Education law: news in brief – November 2025

(Mainly) positive response to nine-day fortnight trial

A flexible working initiative trialled by Dixons Academies Trust has shown promising improvements in staff wellbeing. The trust’s nine-day fortnight scheme, which grants staff one day off every two weeks while maintaining full pay, was found to enhance work-life balance and deliver financial benefits.

According to the Education Endowment Foundation report, most teachers welcomed the policy because it increased their free time and improved their mental health. Even those who continued to work on their ‘day off’ said the programme improved their wellbeing because they could work from home.  

However, the condensed schedule left some staff feeling overwhelmed. Early career teachers said they couldn’t get support from senior managers when they needed it, and non-teaching staff reported feeling excluded from the scheme’s benefits. Timetabling also proved consistently difficult, with schools adopting varied approaches that didn't always equate to a 10% reduction in workload.

Despite these hurdles, pupil outcomes remained largely unaffected, and some benefited from exposure to a broader range of teaching styles. 

DfE proposes 6.5% teacher pay rise over three years

The Department for Education (DfE) has recommended a 6.5% pay rise for teachers spread across three years. Unions say this amounts to a real-terms pay cut.

In its submission to the School Teachers’ Review Body, the DfE suggested the increase be weighted towards the latter years – 2027-28 and 2028-29 to help schools manage financial pressures following significant uplifts in 2024 and 2025. The department claims the strategy will support recruitment and retention, citing a projected 17% rise in teacher pay over the current parliamentary term, which it says equates to a 4.5% real-terms increase based on inflation forecasts.

NAO urges SEND reform to address soaring transport costs

The National Audit Office (NAO) has called on the government to factor in the rising costs of home-to-school transport when reforming the SEND system. 

In its latest report, the spending watchdog revealed that between 2015-16 and 2023-24, local authorities in England overspent by £415 million on transport services for SEND pupils, an increase of 70% over the period.

This financial strain has contributed to broader concerns about the sustainability of the SEND system, which the NAO describes as “in urgent need of reform.” The report highlights that transport costs are often overlooked in SEND policy discussions, despite being a significant budgetary pressure. 

Scotland tops UK for violent injuries to school staff

Scotland has recorded the highest rate of violent injuries to school staff in the UK over the past decade, according to figures obtained by Channel 4 News FactCheck from the Health and Safety Executive. 

Between March 2014 and March 2024, 490 serious injuries, including fractures, dislocations, and loss of consciousness, were reported in Scottish schools, with two-thirds occurring in primary settings.

The rate of incidents, adjusted for population, surpasses those in Wales and all English regions. In the most recent year alone, Scotland logged 91 cases – three times the number recorded a decade earlier. 

Severe absence rises despite gains in overall school attendance

New government data reveals a mixed picture for school attendance in England, with overall and persistent absence rates improving but severe absence continuing to climb. 

Figures from the DfE, covering the autumn and spring terms of the 2024–25 academic year, show that a growing number are missing half or more of their lessons, even though more pupils are attending school regularly.

Severe absence rose from 2.14% to 2.26% year-on-year, with the biggest increases among pupils with SEND and those eligible for free school meals. The absence rates of pupils with Education, Health and Care Plans jumped from 6.55% to 7.3%, and those receiving SEN support rose from 4.06% to 4.18%.

In contrast, persistent absence (defined as missing 10% or more of sessions) fell from 19.23% to 17.63%, and overall absence dropped from 6.93% to 6.63%. However, both figures remain significantly higher than pre-pandemic levels.

One-in-five teachers laid off as falling rolls hit primary schools

New research has revealed that one-in-five teachers have been laid off in the areas worst affected by declining pupil numbers, as England’s primary schools grapple with falling rolls and mounting financial pressures.

The National Foundation for Educational Research (NFER) found that: 

• London saw the steepest decline in pupil numbers at 8.7%
• Schools responded by cutting classes by 4.8% nationally and reducing average class sizes by 2.5%
• In the ten hardest-hit London boroughs, teacher numbers fell by nearly 19%, and outside London by 7.5%; and
• Despite teacher cuts, teaching assistant numbers increased by 5.7%.

The report warns that nearly a fifth of council-run primary schools could fall into deficit if pupil numbers drop by just 2%, with the risk rising to over 40% in the event of a 10% decline.

Isolation rooms harm student wellbeing

A study by British Educational Research Journal has revealed that time spent in school isolation rooms significantly harms pupils’ mental health. Pupils experiencing isolation say that they don’t feel as though they belong and that it has strained their relationships with their teachers. 

The research, published in the British Educational Research Journal, analysed data from 34,000 pupils across 121 secondary schools in Greater Manchester. It found that one-in-twelve students experienced internal exclusion weekly, spending an average of 8.5 hours in isolation.

Government announces curriculum overhaul 

The Department for Education has unveiled major changes to the national curriculum, aiming to better equip pupils for life and work in today’s world. 

Based on recommendations from Professor Becky Francis’s review, the reforms will strengthen core subjects like reading, maths, and science, and introduce life skills such as financial literacy, media awareness, and civic engagement.

Key changes include:

• Introducing a new Year 8 reading test and enhancing Year 6 writing assessments
• Giving equal status for arts GCSEs and wider access to triple science
• Compulsory teaching citizenship in primary schools
• Replacing the computer science GCSE with a broader computing qualification
• Exploring new qualifications in AI and data science; and
• Removing the EBacc and reforming Progress 8.

The revised curriculum will launch in September 2028.

Mind report reveals extent of mental health crisis in schools

A new report from the mental health charity Mind has exposed serious shortcomings in how secondary schools in England support pupils with mental health problems.

The inquiry, which gathered evidence from over 2,800 young people, parents, school staff, and mental health professionals, found that 96% of young people surveyed said their mental health had negatively affected their schoolwork. Nearly half (48%) had been punished for behaviour linked to their mental health, and 25% of school staff reported knowing students who were excluded for such reasons.

Racism was also identified as a major contributor to poor mental health. 55% of Black and Black British students, and 57% of mixed ethnicity students, reported experiencing racism at school, compared to 36% of Asian or Asian British students. Among those affected, 70% said racism harmed their wellbeing, and 59% of school staff acknowledged witnessing racist incidents.

Mind is urging the government to take immediate action. It recommends: 

• Universal early access to mental health support for ages 11–25, without the need for a referral
• Imposing a legal duty on schools to report racist incidents
• Banning isolation being used to punish behaviour linked to mental ill-health; and
• Improving coordination across NHS services to ease access to care.

Ofsted’s new inspection framework wins praise in school pilots

Ofsted has received encouraging feedback following pilot inspections in 115 schools, trialling its renewed inspection framework. The updated approach has been welcomed by school leaders for its clarity and fairness.

Leaders praised inspectors for being approachable and well-informed, noting that the process felt more inclusive than previous inspections.

However, some concerns remain. Smaller schools and those with complex circumstances reported increased pressure on staff. Questions were also raised about how pupil achievement is evaluated, particularly where there is limited published data.

In response, Ofsted has made key adjustments. The word “typically” was added to achievement standards to reflect variability in data, and new context flags in the IDSR will help inspectors better understand pupil demographics. Additionally, inspection logistics have been refined to reduce stress, including changes to scheduling and staffing.

More education sector updates – November 2025

• Confidentiality clauses and severance payments in FE colleges and academy trusts: what has changed?
• What’s the best way to manage conflict between colleagues in schools and colleges?
• 1 December 2025: Acas Early Conciliation will be extended by up to 12 weeks
• Discrimination arising from disability: did a school discriminate against a pupil when it excluded her?
• Post-16 skills reform: what schools and colleges need to know