The familiar challenges of workload, curriculum development and disadvantage remain high on schools’ agendas, and the latest State of the Nation in Education analysis from Challenge Partners captures a sector shifting gear to meet them.
The report compares a representative sample of 169 quality assurance review (QAR) reports drawn from more than 400 expert-led peer reviews conducted in primary, secondary, special and alternative provision (AP) settings across England in 2023/24 with similar analyses conducted in 2020/21 and 2021/22.
It paints a portrait of a profession deepening its curriculum and pedagogical approaches, prioritising staff and pupil wellbeing, using data and technology more strategically and increasingly tailoring provision to meet diverse needs. These trends are exemplified through practice described in QAR reports.
Staff and pupil wellbeing
It comes as no surprise that staff and pupil wellbeing remain top priorities, but our analysis signals a move from reactive interventions to embedded systems.
At Lime Academy Abbotsmede in Peterborough, for example, they are tackling workload with centrally-developed planning templates and SEND resources. Trust-wide collaborative planning days reduce duplication and increase consistency.
Meanwhile, at Bengeworth CE Academy in Evesham, emotional literacy programmes and peer-led initiatives support pupil wellbeing. A ‘calm shed’ offers a space for self-regulation, and trained mental health ambassadors help cultivate a culture of empathy.
Inclusion and belonging
Our school evaluation evidence points to a growing commitment to inclusion, with a greater focus on adaptive teaching and curriculum equity.
At Cranford Primary in Hounslow, oracy strategies including explicit vocabulary teaching and structured talk support a highly diverse, high-EAL cohort. This enables faster access to the curriculum and classroom participation.
Invicta Primary in Greenwich is continuing its work to implement a whole-school race equity programme and decolonise its curriculum. Here, staff training and family engagement make inclusion a collective responsibility rather than an isolated initiative.
Edtech maturity
Rather than using edtech as a bolt-on, schools are integrating it to enhance personalisation, assessment and teacher development.
At Shawley Community Primary in Surrey, pupils use simulations in science to explore concepts and conduct virtual experiments. Teachers use digital tools to mark work, provide feedback and monitor progress in real time. Staff receive training to ensure technology supports, rather than distracts from, strong pedagogy.
Leadership and improvement
Leadership of course endures as a key driver of school improvement, but roles are evolving.
At Jack Hunt School in Peterborough, the SENCo sits on the senior leadership team, helping embed SEND priorities into whole-school strategy.
At Kingsford Community School in Newham, middle leaders have autonomy and receive coaching support to drive curriculum consistency and pedagogical development.
These examples highlight shifts towards distributed leadership models, where leaders at all levels are empowered to shape practice. This reflects a broader culture of trust, collaboration and professional agency among Challenge Partners schools.
Closing the gaps
Schools remain strongly focused on addressing disadvantage, with more holistic strategies.
North Mead Primary in Leicester uses a ‘Removing Barriers to Learning’ programme that couples early identification of need with targeted academic and pastoral interventions.
Ditton Park Academy in Slough combines academic support with robust family liaison, offering workshops and resources to help parents support learning at home.
Hubs and spokes
The report also highlights special schools’ growing system leadership roles.
Holmwood School in Middlesbrough provides EHCP support, CPD to local primaries and reintegration programmes that reduce exclusions.
This is indicative of how special schools (which form 22 per cent of the 540 schools in Challenge Partners) are playing a growing outreach role, supporting mainstream settings to meet increasingly numerous and complex special needs.
Challenge Partners’ analysis points to a profession that is resilient and increasingly attuned to diverse needs. Schools are adapting with more coherence, using data, collaboration and inclusive leadership to refine their responses to entrenched challenges.
The overall picture is one of a sector where everyday innovation is embedded in planning meetings, classrooms and corridors, and where the most powerful changes are happening from the ground up.
This is a cause for celebration, because the children in our classrooms cannot wait for policy reform. To paraphrase Chilean poet Gabriela Mistral, “to them we cannot say tomorrow, their name is today”.
Read the full report here
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