DfE
The latest news and analysis on the Department for Education and the secretary of state for education, including new policy, legislation and appointments
Thursday
23rd Oct 2025
Trust leaders back 80-hour ‘enrichment guarantee’
The benchmark is one of several adopted by the government as a ‘starting point’ for its new enrichment framework for schools, leader tells 91¶¶Òõ
Severe student absence increases
The latest DfE figures show that overall pupil absence has improved, but a higher proportion of children are missing more than half of their classes
Wednesday
22nd Oct 2025
SEND: White Paper delayed until 2026, Phillipson reveals
Government had been expected to set out SEND reform plans this autumn – but the education secretary says it is important to ‘take the time to listen and get it right’
Vanessa Ogden named DfE’s new regional director for London
Trust leader Dr Ogden is also a RISE adviser and on the panel of the curriculum and assessment review
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Friday
17th Oct 2025
Curriculum review will support change to ‘inflexible’ GCSE resits
Professor Becky Francis tells the Confederation of School Trusts conference that only 50 out of 3,000 17-year-olds who had achieved a grade 2 in GCSE maths went on to pass in the most recent round of resits
CST questions if MAT inspections should grade trusts
The introduction of inspections for trusts should not discourage them from taking on struggling schools, argues the MAT sector body
Lack of special schools in DfE hubs ‘is an act of self-harm’
Sector leaders voice concerns that the government’s first wave of behaviour and attendance hubs includes only mainstream settings
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Thursday
16th Oct 2025
DfE to encourage AI tutors in schools
But England’s largest education union warns against ‘tutoring on a shoestring’ and says many disadvantaged students need direct contact with teachers
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School leaders added to DfE inclusion group
Expert advisers will now look at how the government’s inclusion drive tallies with curriculum and Ofsted reform