The Education Brief: Wednesday 29 April 2026 - Top stories include:

• The DfE has cut its projected need for new teacher trainees by 23 per cent for 2026-27.

• Schools have begun scaling back language provision due to plans to scrap the EBacc.

• A Sutton Trust survey shows over 40 per cent of leaders are reducing SEND support.

• Most teachers do not feel equipped to support pupils with emotionally based school avoidance.

• Half of leaders report school areas that are disused or not fit for purpose.

• The DfE is capping supply agency fees under a new framework.

HEP Updates:

• 100k in May: https://horizonscharity.org/news/join-100km-in-may-fundraising-challenge/

• Leadership 55: https://hepbookinghub.co.uk/calendar/leadership-55-with-lee-elliot-major-obe/

• HEP Headteacher Conference: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLScAXkBQt0vS4FjBoHCj8FwI5ARQMugQBoLI6yn6jel8lg4B-w/viewform

• Find and book more CPD sessions at https://hepbookinghub.co.uk/

Watching - https://www.canva.com/canva-create/

Listening - https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/s10-e13-building-blocks-for-deep-comprehension-with/id1483513974?i=1000754609610

Reading - https://carlhendrick.substack.com/p/orthographic-skeletons-can-children

AI Tool - https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0360131526000540

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Music by Slo Pony⁠

The Education Brief: Wednesday 22 April 2026 - Top stories include:

• NEU members have signalled strong support for industrial action over pay and school funding.

• Academy trust chief executive pay is continuing to climb, but with a gender gap at the top.

• The DfE is set to make its school mobile phone guidance statutory.

• Ofqual’s chief regulator warned that scrapping essays because of AI cheating is still an option.

• The DfE is inviting firms to help develop and test AI tutoring tools for disadvantaged pupils.

HEP Updates:

• Find and book more CPD sessions at https://hepbookinghub.co.uk/

• 100k in May: https://horizonscharity.org/news/join-100km-in-may-fundraising-challenge/

Watching - https://youtu.be/bwzbVBLiWPw?si=eGzvfUXOlQBNbkOg

Listening - https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/m002tzqm

Reading - https://www.tes.com/magazine/teaching-learning/early-years/what-neuroscience-tells-us-about-teaching-young-children

AI Tool - https://aieducator.tools/

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Music by Slo Pony⁠

The Education Brief: Wednesday 15 April 2026 - Top stories include:

• Councils will now lead bids for the next phase of the school-based nursery capital programme.

• A NASBTT survey suggests teacher training providers are under real strain.

• The number of exam grades challenged at appeal fell by 18.3 per cent in 2024-25.

• Research suggests high-achieving disadvantaged pupils begin to fall behind in secondary school.

• AI has moved into the mainstream for teachers, with three-quarters now using it in their work.

• Teachers are calling for new training to help staff tackle misogynistic behaviour in schools.

• New school food standards would strip out deep-fried items and high-sugar options.

HEP Updates:

• Book your ticket to the Haringey Racial Equity Conference: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/haringey-racial-equity-conference-2026-tickets-1982524828129?aff=oddtdtcreator

• Find and book more CPD sessions at https://hepbookinghub.co.uk/

Watching - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=siYWfJOzYeQ

Listening - https://www.ucl.ac.uk/ioe/news/2026/mar/i-saw-it-thing-be-ashamed-lived-experience-dyscalculia

Reading - https://www.righttosucceed.org.uk/post/defining-place-based-change-the-future-of-collaborative-charity-work

AI Tool - https://x.com/claudeai/status/2036195789601374705

⁠Music by Slo Pony⁠

The Education Brief: Wednesday 25 March 2026 - Top stories include:

• Schools serving disadvantaged communities are being marked down more often by Ofsted.

• More than 330 primary schools have now been funded to open new nurseries as part of the school-based nursery programme, which from May will be led by local authorities.

• Suspensions and exclusions have fallen overall this year, but rates are rising in Years 1 to 4.

• Nearly one in five teachers say the volume of parent contact expected of them is unmanageable.

HEP Updates:

• Book your ticket to the Haringey Racial Equity Conference: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/haringey-racial-equity-conference-2026-tickets-1982524828129?aff=oddtdtcreator

• Find and book more CPD sessions at https://hepbookinghub.co.uk/

Watching - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9TxUO45iGFA

Listening - https://www.insideyoured.com/

Reading - https://www.tes.com/magazine/analysis/secondary/will-inclusion-bases-just-become-exclusion-rooms

AI Tool - https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-365/blog/2026/03/09/copilot-cowork-a-new-way-of-getting-work-done/

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Music by Slo Pony⁠

The Education Brief: Wednesday 18 March 2026 - Top stories include:

• The English hubs programme will be expanded into secondary schools from September.

• United Learning could become England’s first 100-school multi-academy trust.

• New research suggests the former “gifted and talented” programme may have widened inequality.

• Ofsted is piloting recruiting groups of school leaders as part-time inspectors paid by their own institutions.

HEP Updates:

• Secondary Maths Leadership Programme: https://hepbookinghub.co.uk/calendar/secondary-maths-leadership-programme-with-emma-mccrea-session-2-of-3/

• Book your ticket to the Haringey Racial Equity Conference: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/haringey-racial-equity-conference-2026-tickets-1982524828129?aff=oddtdtcreator

• Find and book more CPD sessions at https://hepbookinghub.co.uk/

Watching - https://www.lse.ac.uk/lse-player/smashing-the-class-ceiling-lse-festival

Listening - https://substack.com/home/post/p-190277619

Reading - https://www.tes.com/en-gb/for-schools/content/tes-wellbeing-report

AI Tool - https://support.claude.com/en/articles/12650343-use-claude-for-excel

⁠Music by Slo Pony⁠

The Education Brief: Wednesday 11 March 2026 - Top stories include:

• An evaluation finds the English Hubs Programme had a “substantial” impact on pupils’ outcomes.

• The government has delayed the defunding of BTECs to autumn 2027.

• Tes’ latest Teacher Wellbeing Report highlights SEND support and workload as biggest pressures.

• SEND complaints upheld by the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman rose by 26 per cent in 2025.

• Ofsted rejected just over one in five requests from schools to defer an inspection in 2024–25.

HEP Updates:

• HEP Women’s Conference: https://hepbookinghub.co.uk/calendar/womens-conference/

• London RISE Education Fortnight: https://sites.google.com/inspirepartnership.co.uk/risefortnight/home

• Find and book more CPD sessions at https://hepbookinghub.co.uk/

Watching - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wh_6YSLjRIc&t=1s

Listening - https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/m002qrkx

Reading - https://www.ucl.ac.uk/news/2026/jan/toddlers-spending-two-hours-screens-day

AI Tool - https://www.briskteaching.com/post/brisk-kahoot-quiz-integration

⁠Music by Slo Pony⁠

The Education Brief: Wednesday 4 March 2026 - Top stories include:

• Tes analysis suggests that, at current rates, full academisation could take decades.

• Legal experts warn parental complaint reforms “stop short” of giving schools the powers they need to enforce them.

• GCSE maths and science students in England will keep getting equation and formula sheets in exams until at least 2030.

• The government says it will focus on diversity, flexible working and retention in their pledge of recruiting 6,500 additional teachers.

• The government’s new £1.8 billion “experts at hand” service may not be ready in time.

This week’s deep dive: HEP on The Schools White Paper

HEP Updates:

• HEP Women’s Conference: https://hepbookinghub.co.uk/calendar/womens-conference/

• https://hepbookinghub.co.uk/calendar/inclusive-behaviour-strategies/

• London RISE Education Fortnight: https://sites.google.com/inspirepartnership.co.uk/risefortnight/home

• Find and book more CPD sessions at https://hepbookinghub.co.uk/

Watching - https://www.linkedin.com/company/aepassociation/posts/?feedView=all

Listening - https://evidenceintoaction.podbean.com/e/metacognition-moving-forward-with-new-evidence/

Reading - https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/every-child-achieving-and-thriving/every-child-achieving-and-thriving-html-version

AI Tool - https://kahoot.com/

⁠Music by Slo Pony⁠

The Education Brief: Wednesday 25 February 2026 - Top stories include:

• Reform UK appointed Suella Braverman as its new education and skills spokesperson.

• Julie McCulloch has been appointed as the new chief executive of the Education Policy Institute.

• Music hubs “highly valued” by schools and families face growing funding and staffing pressures.

This week’s deep dive: The Schools White Paper: Every Child Achieving and Thriving

HEP Updates:

• https://hepbookinghub.co.uk/calendar/governor-briefing-spring-term/

• https://hepbookinghub.co.uk/calendar/inclusive-behaviour-strategies/

• https://hepbookinghub.co.uk/calendar/getting-the-most-out-of-insight/

• https://hepbookinghub.co.uk/calendar/getting-the-most-out-of-insight-2/

• Book your ticket to the Haringey Racial Equity Conference: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/haringey-racial-equity-conference-2026-tickets-1982524828129?aff=oddtdtcreator

• Email us to book your ticket to the HEP Headteacher Conference 

• Find and book CPD sessions at https://hepbookinghub.co.uk/

Watching - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gxg8v7iUq9o

Listening - https://www.insideyoured.com/

Reading - https://carlhendrick.substack.com/p/the-embarrassingly-parallel-problem

AI Tool - https://www.edugems.ai/home

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Music by Slo Pony⁠

The Education Brief: Wednesday 11 February 2026 - Top stories include:

• Peers have backed a statutory ban on smartphones in schools in a House of Lords vote.

• Most teachers and leaders don’t think their schools overuse suspensions.

• Nearly eight in ten councils say they could be pushed towards insolvency with SEND deficits.

• The government says it will write off 90% of councils’ historic SEND deficits with a new grant this autumn.

This week’s deep dive: Citizenship in the Primary Curriculum

HEP Updates:

• Book your ticket to the Haringey Racial Equity Conference: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/haringey-racial-equity-conference-2026-tickets-1982524828129?aff=oddtdtcreator

• Book your ticket to the HEP Headteacher Conference: 

• Inclusive Behaviour Strategies: https://hepbookinghub.co.uk/calendar/inclusive-behaviour-strategies/

• Find and book CPD sessions at https://hepbookinghub.co.uk/

Watching - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=74PF_4pyYY8

Listening - https://radiolab.org/podcast/song-of-the-cerebellum

Reading - https://www.linkedin.com/posts/dr-alex-blower-24a3346b_dignity-respect-and-meaningful-engagement-activity-7424388708616892416-YCa6/

AI Tool - https://headlite.co.uk/

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Music by Slo Pony⁠

The Education Brief: Wednesday 4 February 2026 - Top stories include:

• Ofsted’s new inspections are driving a rise in workload for headteachers and SENCos.

• White disadvantaged girls are seeing the sharpest fall in GCSE attainment.

• Plans in the upcoming schools White Paper will push settings “beyond their comfort zone.”

• Disputed data suggests one in six schools are running shorter than the 32.5-hour minimum.

• Pupils feeling in control of their learning can make up to two months’ extra progress in reading.

• 28 per cent of parents avoid reading with their children because they lack confidence.

HEP Updates:

• Sign up for our Governor Conference: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/haringey-governor-conference-2026-sustainable-and-informed-governance-tickets-1977619334666

• Find and book CPD sessions at https://hepbookinghub.co.uk/

Watching - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GUiFDrOuEOA

Listening - https://email.nurseryworld.co.uk/c/1USqyZky7xSr0sgyFx4xN4LBNRX8

Reading - https://wslaw.co.uk/blog/the-impact-of-ai-in-school-complaints-processes/

AI Tool - https://www.canva.com/magic/

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Music by Slo Pony⁠