Schools to fork out £310m to subsidise free meals Research finds schools raiding teaching and learning budgets to plug funding gap for free lunches
Schools to be tasked with ‘ensuring pupils have a post-16 destination’ But details scarce on policy after Sir Keir Starmer announces new higher-level learning target
G’day MAT: Academy reforms go down under After visiting English trusts to hear ‘warts and all’ accounts of academisation, Tasmania is launching its own version to boost stubbornly weak outcomes
Labour conference 2025: Bridget Phillipson’s full speech The education secretary addressed the party’s annual conference in Liverpool
DfE wants breakfast clubs extended to 2,000 schools from April 2026 Schools will be invited to apply for a share of £80m funding, but heads warn rollout must take account of ‘concerns over funding, staffing and space’
Labour-linked education group backs Lucy Powell for deputy leader Backing for rival from Socialist Educational Association is a blow to education secretary Bridget Phillipson
Fewer staff want to resign – but more think pay is unfair Just 7 per cent of school staff report they were rarely or never overworked
Year 8s to sit mandatory reading test under white paper plans Move to ensure poorer pupils are not shut off from wider curriculum, but results will be published at national level only
Private schools face 50% hike in Ofsted inspection fees DfE proposes large hikes in fees paid by non-association independent schools, as just 34% of costs are currently covered