The Department for Education (DfE) has announced an 8-week consultation proposing mandatory digital standards for all schools and colleges by 2030. The consultation covers six core technical requirements including broadband connectivity, cyber security and digital governance. The consultation will run from 21 March to 25 May 2025. Alongside this, the DfE announced £45m in funding, with £25m allocated for wireless network upgrades and £20m for fibre infrastructure improvements across 833 schools.

The Department for Education (DfE) has announced measures expected to save families up to £1,000 a year, including expanding free school meals to around half a million more children, limiting the number of branded school uniform items and rolling out free breakfast clubs, following the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Act becoming law. From September 2026, schools will be required to cap branded uniform items at three (excluding ties) and more than 2,000 free breakfast clubs are expected to be operating to support children before the school day.

The Department for Education (DfE) has published new guidance which limits mobile phone use across schools in England. This guidance supports head teachers in prohibiting the use of mobile phones throughout the school day, including at break times. The initiative comes after ParentKind’s National Parent Survey found that 44% of parents are concerned about the amount of time their children spend on electronic devices and more than 75% of parents support a ban on use of phones in schools.

The Department for Education (DfE) has announced that it has temporarily disengaged with the National Union of Students (NUS) following allegations of antisemitism. The DfE have provided that the NUS will be removed from all DfE groups and replaced with alternative student representation and all government funding to the NUS has ceased. According to the DfE, the allegations of antisemitism have been well documented and span several years, which has prompted feelings of insecurity amongst Jewish students across the country. The DfE has stated that the decision to disengage from the NUS will be kept under review until the organization demonstrates it has suitably addressed the issues.

The Department for Education (DfE) has announced the implementation of sections 25 and 32 of the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Act 2026 (CWSA 2026) from September 2026. CWSA 2026, s 25 expands eligibility for free school meals to all children in households receiving Universal Credit, while CWSA 2026, s 32 requires schools to limit compulsory branded school uniform and physical education kit to three items, or four at secondary and middle schools if one is a tie. The expansion means that more than 3 million children will benefit from free school meals. Alongside these statutory changes, the government is opening 1,400 additional free breakfast clubs and providing 9,000 childcare places through approximately 450 new or expanded school-based nurseries. It estimates that the measures could save families benefiting from free school meals, breakfast clubs and cheaper uniforms up to £1,200 a year. The government also intends to publish revised school food standards by the end of September 2026.

The Department for Education (DfE) has announced that an improvement notice has been issued to the London Borough of Havering following an Ofsted inspection in December 2023, where the overall effectiveness of children’s social care services was rated inadequate. This notice requires the London Borough of Havering to take steps to improve its children’s social care services.

The Department for Education (DfE) has announced plans for all schools in England to receive individual minimum attendance improvement targets as part of efforts to restore pre-pandemic attendance levels. The initiative builds on progress made in 2024, which saw 5.3 million more days in school and 140,000 fewer persistently absent pupils under the government’s Plan for Change. The DfE notes that, from November 2025, schools are expected to be issued with AI-powered minimum attendance targets to improve pupil attendance. Each school’s Attendance Baseline Improvement Expectation (ABIE) is intended to reflect its specific circumstances, including location, pupil needs and levels of deprivation, while 36 new Attendance and Behaviour Hubs are planned to provide one-to-one support to pupils. The DfE also intends to provide best-practice toolkits to help schools manage key transitions and expand enrichment activities, breakfast clubs and mental health support to reduce barriers to attendance.

The Department for Education (DfE) has announced the first 130 universities and colleges approved to offer modular courses under the new Lifelong Learning Entitlement system, with applications opening in September 2026 for courses commencing January 2027. The system enables access to student finance for shorter, flexible courses known as ‘modules’ for the first time, alongside traditional degrees. Students will access funding equivalent to four years of post-18 study, currently worth up to £39,160, which can be used flexibly across modules, shorter courses or full degrees throughout their working lives. The modular courses will focus on subjects addressing skills shortages, including economics and computing, engineering and architecture and health and social care.

The Department for Education (DfE) has published a policy paper outlining the government’s intention to include guidance for supporting children who are questioning their gender within the updated ‘Keeping Children Safe in Education’ (KCSIE) framework.  Following feedback from an earlier consultation, the guidance requires schools to adopt a cautious approach when children request social transition. Key provisions include the protection of single-sex spaces, the prohibition of mixed-sex toilet facilities for children over eight years old, the accurate recording of a child's birth sex in school records, and the requirement to consider clinical advice and parental views unless there are genuine safeguarding concerns. The consultation on the 2026 KCSIE revisions runs until 22 April 2026.

The Department for Education (DfE) has announced the launch of the government’s new Curriculum and Assessment Review, as mentioned in the King’s Speech 2024, aiming to increase and drive school standards. The review will be chaired by education policy expert, Professor Becky Francis. It will address key challenges to attainment for children and young people as well as barriers for those with special educational needs or disabilities.

The Department for Education (DfE) has unveiled a comprehensive reform package aimed at transforming the children's social care system in England. Key measures include granting the Office for Standards in Education, Children’s Services and Skills (Ofsted) new powers to issue civil fines and investigate multiple homes run by the same company, introducing financial transparency requirements for key placement providers and implementing a potential profit cap for care providers. The reforms also focus on early intervention, mandating multi-agency child safeguarding teams in councils and giving families legal rights in care decisions. Additional provisions include a consistent child identifier system, the universal offering of the Staying Close programme for care leavers and new regulations on home education for children under child protection measures. These reforms seek to address long-standing issues of profiteering, substandard care and systemic inefficiencies in the sector.

The Department for Education (DfE) has set out a new International Education Strategy to promote the UK’s education and skills offer globally, with the aim of increasing the value of education exports to £40bn a year by 2030. The strategy focuses on reducing regulatory barriers, supporting providers to expand into new markets, and shifting attention from domestic international student numbers towards transnational education, partnerships and digital learning overseas. It also seeks to strengthen the UK’s global influence, diversify university business models, and expand opportunities for UK students to study, work and volunteer abroad, in line with the Government’s wider plan for national renewal.