The government’s new schools bill will dominate education policymaking for the next few years, before changes start to feed into classrooms across the country from 2026 onwards.
Schools Week has picked out every new proposed policy and included any details on the proposed implementation date.
While we wouldn’t normally cover social care only policies, we have included them anyway just so it’s a complete list. The first half are the school measures, and the second half the social care measures.
Bye bye academy freedoms …
1. New teachers in academies must have or be working towards qualified teacher status, and have a statutory induction. Induction requirements will only apply to teachers recruited *after* the new law comes into effect.
Will start in September 2026 and guidance will be published.
2. Academies will be legally required to follow the national curriculum.
This will start after the curriculum review has concluded and its recommendations consulted on (likely to be in “several years”).
3. Regional directors will be able to issue compliance orders where academies are not meeting or “acting unreasonably” in relation to their legal duties. Examples include over new rules such as admissions or uniform, or other things like breaching rules around parental complaints. They will be used in cases not serious enough to warrant termination warning notices, and will be published.
4. Academy orders for ‘inadequate’ maintained schools will become ‘discretionary’. Where academisation “isn’t necessary” and schools are deemed to “have the capacity to improve” under their current leadership, support will be offered through new regional improvement for standards and excellence teams.
5. Academies must follow the national teacher pay and conditions framework. Academy trust representatives will be made statutory consultees of the school teachers’ review body (STRB), which will also be asked to consider “additional flexibilities” to the framework before academies comply. Government said this will not apply to staff where their pay is “determined through other processes”, such as those in trust central teams like CEOs.
… hello again local authorities
6. New duty for schools and councils to co-operate on admissions. Includes over place planning and fair access protocols. Education secretary “will be able to intervene” where “co-operating breaks down”.
7. Councils will be able to direct academies to admit a child to provide a “safety net” to ensure unplaced and vulnerable children get a school place quickly. This power already covers maintained schools. Academies would also be able to appeal to the school adjudicator.
8. The schools adjudicator will be able to set the published admission number (PAN) of a school, including academies, where an objection is upheld. This will give councils “greater influence” over PANs to assist with their place planning duties.
9. The presumption that new schools must be academies will be ended. Councils looking to open new schools will be able to invite applications from voluntary and foundation schools, as well as put forward their own plans for new community schools. Where councils want to open their own school, regional directors (government civil servants) will decide on the proposal.
The home education crackdown
10. All councils must have ‘children not in school’ registers, with a duty to support parents on their registers. Children in scope are those not registered at a school or receiving some of their education outside of school (ie flexi-schooling and unregistered alternative provision). Schools will have to check with councils if children being withdrawn are in these categories. Out-of-school education providers must also provide details, and can be fined if not.
11. Some parents will need council consent to home education their child. It will apply to those with children subject to protection orders, on a protection plan or at a special school under arrangements made by the local authority. LAs can also compel home educated children on protection orders to attend school.
12. School attendance orders will be standardised nationally, with councils compelled to check whether the home learning environment for a child is suitable when making such orders. Parents would also face prosecution if they don’t comply.
The shady private school crackdown
13. The definition of a private school will be expanded so any operating on a full-time basis must now get government approval and be subject to regular inspections against school standards. Full-time education is where a child “could be expected to receive all or a majority of their education at the setting”.
14. ‘Fit and proper’ person test for people wanting to open new private schools.
15. Education secretary will get the power to suspend a private school’s registration – temporarily close it – where students are at risk of harm, rather than apply to the courts.
16. Private schools appealing government-enforced closures due to serious and long-running failures would have to have the burden of proof to overturn the decision, rather than it sitting with government.
17. What constitutes a “material change” for private schools and needs government approval would be updated to stop “unauthorised” changes and make the system more enforceable.
Ofsted: illegal schools and info sharing
18. New powers for Ofsted to enter suspected illegal schools and “search” rather than just inspect.
19. A requirement on Ofsted to report once a year on its other independent inspectorate work will be replaced with more “flexible” obligation to do so whenever the education secretary requests.
20. Clarification that Ofsted and the Independent Schools Inspectorate (ISI) can freely share information – such as on historic safeguarding risks – rather than the DfE having to as a conduit.
Other schools stuff
21. State-funded schools to ensure all children on roll in reception to year 6 have access to a free, at least 30-minute-long breakfast club before school. School food standards will apply, and schools can be exempt in “exceptional circumstances”.
Trial to start in April 2025, date for full rollout to be announced next year.
22. A limit of three branded items of school uniform required by primary schools, and four items at secondary if a tie is branded. This includes PE kit and applies to after-school activities. Schools can still offer “optional” branded uniform items.
Introduced in September 2026.
23. Broadening the teacher misconduct regime to include those employed in further education, independent training providers, online schools and “independent educational institutions” that aren’t schools. DfE will also be able to make referrals to the Teacher Regulation Agency if “relevant information” is brought to their attention.
24. Legislation allowing maintained schools to temporarily direct pupils to another education setting to improve behaviour (known as off-site directions) will be extended to include academies.
Schools-related children’s social care policies
25. Safeguarding partners such as councils, police and health to secure participation of education settings as relevant agencies in multi-safeguarding arrangements.
26. Duty for safeguarding partners to set up multi-agency child protection teams. Will include a person “with education experience”.
To start in 2027.
27. A single unique identifier to be introduced for each child across multiple data sets, with a new duty to share information for welfare and safeguarding purposes. DfE to run regional pilot to test feasibility of using NHS number as the consistent identifier.
28. The strategic role of virtual school heads to promote educational achievement of children with a social worker and in kinship care to be made statutory.
Other children’s social care measures
29. Councils required to assess whether they should provide ‘staying close’ support to care leavers, and publish arrangements they have in place for such children.
30. The education secretary would be able to direct councils to “regionalise” and “harness collective buying power” in relation to social care services.
Pathfinders in South East and Greater Manchester testing approach in 2025.
31. A statutory framework for deprivation of liberty in accommodation.
32. Regulations to reduce councils’ spend on social care agency workers. Includes a commitment to consider how to “build a sustainable SEND workforce”.
33. New law to ensure those involved in “low-level abuse” of 16 and 17-year-olds in children’s homes can be prosecuted.
34. Legal duty for councils to publish a kinship local offer.
35. Mandate councils to offer ‘family group decision-making’ meeting when considering care order.
Stopping the profiteers
36. Powers for Ofsted to take enforcement action at provider level where there are quality issues across multiple social care settings, and fine people for not registering care homes or foster agencies.
37. A financial oversight scheme enabling government to better scrutinise the financial health of large children’s social care providers, those deemed “difficult to replace”. This would include large providers with dual-registered special schools
38. A “last resort” profit cap to “curb profiteering” in non-local authority children’s home and fostering agency providers. Will later also apply to supported accommodation providers.
And last but not least, letting kids work longer hours!
39. Allowing children (those aged under 16) to work more than two hours on Sundays to give more flexibility for employers, but all children will be required to have a work permit. Powers to change these rules will pass to the education secretary, rather than councils.
P.S. if you’ve made it this far – well done! You must really love the schools bill
As a treat, here’s links to the rest of our comprehensive coverage:
Schools Bill: we’ve got you covered
The headlines: Bill to enact sweeping academies reform
The round-up: The 15 key schools bill policies
The fall-out: Academy freedoms axed could harm school improvement
Opinion: Labour’s plans show it gets trusts’ vital role
