Spring Term | 21 March 2025
 Please find below latest updates and guidance from the Department for Education.
No child left behind in plans to narrow the digital divide in education
Consultation launched on plans to make digital standards a requirement for all schools, alongside £45 million investment to improve connectivity. Read more.
Curriculum and Assessment Review
An independent review of the curriculum and assessment system in England, with statistical analysis has been published. Read more.
Becky Francis and review team publish their initial findings and set out the next phase of work which will focus on four key areas. Read more.
Young people to benefit from creative education boost
New package announced to support young people to access high-quality arts education and enrichment activities as well as AI and tech opportunities. Read more.
Access support from school hubs
How school leaders can get support from other schools in their locality to improve a specific area of teaching or leadership. Read more.
Families First Partnership programme
Guidance for safeguarding partners on implementing family help, multi-agency child protection and family group decision-making reforms. Read more.
 Why school attendance matters, and what we’re doing to improve it
Every day at school counts. The evidence is clear - even a few days of missed school can have a significant impact on a child's education and future prospects. Read more.
Link between attendance and attainment - GOV.UK
The impact of school absence on lifetime earnings - GOV.UK
 National Insurance Contributions (NICs) Grant Methodology 2025-26
The ESFA have published guidance around the NICs grant, which has now been made available via the ESFA website read here. Please take time to review the funding rates and allocations within the document to help with budget setting into 2025-26.
Councils backed with over £500m to restore family services
Funding for preventive services doubled to over half a billion pounds to drive restoration in family and parenting support across every English council. Read more.
 Martyn Oliver at the SEND and Inclusion Conference: getting it right for everyone
Sir Martyn Oliver, Ofsted’s Chief Inspector, spoke at the 2025 National SEND and Inclusion Conference in Nottingham. Read more.
Curriculum quality: evaluating the impact of the education inspection framework
This research into curriculum quality is part of a programme of evaluation assessing the education inspection framework (EIF). Read more.
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