The OBR expects annual council SEND deficits to rise from £2.8bn in 2025/26 to £5.7bn in 2027/28, with councils under strain until central government takes over funding from 2028/29.
The government has committed to reimbursing 90% of deficits built up to the end of 2025-26, but the OBR says nothing has been promised beyond that, and it flags uncertainty over what February’s SEND reforms will cost.
Costs are also set to rise. The national living wage goes up 3.9% to £13.21 from April 2027, with no extra grants to cover it. The OBR now forecasts inflation of 3.4% in 2027, up from 2%, which could turn next year’s planned 3% teacher pay rise into a real-terms cut.
The announcements were modest: £60m a year for PE and school sport partnerships, up to £15m over three years for books for preschool children, delivered through organisations rather than school budgets, and a £15m fund to tackle misogyny. The chancellor also promised a White Paper and legislation on young people not in education, employment or training next year, following the Milburn review, whose final report is due in November.
Source: Budget 2026: everything schools need to know (Tes.com)
2. Teacher retention programme delayed by a year, DfE reveals
Flexible working programme pledged in government white paper pushed back to autumn 2027, writes Schools Week.
A programme aimed at boosting teacher retention by improving flexible working in schools has been delayed by a year, the Department for Education has announced.
The programme, which was promised by the government in its white paper, was due to launch this autumn but is now expected in autumn 2027.
The white paper said the “new teacher retention programme” would build on the government’s flexible working programme, to “share best practice across the sector and provide peer support, coaching and resources”.
A DfE spokesperson said the delay was to allow “more time to engage with stakeholders”, to help ensure the programme meets the sector’s needs.
Retaining more teachers is a key part of the government’s plan to grow the teacher workforce by 6,500 during this parliament.
Currently, around one in 10 teachers leave the profession within a year of joining it, and our our latest data shows that 41% of teachers consider resignation sometimes, often, or constantly.
Edurio data also shows that overwhelming workload is one of the top reasons for considering resignation, alongside a 2025 DfE survey finding that 49% of those considering leaving the state education sector cited a lack of flexible working opportunities as an important reason.
Source: Teacher retention programme delayed by a year, DfE reveals (schoolsweek.co.uk)
3. STRB asked to advise on academy pay floor and flexible working patterns
The education secretary’s latest remit letter turns to working conditions, with changes planned from September 2027. Read more here.
Lucy Powell has written to School Teachers’ Review Body chair Dr Mike Aldred to set this year’s remit. With teacher pay for 2026/27 and 2027/28 already settled, the focus has moved to working conditions, linked to the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Act.
The STRB has been asked to report by April 2027, so any changes to the School Teachers’ Pay and Conditions Document (STPCD) can be made before 1 September 2027.
The board is being asked to look at three areas. The first is introducing a pay floor for academy teachers. It would apply to pay only, not allowances, TLRs or pensions. The STRB should consider whether each pay range needs its own floor or whether a single floor for all teachers would be simpler, given that some academies run their own ranges.
The second is removing the pay ceiling in maintained schools, while leaving threshold arrangements unchanged. For leaders, the STRB must consider whether the existing option to pay heads up to 25% above their group maximum offers enough flexibility, and whether it should extend to deputy and assistant heads. Schools using the new flexibility would need to set it out in their pay policy, following discussion with governors on long-term costs, value for money and fairness.
The third is a targeted amendment to the 195-day requirement, clarifying that teachers can work their directed hours across up to 195 days (or the pro rata equivalent). This would give leaders more freedom over working patterns, but directed time stays at 1,265 hours, pupil time is unaffected, and the letter is clear it isn’t a wider review of working hours.
Separately, the DfE intends to bring in the “have regard” duty from September 2027, requiring academies to follow the pay and conditions framework unless they have good reason not to. This needs no STRB input, as it will come through separate regulations, but trusts that set their own pay ranges will want to follow the recommendations closely.
Source: School Teachers’ Review Body remit letter: working conditions for 2027 (Gov.uk)
4. Academy trust inspections not likely until 2028, says Ofsted
‘It might be reasonable to assume that we’re heading towards something later in 2028’, writes Schools Week.
New Ofsted inspections of multi-academy trusts are not likely to begin until 2028, the inspectorate has revealed.
The government previously said MAT inspections were not expected to begin before the 2027/28 academic year, and speaking at the Confederation of School Trusts (CST) annual conference in Birmingham, Matthew Purves, national director of Ofsted academy, said the timeframe for the roll-out is “not confirmed”.
But he said “it might be reasonable to assume” the new inspections will begin in 2028.
The schools white paper pledges to create new “trust standards” by “overhauling the school trust quality descriptions”.
Purves said the DfE “have a process to complete with their trust standards and their regulations before Ofsted then fully begin our work on inspection”.
“What the DfE have said, publicly and very sensibly, is that multi-academy trust inspection won’t commence before academic year 2027/28. And so it might be reasonable to assume that we’re heading towards something later in 2028.”
Purves was leading a session at the CST conference on MAT inspections and how they might look, and he made it clear the inspectorate is still exploring ideas.
Tracy Fielding, Ofsted’s deputy director for schools and early education, said the inspectorate is looking to the academies sector for input on how inspections should take shape. “We’ve sat in rooms since January thinking about and talking to the DfE about aspects,” she said. “But what we really need is your collaboration and your input.”
Senior HMI Jeremy Spencer said Ofsted will “engage with the sector more as we go forward”.
Source: Academy trust inspections not likely until 2028, says Ofsted (schoolsweek.co.uk)
5. Trusts ‘drowning’ in ‘weaponised’ subject access requests
Rising volumes, unclear guidance and a fixed one-month deadline are leaving trusts struggling to keep up, writes Tes.
Academy trusts are warning that subject access requests (SARs), which give people the right to a copy of personal data held about them or their child, are draining staff time and budgets, with some reporting rises of several hundred per cent in two years.
One trust reported spending around £100,000 a year on staffing to respond, while another says a single request can need input from up to 10 people, and staff have worked through the summer holidays to meet deadlines.
Parents using generative AI to write the requests is seen as the main driver, as these tools make requests easier to submit and often also more complex, sometimes citing the wrong legislation. Some leaders say requests are increasingly used to apply pressure in disputes.
Furthermore, a full response to the SAR is due within one calendar month, including school holidays, when academy staff are often unavailable to support central teams. Trusts say it’s unclear what counts as a “reasonable and proportionate” search, even though DfE guidance says exhaustive searches aren’t required. Lawyers also say schools often do far more than the law demands, pushing aside proactive data protection work.
Even though the Information Commissioner’s Office says its guidance already covers proportionate searches, extensions for complex requests and refusing those that are manifestly unfounded or excessive, leaders want the DfE and ICO to do more, and one lawyer expects the trend to continue.
SARs often accompany complaints and disputes, so understanding parent sentiment early matters. Our Parent Experience Survey measures collaboration, trust and respect, and school climate, helping trusts spot communication gaps and compare against national benchmarks.
Source: Trusts ‘drowning’ in ‘weaponised’ subject access requests (Tes.com)
Read more:
22 October, 2026
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Stakeholder Surveys in 2026: The Key Measures School and Trust Leaders Should Track
Identify the key survey measures school and trust leaders track for staff, pupil and parent feedback.
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6 October, 2026
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Teacher Retention: Why Teachers in England Resign
New OECD figures show teachers in England resign 70% more often than the international average. Our data from 110,673 school staff shows why they leave, what keeps them, and what school and trust leaders can do about it.
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