Episode Description:

Welcome to The Daily School Leaders Briefing for Thursday, May 22nd, 2025. Today's essential update for UK school leaders covers the government's announcement of the 2025-26 teacher pay award and significant wider recommendations from the School Teachers’ Review Body (STRB) concerning teachers' terms and conditions.

Key Briefings Inside:

1. 4% Teacher Pay Rise Confirmed for September 2025: We detail the Department for Education's announcement that all teachers in England will receive a 4 per cent pay rise effective from September 2025. Understand the new minimum starting salaries for teachers (£32,916 nationally, up to £40,317 in London) and the updated pay scales for Main, Upper, Leadership, and Headteacher ranges across England, including specific London bands. We also cover the 4% increase to Teaching and Learning Responsibility (TLR) payments and the uplift for unqualified teacher pay scales. Analyse the immediate implications for school budget planning and financial management.

   Keywords: Teacher pay rise England 2025-26, 4 percent teacher salary increase, DfE teacher pay announcement, new teacher pay scales, M1 starting salary, Upper Pay Scale U1 U3, Leadership pay scale, Headteacher pay groups, TLR payments, unqualified teacher pay.

   
   

2. STRB Calls for Major Reforms: Flexible Working, Targeted Pay & STPCD Review: Explore the key recommendations from the STRB's 35th report, issued alongside its pay advice. Delve into the call for mandatory school policies to "fully embrace" flexible working, with suggestions for implementation and oversight. Understand the proposal for new work on targeting remuneration to address teacher shortages in specific subjects or areas. Learn about the STRB's view that the School Teachers’ Pay and Conditions Document (STPCD) needs "significant review" and "modernisation". We also cover the STRB's cautious stance on pension "innovation" potentially reducing total remuneration and its view on multi-year pay settlements. Analyse the potential long-term impact of these recommendations on school HR policies, career structures, and employment practices.

   Keywords: STRB 35th report recommendations, mandatory flexible working schools, targeted teacher pay shortages, School Teachers’ Pay and Conditions Document STPCD review, multi-year teacher pay settlements, Teachers’ Pension Scheme TPS opt-out, teacher remuneration reform.

Welcome to The Daily School Leaders Briefing for Wednesday, May 21st, 2025. Today's essential update for UK school leaders covers significant proposed amendments to the government's Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill currently in the House of Lords, and news of a sudden leadership change at a major Multi-Academy Trust.

Key Briefings Inside:

1. Peers Seek to Water Down Schools Bill Powers with 500+ Amendments: We delve into the committee stage of the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill in the House of Lords, where around 500 amendments have been tabled. Explore key proposals from peers including Shadow Education Minister Baroness Barran's attempts to limit the Education Secretary's broad new "direction" powers over trusts, extend academy pay freedoms to maintained schools, and restart paused free school projects. Understand former academies minister Lord Agnew's push to exempt 'good' academies from the national curriculum and align maintained school financial accountability with academies. Other significant amendments cover extending profit caps to independent special schools, free school meal expansion, school phone bans, faith school admission caps, collective worship, and branded uniform limits. Note the large number of amendments concerning home education tabled by Lord Wei. Analyse the potential impact of these proposed changes on school governance, operations, and central oversight.

   Keywords: Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill, House of Lords amendments, Baroness Barran, Lord Agnew, Education Secretary direction powers, academy freedoms, free schools, independent special schools profit cap, maintained school accountability, faith school admissions, collective worship, school uniform policy, home education Lord Wei.

2. CEO of Large MAT GLF Schools Departs Suddenly After 18 Months: We report on the unexpected departure of Julian Drinkall as Chief Executive Officer of GLF Schools, one of England's largest MATs with 43 academies. Learn that he stepped down "effective immediately" by "mutual agreement" after less than 18 months in the role, with Chief Finance Officer James Nicholson appointed as interim CEO. Understand the context of Mr. Drinkall's tenure, during which GLF Schools undertook restructuring leading to £242,000 in redundancy payments in 2023-24 and a 4% reduction in staff numbers, alongside trialling a controversial mobile phone "blackout" app. Analyse the implications of this leadership change within a prominent MAT.

   Keywords: GLF Schools CEO departure, Julian Drinkall, James Nicholson interim CEO, Multi-Academy Trust leadership, MAT executive changes, academy trust restructuring, redundancy payments MATs, school mobile phone policy, Academies Enterprise Trust.

Welcome to The Daily School Leaders Briefing. Today's essential update for UK school leaders covers the first significant data on how new taxes are affecting the independent school sector, and important changes to the eligibility criteria for government funding to boost school Wi-Fi connectivity.

Key Briefings Inside:

1. Impact of VAT on Private Schools (ISC Census): We analyse the findings of the Independent Schools Council's (ISC) first annual census since Labour introduced VAT on private school fees and business rates. Discover the extent of pupil number changes, with a 2.4% drop (around 13,000 pupils) across participating ISC schools – significantly exceeding government estimates. Explore regional variations, with London least affected and the North/Midlands experiencing larger decreases. Understand how schools have adjusted fees, with an average 6.7% rise before VAT, then an average 5% cut, effectively passing on 14% VAT. Learn about the surprising increase in bursary provision, with schools providing over £1.1 billion in fee assistance. We also cover the contrasting views of the ISC's interim chair, Mark Taylor, citing a "triple whammy" on finances, and Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson, who accused private schools of having "cried wolf".

   Keywords: ISC census 2025, private school VAT impact, independent school pupil numbers, business rates schools, school fees adjustment VAT, private school bursaries, Mark Taylor ISC, Bridget Phillipson private schools, Institute for Fiscal Studies fees.

   
   

2. School Wi-Fi Scheme ("Connect the Classroom") Eligibility Restricted to 'Stuck' Schools: Learn about the Department for Education's decision to limit the "Connect the Classroom" scheme, which provides grants for improving school Wi-Fi, exclusively to 'stuck' schools eligible for the new RISE (Regional Improvement for Standards and Excellence) support programme. Understand how this replaces the previous prioritisation of schools in Education Investment Areas (EIAs), a programme axed by the current government. We detail the £25 million funding available for 2025-26 and the government's rationale comparing it to the scheme's initial launch funding. Discover that around 400 'stuck' schools are set to benefit. We also touch on the discontinuation or review of other EIA-linked funding streams. Analyse the implications for schools previously in EIAs and the sharpened focus of this particular support on RISE schools.

   Keywords: Connect the Classroom scheme, school Wi-Fi funding UK, RISE schools support, DfE connectivity standards, Education Investment Areas EIA changes, school technology grants, Priority Education Investment Areas PEIA funding.