Skip to content
13 April 2026

Tag: DfE

Senior mental health lead training: 5 things you need to know

Up to two-thirds of schools will have to wait until at least next spring to hear if they will receive grant funding for senior staff mental health training, the government has confirmed. The Department for Education published brief new guidance on Wednesday setting out further details of its pledge to offer every school training for […]

Pupils missed 33 million days of in-person education due to Covid last autumn

Pupils missed 33 million days of in-person education because of Covid during the autumn term last year, as schools grappled with the second wave of the pandemic after re-opening. Official figures show the majority – 60 per cent – of pupils saw their schooling affected by the need to self-isolate or shield, often in classes […]

DfE raids existing budgets for a third of £4.3bn Covid spending

Almost a third of the Department for Education’s extra Covid spending will be taken from existing budgets or underspends in other areas, according to a new report. Education unions said it reinforced their fears over the Treasury’s commitment to education recovery, and accused the government of “creative accounting”. The research, published by the Institute for […]

Admissions shake-up in September to end struggle for in-year school places

The Department for Education has confirmed a shake-up of in-year admissions to stop schools turning away “challenging” pupils will come into force in September. It also set out multiple changes to the reforms first proposed last June after analysing consultation feedback from councils, academy trusts and parents. Previous investigations by Schools Week have revealed how vulnerable […]

DfE still short of 1.3 million laptop target despite Gibb promise

The Department for Education had still not fulfilled its pledge to deliver 1.3 million free laptops to disadvantaged pupils a month after schools fully re-opened, figures show. The latest official data on the provision of devices shows the DfE fell just short of schools minister Nick Gibb’s pledge that all laptops and tablets would be […]

Schools face new checks to ensure pupil premium spending ‘backed by evidence’

Schools will have to show their pupil premium spending is “backed by evidence” under new requirements announced by the Department for Education. The DfE confirmed schools face new conditions attached to the £2.5bn expected in funding to support disadvantaged pupils for the next academic year. Grants now depend on pupil premium spending strategies being published […]

No free laptops for schools with fewer than 15 self-isolating pupils

A school that is limiting attendance by operating a rota model or that has fewer than 15 children self-isolating with covid-19 symptoms cannot access free laptops or devices from the government. The Department for Education has published updated guidance today which explains how a school can access technology to support disadvantaged children who are “otherwise […]

Coronavirus: Heads struggle to keep up with DfE guidance updates

School leaders have had to read almost 100 updates to government guidance during the coronavirus crisis – a quarter of them published during antisocial hours. Analysis by Schools Week found the government has published 29 guidance documents or announcements for schools about the pandemic since mid-February, and issued 94 coronavirus-related updates for the sector. The […]