The Department for Education (DfE) has announced that 331 schools will receive a share of £45 million in funding to build or expand nurseries, creating more than 6,000 additional childcare places from September 2026. The programme will transition to a locally led model from May 2026, under which councils rather than schools will propose plans for new places in areas of greatest need. In addition, Best Start Family Hubs will be able to host school-based nurseries for the first time, integrating childcare with family support services. The DfE has also confirmed that 10 local areas—Brighton and Hove, Durham, Islington, Leeds, Luton, Nottinghamshire, Rochdale, Rotherham, Torbay and Sandwell—will be able to access additional Early Years Pupil Premium funding of £363 per child through a new ‘test and learn programme’.

The Department for Education (DfE) has announced a £18m funding injection to accelerate implementation of the Children's Wellbeing and Schools Bill reforms. The measures include mandatory Family Group Decision Making services, new information sharing requirements between agencies and testing of NHS numbers as unique identifiers for cross-service safeguarding. Total funding for children's social care reforms now exceeds £2bn, comprising £523m in current funding plus £300m committed over two years. A pilot between Wigan Council and NHS England is testing the new identifier system before wider implementation.

The Department for Education (DfE) has revealed a £2 million investment aimed at improving reading and writing standards across England. The initiative includes enhanced teacher training to support pupils' progression from phonics to fluent reading by the end of primary school, delivered through the English Hubs programme. Secondary schools will receive new training and resources to assist readers at all levels, with £1 million earmarked for schools with the greatest need to acquire reading programmes. A writing framework will be published this summer to support high-quality writing provision nationwide. These measures form part of a broader strategy to raise educational standards, which includes a curriculum review and a commitment to evidence-based primary maths teaching programmes.

The Department for Education (DfE) has announced a £200m national programme to deliver training on special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) for education staff across nurseries, schools and colleges. Proposed changes to the SEND Code of Practice will set an expectation that all education settings ensure their staff receive SEND training. The programme is intended to address inconsistencies in SEND training across the education workforce. New courses will focus on adapting classroom teaching for a range of needs, including visual impairments and speech and language needs, and will introduce staff to assistive technologies, such as speech-to-text dictation.

The Department for Education (DfE) has allocated £3.4m funding for the Early Language Support for Every Child (ELSEC) programme in 2025, aiming to support 20,000 additional children with speech and language needs. The programme, jointly funded with NHS England, forms part of broader Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) reforms. Since 2023, ELSEC has supported over 200 early years settings and trained 3,000 staff. The announcement comes as SEND numbers increased from 1.3m in 2020 to 1.67m in 2024, with Education Health Care Plans rising from 250,000 in 2015 to 575,000 in 2024.

The Department for Education (DfE) has published guidance detailing the £302m further education (FE) college condition allocation for 2025-2026. The funding package, available to all FE colleges and designated institutions in England, aims to support capital projects and estate maintenance. The publication includes detailed spending guidelines, allocation methodology and individual institution funding amounts. The guidance outlines eligible spending categories focused on addressing and preventing estate deterioration.

The Department for Education (DfE) has announced the approval of 300 new school-based nurseries across England with funding of £37m for the first phase of the programme. The initiative seeks to create up to 6,000 new nursery places, with up to 4,000 available from September 2025. This initiative is part of a broader £2bn investment in early years education for 2026, which includes the provision of 30 government-funded childcare hours intended to reduce costs for parents. The DfE reports that the scheme aims to save families up to £7,500 annually through funded hours and  £450 through free breakfast clubs.

The Department for Education (DfE) has announced the opening of 300 new or expanded nurseries on school grounds across England, delivering over 4,000 additional places this September as part of its Plan for Change. Funded by an initial £37m investment, the initiative aims to improve access to childcare, particularly in disadvantaged areas, and ease logistical pressures for working parents by co-locating nursery and primary education. A second phase will invite schools to apply for further funding from a £45m pot to create up to 7,000 more places by September 2026. The expansion complements the rollout of 30 hours of free childcare for children from nine months old, with sector funding set to rise to £9bn next year. Stakeholders have welcomed the move, citing its potential to support parental employment, reduce financial strain, and enhance early years development.

The Department for Education (DfE) has announced a £4bn investment package to reform support for children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) alongside the publication of its schools whitepaper. The package includes a £1.6bn inclusive mainstream fund to improve early identification of needs and enhance targeted provision within schools. A further £1.8bn will fund an experts at hand service, offering access to specialist professionals such as educational psychologists, speech and language therapists and specialist teachers, alongside a range of wider interventions. The overall aim of these reforms is to ensure specialist support is available at every school while eliminating geographical disparities in access to SEND provision.

The Department for Education (DfE) has announced a £53m investment to create 200 new council-run children's home places, alongside new regulatory measures in the Children's Wellbeing and Schools Bill. The legislation will grant the Office for Standards in Education, Children's Services and Skills (Ofsted) powers to fine illegal homes and enable the Secretary of State to cap provider profits. The reforms include new financial transparency requirements for private providers and establishment of a market intervention advisory group to oversee implementation. Current data shows councils spend £440m annually on unregistered placements, with some individual placements exceeding £1m.

The Department for Education (DfE) has announced an investment of over £8 million per year to fund early years safeguarding measures administered through Ofsted. This funding package includes an additional 3,000 unannounced inspections of nursery settings annually, tripling the number conducted in the year ending April 2025. Face-to-face interviews with providers will also be conducted prior to registration. In addition, upgrades to Ofsted's risk assessment computer systems will enable inspectors to access real-time data, and enhanced whistleblowing protections will be provided for staff and parents. An independent expert panel is examining the use of digital devices and CCTV in childcare settings. Ministers have committed to publishing the panel's findings and considering all recommendations. Furthermore, the government is working with Ofsted to review the regulation of nursery chains.

The Department for Education (DfE) has announced a £9.5m expansion of the Partnership for Inclusion of Neurodiversity in Schools (PINS) programme to cover an additional 1,200 primary schools, benefiting approximately 300,000 children. The programme, supported by the Department of Health and Social Care and NHS England, provides specialist training to school staff for identifying and supporting pupils with conditions such as autism, ADHD and dyslexia. Building on existing implementation across 1,600 schools, PINS requires schools to host termly meetings with parents and provides access to specialist education and health professionals. The expansion forms part of the government's Plan for Change aimed at reforming Special Educational Needs and Disability (SEND) support in mainstream education.