Governance

The latest news, analysis and advice covering all areas of school governance, including new policy, compliance, regulation and more

Friday

19th Jun 2026

Have schools been put into an attendance trap?
New guidance on communicating with parents about absence leaves schools with the ‘all but impossible’ task of improving attendance without being able to hold families to account, warn leaders
Mixed messaging
Exclusive

Wednesday

17th Jun 2026

Trusts ‘left in limbo’ over delayed budget guidance
Academy trusts are being left with less time to finalise and scrutinise their budgets because key DfE documents remain unpublished, experts warn
Trusts ‘left in limbo’ over delayed budget documents
Exclusive
Rejected: 1 in 10 offers of extra attendance and behaviour help
Schools targeted for help under DfE scheme may feel ‘unfairly stigmatised’, says heads’ leader
Half of its capacity
Exclusive

Friday

5th Jun 2026

Experts at Hand guidance calls for ‘innovative’ staff deployment
DfE advice seeks to allay fears that severe shortages of staff such as educational psychologists will put the brakes on its Experts at Hand service, on same day as it reveals members of key SEND panel
Experts at Hand

Wednesday

27th May 2026

Social media inquiry risks shifting blame on to schools, ASCL warns
Schools must not be left with the ‘policing burden’ around social media, says school leaders’ union as it demands that tech companies are held to account
Social media ban

Tuesday

19th May 2026

Trott urges ‘separate provision’ for boys and girls in AP
Shadow education secretary says the current alternative provision system is ‘patchy’ and the quality is ‘not good enough across the board’
Laura Trott

Friday

15th May 2026

All schools convert in England’s first fully-academised area
The shift to a fully-academised system brings opportunities for collaboration but may also leave councils struggling with their statutory duties, say leaders
Portishead

Thursday

7th May 2026

Weak governance flagged as threat to MAT expansion
Less than half of governors think their school’s resources, including reserves, should be shared across their trust, finds National Governance Association
Weak governance threatens MAT expansion
Exclusive

Thursday

30th Apr 2026

School leaders ‘not aware’ of admissions segregation
Affluent pupils are almost twice as likely to attend high-attaining schools as poorer pupils, even within the same catchment area, research shows
School leaders 'lack awareness' of social division

Friday

24th Apr 2026

What putting the phone ‘ban’ into law would mean for schools
With nearly one in 10 secondary teachers saying that phone use disrupted their most recent lesson, will the government’s planned legal change on phones in schools help?
Phone ban: what this means for schools
Exclusive

Thursday

16th Apr 2026

Banning phones in schools ‘already solved’, claims minister
Education minister Olivia Bailey comes under fire as MPs reject Lords’ proposal for a statutory ban on phones in schools
Phone ban in schools

Wednesday

8th Apr 2026

Pressure for GCSE maths re-mark after Ofqual upholds complaint
Exam board OCR apologises for ‘inconsistencies in our past materials’ but insists there were ‘no errors’ in maths question – prompting a petition for papers to be re-marked
Exam board resists remark after Ofqual upholds GCSE maths complaint