HEP Talks

The Education Brief: Wednesday 21 October 2026 - Top stories include: The DfE has confirmed the new pay scales for teachers and leaders. Ofsted inspections of multi-academy trusts are unlikely to start until 2028. A Tes analysis of Ofsted inspections found only 1.7 per cent mentioned mobile phone policies. The Children’s Commissioner has warned that services for children are in a “state of emergen...

The Education Brief: Wednesday 14 October 2026 - Top stories include: Health professionals are warning that schools’ growing use of screens and edtech could be creating a serious child-health problem. New research from PF Global argues that Key Stage 3 still lacks a clear identity. School leaders’ union ASCL has passed a motion of no confidence in Ofsted’s leadership. Councils are warning that SEN...

The Education Brief: Wednesday 7 October 2026 - Top stories include: Ofsted extended its pause on inspections of NPQ and ECT Entitlement providers. The government’s new £174,000 cap on academy trust executive pay comes into force. New research shows severe pupil behaviour may be taking a physical health toll on teachers. Oak National Academy’s AI lesson-planning assistant, Aila, cut primary teache...

The Education Brief: Wednesday 30 September 2026 - Top stories include: Education secretary Lucy Powell promises further reform of Ofsted. New research shows misogynistic language remains widespread in secondary schools. Teach First is shifting its focus away from inner cities and towards coastal and rural communities. New vocational GCSEs could widen inequality if they become a lower-status route...

The Education Brief: Wednesday 23 September 2026 - Top stories include: The government says this year’s 3.5 per cent teacher pay rise is affordable, but some schools have already built the pension savings into their budgets. Green and Reform voters share similar rates of dissatisfaction with schools in a new poll. The gender pay gap between headteachers in England’s state schools has reached its w...

The Education Brief: Wednesday 16 September 2026 - Top stories include: Education secretary Lucy Powell wants to end the “dog eat dog” culture between schools. England’s school food rules are getting new standards due from September 2027. A new report suggests schools joining academy trusts improve pupil attainment more, but there are caveats. Ofsted’s new inclusion framework may be penalising the...

The Education Brief: Wednesday 9 September 2026 - Top stories include: Internal exclusions in England’s secondary schools have almost tripled in just three years. The government’s SEND reforms are facing some serious warning signs before beginning. England has strengthened its performance in the latest PISA international rankings. School leaders call for stronger government support to deal with AI...

The Education Brief: Wednesday 2 September 2026 - Top stories include: Young people in poor urban schools are more than twice as likely to be NEET after Key Stage 4 as those in affluent suburban areas. A new pilot is attempting to tackle England’s growing SEND tribunal backlog. England’s GCSE English and maths pass rates have fallen for the fifth year running. Students in least deprived areas are...

The Education Brief: Wednesday 15 July 2026 - Top stories include: Pearson’s nine-day SATs delay is now spilling into the summer holidays. The DfE is consulting on plans to shift SEND funding directly into mainstream school budgets. NAHT issued guidance warning schools about accepting delegated healthcare tasks. A new report has recommendations for the Burnham government about schools. Deep Dive:...

The Education Brief: Wednesday 8 July 2026 - Top stories include: Religious education is set to become part of the national curriculum for the first time. Pearson is under mounting pressure after Key Stage 2 SATs results were delayed. Two years into Labour’s term, and TES’ analysis on school data points tells a mixed story. New EEF guidance on inclusive teaching warns that some adaptations can low...

The Education Brief: Wednesday 1 July 2026 - Top stories include: What would an Andy Burnham government look like for education? Teach First’s flagship government-funded training route is being renamed Teach Lead Change . NFER analysis finds disadvantaged primary schools are seeing pupil numbers fall faster. ASCL recorded a nearly £480,000 deficit last year, citing rising demand for member support...

The Education Brief: Wednesday 24 June 2026 - Top stories include: 100 heads inspected under Ofsted’s new framework were largely negative about the experience. SATs marking ran beyond an extended deadline after technical problems with Pearson’s system. The Education Select Committee questioned ministers on several pressing school issues. Ofsted chief inspector Martyn Oliver told MPs he is “very co...

The Education Brief: Wednesday 17 June 2026 - Top stories include: School leaders cautiously welcome government plans to block under-16s from social media. The DfE is set to publish five new enrichment benchmarks for schools, covering arts, sport, nature, civic life and life skills, alongside a £132.5 million “Every Child Can” scheme. The government is consulting on proposed content for a new GCSE...

The Education Brief: Wednesday 10 June 2026 - Top stories include: The government is launching a review of children’s screen time for new guidance in the autumn. DfE guidance says Experts at Hand support for SEND pupils in mainstream settings should usually be time-limited. Teacher numbers in England have fallen by nearly 2,000 year on year. Half of state primary pupils are now taught in academies...

The Education Brief: Wednesday 3 June 2026 - Top stories include: The Milburn review warns that education is failing too many young people falling into NEET. School insurance claims are projected to rise above £180 million within three years. Updated DfE guidance says schools can use AI to help draft official documents. Girls are more than twice as likely as boys to take a modern foreign language...

The Education Brief: Wednesday 20 May 2026 - Top stories include: Every mainstream state school has now become an academy in one English council area. The King confirmed that SEND reform will be taken forward through a new Education for All Bill. Schools warn that proposed changes to KCSIE 2026 are too much, too quickly. Bridget Phillipson has launched a new international SEND alliance. Most schoo...

The Education Brief: Wednesday 13 May 2026 - Top stories include: The revised Early Career Framework is landing better with new teachers. The DfE has paused physics and languages bursaries for overseas teacher trainees. The NEU is preparing to formally ballot teachers and support staff for strike action. Sixth form college teachers win a contractual right to planning, preparation and assessment ti...

The Education Brief: Wednesday 6 May 2026 - Top stories include: School leaders are warning that the timeline for new enrichment benchmarks is unrealistic. NAHT leaders have backed an indicative ballot on industrial action over pay. Suspensions are continuing to rise in primary schools but have begun to fall in secondaries. A DfE review suggests its flexible-working scheme struggled to reach the s...

The Education Brief: Wednesday 29 April 2026 - Top stories include: The DfE has cut its projected need for new teacher trainees by 23 per cent for 2026-27. Schools have begun scaling back language provision due to plans to scrap the EBacc. A Sutton Trust survey shows over 40 per cent of leaders are reducing SEND support. Most teachers do not feel equipped to support pupils with emotionally based s...

The Education Brief: Wednesday 22 April 2026 - Top stories include: NEU members have signalled strong support for industrial action over pay and school funding. Academy trust chief executive pay is continuing to climb, but with a gender gap at the top. The DfE is set to make its school mobile phone guidance statutory. Ofqual’s chief regulator warned that scrapping essays because of AI cheating is...

The Education Brief: Wednesday 15 April 2026 - Top stories include: Councils will now lead bids for the next phase of the school-based nursery capital programme. A NASBTT survey suggests teacher training providers are under real strain. The number of exam grades challenged at appeal fell by 18.3 per cent in 2024-25. Research suggests high-achieving disadvantaged pupils begin to fall behind in seco...

The Education Brief: Wednesday 25 March 2026 - Top stories include: Schools serving disadvantaged communities are being marked down more often by Ofsted. More than 330 primary schools have now been funded to open new nurseries as part of the school-based nursery programme, which from May will be led by local authorities. Suspensions and exclusions have fallen overall this year, but rates are risin...

The Education Brief: Wednesday 18 March 2026 - Top stories include: The English hubs programme will be expanded into secondary schools from September. United Learning could become England’s first 100-school multi-academy trust. New research suggests the former “gifted and talented” programme may have widened inequality. Ofsted is piloting recruiting groups of school leaders as part-time inspectors...

The Education Brief: Wednesday 11 March 2026 - Top stories include: An evaluation finds the English Hubs Programme had a “substantial” impact on pupils’ outcomes. The government has delayed the defunding of BTECs to autumn 2027. Tes’ latest Teacher Wellbeing Report highlights SEND support and workload as biggest pressures. SEND complaints upheld by the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman ro...

The Education Brief: Wednesday 4 March 2026 - Top stories include: Tes analysis suggests that, at current rates, full academisation could take decades. Legal experts warn parental complaint reforms “stop short” of giving schools the powers they need to enforce them. GCSE maths and science students in England will keep getting equation and formula sheets in exams until at least 2030. The government...