The Daily School Leaders Briefing
Your essential daily briefing for UK school leaders. Stay informed with quick, focused updates on the biggest education news, policy changes, leadership strategies, edtech, and culture-building. Perfect for Headteachers, SLT, Middle Leaders, and aspiring leaders. Get the insight you need to lead with clarity and confidence—one school day at a time. Subscribe for expert takes on what’s shaping UK education.
Episodes
Today's essential update for UK school leaders covers the government's decision to axe a key fund supporting schools' decarbonisation efforts, and news regarding the extension and funding of an important early language support pilot.
Key Briefings Inside:
£80 Million Low-Carbon Skills Fund Axed, Jeopardising School Green Plans: We report on the government's quiet decision to ditch the Low-Carbon Skills Fund (LCSF)...
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:
4% Teacher Pay Rise Confirmed for September 2025: We deta...
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:
Peers Seek to Water Down Schools Bill Powers with 500+ Amendments: We delve int...
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:
Impact of VAT on Private Schools (ISC Census): We analyse the findings of the Independent Schools Council'...
Key Briefings:
MAT Mergers Continue to Reshape the Sector: We report on the ongoing trend of academy trust mergers, exemplified by the planned union of Compass Partnership of Schools and Eko Trust to form a new 25-school MAT. Explore the drivers behind this consolidation, including the pursuit of "resilience and strength", enhanced staff development opportunities, and long-term stability, often in response to stretched...
Welcome to The Daily School Leaders Briefing. Today's essential update for UK school leaders covers a potential significant shift in Ofsted's timeline for new inspections and a call from a former academies minister for stricter conditions on financial bailouts for academy trusts.
Key Briefings Inside:
1. Ofsted May Postpone Roll-out of New School Inspections Until 2026: We explore reports suggesting Ofsted is considering dela...
Welcome to The Daily School Leaders Briefing for Thursday, May 1st, 2025. Today's essential update for UK school leaders covers a new blueprint for tackling the school absence crisis, based on past successes, and the publication of Department for Education investigation outcomes into historic financial issues at several academy trusts.
Key Briefings Inside:
Blueprint to Tackle School Absence Crisis Unveiled: Explore the r...
Welcome to The Daily School Leaders Briefing for Wednesday, April 30th, 2025. Today's essential update for UK school leaders covers the Department for Education's revised Initial Teacher Training (ITT) targets for 2025-26 and crucial evidence presented to Parliament regarding SEND provision and health service involvement.
Key Briefings Inside:
DfE Reduces Teacher Training Recruitment Targets for 2025-26: We detail the new...
Welcome to The Daily School Leaders Briefing for Tuesday, April 29th, 2025. Today's essential update for UK school leaders covers stark financial warnings about unfunded pay rises and an unexpected development in the NASUWT teaching union's leadership election.
Key Briefings Inside:
1. £800 Million School Funding Gap Warning Amid Pay Rise Speculation: We report on alarming analysis from the Institute for Fiscal Studies (...
NAHT Warns Ofsted Inspection Plans Put Leader Wellbeing 'At Risk': Explore the NAHT school leaders' union's strong condemnation of Ofsted's proposed new inspection framework and report cards in their official consultation response. Understand their core argument that the plans "put at risk the health and wellbeing of school leaders", criticising the lack of any workload or wellbeing impact asse...
Welcome to The Daily School Leaders Briefing for Thursday, April 24th, 2025. Today's essential update for UK school leaders covers the newly announced pay offer for school support staff and its significant budget implications, alongside calls for mandatory knife crime prevention education in primary schools.
Key Briefings Inside:
3.2% Pay Offer for School Support Staff Fuels Budget Warnings: We detail the 3.2 per cent pay ris...
Welcome to The Daily School Leaders Briefing for Tuesday, April 22nd, 2025. Today's essential update for UK school leaders covers a significant development regarding Ofsted's controversial inspection reforms and confirms new leadership at the NASUWT teaching union.
Key Briefings Inside:
Ofsted Signals Rethink on Inspection Report Card Proposals: We report on Ofsted acknowledging for the first time that its proposed new in...
Welcome to The Daily School Leaders Briefing for Saturday, April 19th, 2025. Today's essential update for UK school leaders focuses on significant developments from the NASUWT teaching union's annual conference, covering potential industrial action over pay and concerning findings on pupil behaviour.
Key Briefings Inside:
NASUWT Threatens Strike Ballot Over Pay and Funding: We report on outgoing NASUWT General Secretary Dr Patric...
Welcome to The Daily School Leaders Briefing for Friday, April 18th, 2025. Today's essential update for UK school leaders covers alarming new data on pupil violence against staff and the significant implications of the recent Supreme Court ruling on the legal definition of "woman".
Key Briefings Inside:
Shocking Rise in Pupil Violence Against Teachers (NASUWT Survey): We report on disturbing findings from a NASUWT t...
Welcome to The Daily School Leaders Briefing. Today's episode focuses on powerful messages from NEU General Secretary Daniel Kebede's keynote speech at the union's annual conference, delivering stark warnings to the Labour government and sharp criticism of Multi-Academy Trust (MAT) executive pay. Essential listening for UK school leaders navigating the current political and financial landscape.
Key Briefings Inside:
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Welcome to The Daily School Leaders Briefing for Wednesday, April 16th, 2025. Today's episode provides essential analysis for UK school leaders on two significant developments: regulatory action against a school leader for standards failures and the NEU union's hardened stance on defending the Teachers' Pension Scheme (TPS).
Key Briefings:
School Leader Banned Over Standards and British Values Failures: We report on t...
Welcome to The Daily School Leaders Briefing, your essential update for UK school leaders. Today's episode focuses on key developments from the NEU teaching union's annual conference, including updated timelines for potential industrial action and analysis targeting workload and retention in Multi-Academy Trusts (MATs).
Key Briefings:
Potential June Strike Ballot Over Teacher Pay: We report on NEU General Secretary Daniel...
In this briefing:
Teacher Stress & Workload Crisis (NEU Research): We unpack the alarming findings from a recent NEU teaching union survey highlighting pervasive stress within the profession. Discover the data showing nearly two-thirds of teachers frequently stressed, linked directly to excessive working hours that often exceed directed time. Explore the reported impact on teachers' personal lives, wellbeing, and ability...
NEU ballot signals strong support for strike action over pay. Gove & Spielman enter Lords amid Ofsted debate. Scottish school pioneers Bitcoin fee payments.
This episode dives into critical challenges facing the education sector. We explore Dame Alison Peacock's strategies for tackling the teacher retention crisis, focusing on career changers, diversity, workload, and flexibility. Then, we cover the NAHT's call for mandatory anti-racism training for all staff and greater diversity in the curriculum. Finally, we examine a significant governance failure at a further education college inv...
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