Category: Uncategorized
December 2025 – Other News Highlights
UK government takes control of SEND budgets As we have previously reported, the pressure on the UK SEND schooling system is closing to breaking point. A major change announced in the Budget is the UK government taking greater central control of SEND funding. Relocating families may see tighter funding decisions, Read more
End of UK government support for IB diploma in state schools
In October 2025, the UK Department for Education (DfE) confirmed it will remove the additional funding that state schools currently receive for running the IB Diploma Programme (DP). Funding will cease from the 2026–27 academic year, with a transitional period in 2026–27 to ease the shift. Schools will still be Read more
UK government delaying decisions on childcare strategy
The UK government has indicated that it will set out a new pathway for early years and nursery care "later this year". Concerns include levels of funding not keeping pace with the increased costs of running childcare (partly from the Government NI hikes), access to nursery care (especially in rural Read more
Continued pressure on SEN places
Over two-thirds of special educational secondary schools are over capacity in 2023-2024 as the number of pupils looking for specialist SEN support continues to rise (25% over the past 12 months). An estimated 1.7 million school-aged children have special educational needs and disabilities in England. The government has said that Read more
Yo-yo birth rates
Changes in the UK birth rates are impacting how councils manage availability of school places. Currently the falling birth rate is meaning much more availability in the younger age groups, whilst the "bulge" years of the late 2000s is greatly impacting on secondary school places, especially in urban areas. Bristol, Read more
Will state education reforms impact relocating famlies
Over 70% of the families we help are now looking to find places in state schools rather than independent or international schools. One of the main reasons for this has been the success of UK state school academy programme - one of the very few successful cross-party policy initiatives across Read more
VAT and private schools
January 2025 saw the promised 20% VAT on private and international schools across the UK. Dean Associates' comprehensive review of the impact of VAT on independent schools fees has shown that schools have varied their response to the government levy. These can be broadly categorised in three areas: 1 Read more
Academies and Free Schools
One of the most substantial shifts of the last 20 years has been the move of state schools away from direct local authority control - 80% of state secondaries are now academies or free schools - as are 50% of all state primaries and state SEN schools. When you overlay Read more
Vocational education – still messy!
An increasing number of families are interested in the options for vocational education for children moving over the age of 16. The last government introduced T-Levels - a vocational equivalent of the academic A Level - to try and streamline and simplify vocational options. However, parents are still faced with Read more
The rise of home education
There has been a 60% rise in families opting to home educate their children since the Covid pandemic. In nearly all cases the decision to home education is a last resort and indicates failings in school provision, especially for children with SEN requirements. Home education can be a complicated process Read more