The Department for Education (DfE) has launched a consultation on proposed increases to the Office for Standards in Education, Children's Services and Skills (Ofsted)'s fees for independent school inspections in England. The consultation proposes annual fee increases over a five-year period for standard, progress monitoring and pre-registration inspections. These fees are currently set out in the Independent Educational Provision in England (Inspection Fees and Savings Provisions) Regulations 2019, SI 2019/995. The proposals also include requiring pre-registration inspection fees to be paid in advance of inspections. The consultation closes on 20 November 2025. The DfE plans to publish its response in February 2026, with new regulations setting out revised fees expected to come into force no earlier than autumn 2026.

The Department for Education (DfE) has opened a consultation seeking views on proposals to reform the funding system for early years entitlements in England. The proposals include changes to Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) funding, updates to the Early Years National Funding Formula (EYNFF) and changes to local funding rules. The reforms aim to improve access to childcare for families on low incomes, strengthen support for children with SEND and improve how funding is allocated. Most changes are proposed to take effect in the 2028–29 financial year, with transitional arrangements from 2027–28. The consultation closes on 14 September 2026.

The Department for Education (DfE) has launched a consultation seeking views on proposals to reform the adoption and kinship support system in England, including changes to the operation of the Adoption and Special Guardianship Support Fund. The consultation calls for evidence on measures that best support children who are adopted or in kinship care and who require additional help, particularly approaches that maintain and improve mental health and wellbeing and build resilience. It also sets out eight proposals for reform, including a baseline parenting support offer, stronger peer and community networks, timely support at key life stages, clear and regularly reviewed support plans and consistent needs assessments, among other measures. Stakeholders are invited to comment on the proposals’ effectiveness, potential benefits and risks, and to suggest any alternative approaches for developing an effective adoption and kinship support system. The consultation closes on 5 May 2026, with reforms expected to be implemented in phases from 2027, and full system reform anticipated by 2028.

The Department for Education (DfE) has launched a consultation on proposed revisions to the statutory guidance ‘Keeping children safe in education’, which outlines the safeguarding duties with which schools and colleges must comply. The consultation seeks views on a series of updates intended to ensure the guidance remains current and supports education providers in understanding both their legal requirements and the DfE’s recommended approach to safeguarding and promoting children’s welfare.  The consultation closes on 22 April 2026.

The Department for Education (DfE) has launched a consultation on the statutory framework for the help, support and protection of children in England. The aim is to inform updates to key documents and policies, including Working Together to Safeguard Children, the Children's Social Care National Framework and the policies underpinning the development of multi-agency child protection team regulations. Proposed measures include better leveraging family networks, enhancing multi-agency child protection arrangements and supporting improved decision-making across safeguarding partners. The consultation will close on 4 September 2026.

The Department for Education (DfE) has launched an open consultation on draft statutory guidance for the information sharing duty introduced by the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Act, which applies in England and will come into force in September 2026. The consultation seeks views from safeguarding organisations and practitioners. The draft guidance, which includes a data sharing agreement template, explains the new duty, identifies who it applies to, and supports organisations and practitioners in interpreting and applying the legislation in practice. It aims to promote consistent implementation and encourage a cultural shift in information-sharing practices across sectors. The guidance will replace the DfE’s existing information sharing guidance, although the statutory guidance Working Together to Safeguard Children will continue to apply. The consultation closes on 14 July 2026.

The Department for Education (DfE) has announced £500m in funding for English councils for 2025/2026, doubling the previous year's allocation, alongside new guidance on family support service reforms. The guidance requires councils to implement a single access point for support services and establish multi-agency safeguarding teams. These measures form part of the Children's Wellbeing and Schools Bill implementation, which introduces requirements for a unique child identifier and a register of children not in school. The reforms aim to integrate services including health visitors, housing support teams and mental health specialists into unified access points, while introducing family help leads to coordinate support services. The funding represents a restoration of preventative services following a £900m reduction in early intervention support since 2013.

The Department for Education (DfE) has announced the establishment of the new Science Advisory Council to advise education policy makers on strategic and emerging issues. The independent panel of 12 experts, led by Professor Dame Athene Donald, will provide the DfE with scientific advice to assist with policy and operational matters on areas such supporting children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND), mental health support, online harms prevention, enabling a sustainable and secure school estate and education technology (including artificial intelligence (AI)).

The Department for Education (DfE) has announced that from September 2025, updated Gatsby Benchmarks for careers guidance will become part of statutory guidance and extend to independent training providers (ITPs) for the first time. The expanded scope covers learners up to age 18, and those up to age 25 with education, health and care plans. The guidance mandates a whole-institution approach to careers programmes, requiring involvement from governance and leadership roles while emphasizing subject staff's role in connecting course learning with careers. The Careers and Enterprise Company has created implementation guidance specifically for ITPs to support the transition.

The Department for Education (DfE) has introduced new legal duties for universities and colleges in England, effective 1 August 2025, requiring institutions to actively promote academic freedom and protect free speech rights. The Office for Students (OfS) has the power to investigate and penalise institutions that do not uphold these protections.

The Department for Education (DfE) has introduced the Children's Wellbeing and Schools Bill to Parliament. Key measures include establishing registers for children not in school, implementing a unique identifier number for children across services and restricting automatic home education rights for children under child protection measures. The Bill also mandates Family Group Decision Making services and enhances teacher involvement in safeguarding. Educational reforms include requiring new teachers to hold or work towards qualified teacher status, unifying teacher pay and conditions across maintained schools and academies and mandating the national curriculum for all state-funded schools. According to the DfE the legislation aims to improve child safeguarding, enhance educational standards and provide greater flexibility in addressing failing schools.

The Department for Education (DfE) has introduced a suite of continuing professional development programmes for early years educators and leaders in England. The guidance outlines an accredited Level three special educational needs coordinator (SENCO) qualification for educators working with children who have special educational needs and disabilities (SEND). It also outlines the Nuffield early language intervention (NELI) programme, designed to improve the speech, language and early literacy skills of reception-age pupils. In addition, the DfE has provided an online Early Years Child Development Training (EYCDT) course, delivered through eight self-paced modules, and established stronger practice hubs to facilitate the exchange of evidence-based improvements among early years settings. Finally, the document notes the development of a training package to help educators meet upcoming safeguarding requirements under the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) statutory framework, changes set to take effect in September 2025.