The Budget included investment of an extra £1.8 billion into the early years in 2025-26, so the government will be spending over £8 billion in total.

This money will mean the government can continue the expanded roll out of funded childcare hours for parents of children from 9-months-old, up to 3- and 4-year-olds.

There is also £15 million to begin delivery of 3,000 school-based nurseries. Schools can bid for up to £150,000 to expand existing nurseries or open a new one.

The money is expected to mean 300 new or expanded nurseries open by September 2025.

Funding for schools will rise by £2.3 billion next year. £1 billion of that funding is for high needs, recognising the immense need in the sector. The government is continuing to develop plans to transform England’s Special Education Needs and Disabilities (SEND) system and improve outcomes for young people.

This remaining increase to the schools budget will continue to fully fund this summer’s 5.5% pay award for teachers, and help cover pay awards in 2025-26.

For schools, government has committed an additional £1.4 billion to make sure the School Rebuilding Programme can continue, which means 100 rebuilding projects starting next year and keeps us on track to rebuild 518 schools in total.

A further £2.1 billion is being allocated to maintain and improve school buildings, which is an increase of £300 million compared to last year.

Colleges will receive a further £300 million to invest in the further education estate, providing certainty for colleges to plan improvements to their facilities. The Budget has also allocated an additional £300 million to further education. 

Government is also taking steps to transform the Apprenticeship Levy into a more flexible Growth and Skills Levy by investing £40  million to help deliver new foundation and shorter apprenticeships in key sectors.

To support parents, particularly those from disadvantaged backgrounds, government is increasing investment in breakfast clubs to over £30 million, to help ensure children are ready to learn at the start of the school day, and helping drive improvements to behaviour, attendance and attainment.

The investment will both support the existing DfE school breakfast programme, used by around 2,700 schools, and support the roll out of our new free breakfast clubs, with the first 750 schools set to be up and running in the spring.

There is also £44 million for children’s social care, to support kinship and foster carers.

Flexible working can also promote equality of opportunity in the workforce, with over half of female teachers saying they would be more likely to apply to schools which offer flexible working roles. In addition, extending flexible working may attract former teachers back into the profession.

Six months after the new flexible working legislation came into effect, many teachers are now exploring their next career step in the lead up to the October resignation deadline. Schools and trusts should carefully consider the impact their flexible working offer could have on teacher recruitment and retention. The new findings show schools the benefits of offering flexible working opportunities to attract new talent, and to support retention of existing staff, helping teachers to achieve the right work-life balance.

The research, surveying more than seven thousand teachers, explored the benefits teachers associate with flexible working. 93% believe that flexible working has identifiable benefits. The top three that were selected from a list are: improves work-life balance (83%), promotes well-being (72%), and supports retention (52%). Advertising new roles as specifically ‘open to flexible working’ can be appealing to those looking for a new school role.

Flexible working is increasingly a normal expectation across other sectors and teaching is no different. The amended flexible working legislation allows employees to request flexible working from their first day of employment, removing the previous requirement for an employee to have 26 weeks’ continuous service before they can make a statutory flexible working request

There are some potential challenges to implementing flexible working in schools, such as timetabling, but many schools and trusts have embedded it effectively, and with the right planning and consideration, flexible working can be compatible with a career in teaching. The Department for Education has appointed a cohort of flexible working ambassador schools and trusts to highlight good practice and provide peer support in overcoming implementation challenges. There are also a range of webinars and a toolkit of practical resources to help with implementation.

Job-seeking teachers looking for their next move should always check Teaching Vacancies, or they could be missing out on their ideal role. It’s the official teacher recruitment service from the Department for Education. Teaching Vacancies supports schools to put money back where it’s needed most, in the classroom. More schools use the service than any other job site and it is now the biggest source of primary jobs directly listed by primary schools in England, and the second largest for secondary roles.

Jill Newbolt is Assistant Headteacher at Abbey School is South Yorkshire, a Flexible Working Ambassador School: “Flexible working has allowed me the time and freedom to explore my passions, whilst also progressing in my teaching career. Having the flexibility within my working week to be able to play football, means I am able to compete in International Walking Football, at a rather mature age, and has been incredible for my wellbeing. I would encourage any teacher looking for their next role to seek out flexible opportunities on Teaching Vacancies.”

Antonia Spinks is the CEO of Pioneer Educational Trust, a Flexible Working Ambassador Multi-Academy Trust based in Berkshire: “Our Trust offers a flexible job design process which supports colleagues at all levels to flex their roles without affecting their pay or schools’ budgets. Being proactive about flexible working has helped us recruit and retain experienced teachers, by offering a work/life balance that works for them. This has allowed us to support teacher wellbeing so they can deliver the best for our pupils. We advertise new roles via Teaching Vacancies, and we make it clear that we are open to discussing flexible working requests at every stage.”

Over the last academic year, schools listed over 50,000 teaching roles on Teaching Vacancies. Teachers can filter their search based on criteria including location, job title, education phase and working pattern (flexible hours, part-time). As the official jobsite for teachers, Teaching Vacancies is the go-to place to look for new flexible roles.

The Department for Education (DfE) introduced the accreditation scheme in response to the rapid growth of the online education services sector, as well as the growth of alternative provision, which marked an increase in the last academic year[i]. The scheme aims to reassure children, caregivers, schools, and local authorities of the quality of education and safeguarding arrangements offered by accredited providers.

Academy21 offers best-in-class online education providing students with the unique experience of live instruction and adaptive teaching, which helps to develop relationships and build students’ confidence. The school’s Ofsted reports can now be accessed via the ‘Get Information about Schools’ (GIAS) website as an accredited provider.

The DfE report highlights the “culture of high ambition and high expectations” evident at Academy21 and lauds the school’s “driven focus to provide the best online provision possible for the pupils they serve”. In particular, the report notes that the positive learning environment and approaches taken by the school enable students to gain confidence, progress academically and, in many cases, successfully reintegrate back into their school or other educational placements.

Alessandro Capozzi, Executive Head at Academy21 (pictured left), said: “We’re really proud to be the first Online AP in the UK to receive this recognition from the Department for Education (DfE). We’re committed to providing students with an exceptional education that caters to each individual child’s needs, and we welcome a scheme that recognises the vital role of quality online education in empowering students with additional needs or challenging circumstances.”

The report notes: “A significant strength of Academy21 is the strategic direction, focus and oversight the executive teams at Inspired Education. There are very high levels of accountability – alongside similar levels of support. Central teams including, for example, experts in safeguarding, finance, technological development and curriculum provide additional expertise to support ongoing improvements.

“Teachers demonstrate strong subject knowledge alongside a secure understanding of the technical knowledge and skills needed to operate within an online environment. The positive learning environment they create promote pupils’ confidence and this has an important impact on the progress they go on to make.”

Geoff Barton, General Secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders, said: “We are proud to have Academy 21 as a valued ASCL partner and are delighted that it has received a very positive report from Ofsted under the Online Education Accreditation Scheme. This accreditation scheme is an important initiative in the growing field of online education services and provides vital assurance to children, parents and local authorities of the quality of education and safeguarding arrangements. Academy 21 provides fantastic support to some of the education system’s most vulnerable students and its values closely align with ASCL’s mission to act on behalf of children and young people.”

As approved providers on many local authority frameworks, Academy21 works in partnership with over 900 schools and over 140 Local Authorities to provide quality, innovative and inclusive fully live online education in a supportive environment that enables students with additional needs or challenging circumstances to reconnect with learning and move successfully onto the next phase in their education.

For more information on the scheme, visit here.

Esri UK created mobile apps that enabled children to map their emotions along with what they saw, heard and smelt across the gardens and start learning some of the skills needed to study biodiversity. Findings were explored on an interactive dashboard, helping them to understand how different environments cause different reactions.

The National Education Nature Park is a pioneering Department for Education initiative launching later this year, created to teach children about climate change and improve biodiversity across the country. Run by a partnership led by the Natural History Museum (NHM), working with the Royal Horticultural Society (RHS) and geospatial partner Esri UK, the park will enable young people to lead the way in mapping, monitoring and enhancing biodiversity at their places of education, equipping them new skills and improving wellbeing.

The activity day was visited by representatives from the DfE and Chair of Trustees of the NHM, Sir Patrick Vallance and Clare Matterson CBE, Director General of the RHS. Baroness Barran MBE, Parliamentary Under Secretary of State at the DfE, attended as the DfE announced £15m in funding for education settings in the most deprived and nature depleted areas to engage with the programme. Children who took part were from schools in pilot regions of the Northwest and West Midlands, currently helping to shape the National Education Nature Park scheme.

Esri UK created mapping apps for the event, enabling young people to record their experiences by plotting what they saw, heard and smelt, along with the emotions they felt at different locations. Another app introduced them to species identification and the skills needed for tending to different plants and wildlife. The software also allowed them to explore the results on an interactive dashboard to understand how different environments cause different reactions and encourage problem solving. Designed to introduce young children to the concepts of mapping and citizen science, the test apps will help develop final versions for the Nature Park.

“Digital mapping enabled the children to record and share information and start learning some of the skills needed to study biodiversity at their own learning sites,” explained Katie Hall, Schools Manager at Esri UK. “This type of activity helps young people begin to understand our emotional connection with the natural world and how improvements to it have a positive impact on wellbeing. Biodiversity mapping will help children develop a wide range of skills, including numeracy, spatial awareness, data visualisation and analysis, which encourages analytical thinking. All of these skills help prepare them for future careers and to better protect the world around us.”

Doug Gurr, Director of the Natural History Museum said: “We are absolutely thrilled to be working with the Department for Education and our partners to make the National Education Nature Park and Climate Action Awards start to become a reality. In the face of the planetary emergency and Museum research showing that the UK is one of the most nature-depleted countries in the world, having our scientists sharing their world-leading biodiversity expertise with the scientists of tomorrow gives me so much hope, both for the future of biodiversity in this country and for the futures of the young people taking part.”

Clare Matterson CBE, Director General of the Royal Horticultural Society, said: “From creating pollinator-friendly habitats, digging ponds, identifying wildlife or planning planting schemes, nurseries, schools and colleges will be able to play a driving role in mapping, monitoring and enhancing biodiversity on their doorstep. Children and young people will have a chance to create and grow a garden that works for wildlife, to learn new skills and understand impacts of climate change – all of which offers a gateway to a lifelong interest in nature, biodiversity and sustainability.”

All education settings in England will be able to sign up to become part of the National Education Nature Park and work towards the Climate Action Awards via a new online platform, set to launch in the Autumn term. They will also be able to access the free resources and track biodiversity gains in their areas.

All those interested in taking part can receive the latest updates by signing up to the NHM mailing list here: https://www.nhm.ac.uk/education-nature-park

Evidence shows that children start to form ideas about their future as they start primary school. By linking lessons in an age-appropriate way to different careers, training and skills, the programme will bring learning alive and inspire pupils about the world of work. It will also provide opportunities for pupils to meet employers and role models from a range of industries, helping to raise aspirations and link their learning to future skills, jobs and careers.

From 1 January, young people will also benefit from strengthened careers advice through a change in the law that will see all year 8- 13 pupils have at least six opportunities to meet a range of providers of technical education. By hearing directly from training providers, pupils will get to understand the full range of opportunities available to them, including apprenticeships, T Levels and Higher Technical Qualifications, not just a traditional academic route.

This builds on the requirement that every secondary school should offer their pupils at least one experience of a workplace by age 16 and a further work experience by age 18, giving them the opportunity to get a sense of the skills that are valued in the workplace to forge a great career.

The primary school scheme will be rolled out across 55 disadvantaged areas of the country where school outcomes are the weakest and have been for some time and delivers on a commitment in the Schools White Paper. It will support more than 600,000 pupils in over 2,200 primary schools, giving them the kick start they need to boost their ambitions, and is backed by £2.6 million.

Minister for Skills, Apprenticeships and Higher Education Robert Halfon said: “To deliver the future workforce that this country needs, it is essential that careers advice and work experience helps young people from all backgrounds to climb the ladder of opportunity.

“The changes we are making to boost our careers programme will raise ambitions from an early age for thousands of children in primary schools across the country, while providing opportunities to unlock talent, think about skills, engage with employers and discover different workplaces.”

The new primary careers programme will be coordinated by The Careers & Enterprise Company (CEC), working with Teach First who will provide training and support primary school teachers in disadvantaged areas to deliver the scheme to their pupils.

Oli de Botton, CEO of The Careers & Enterprise Company said: “I know from my time as a Headteacher how important it is to inspire young people about their future – raising their sights and dispelling stereotypes. Our new primary programme will bring careers inspiration to children early in their school life by connecting them with role models and showing them how different subjects relate to jobs.

“This programme will develop the skills of teachers to deliver career-related learning in lessons. It will help young people from disadvantaged communities explore the world of work in exciting and meaningful ways, raising aspirations and reducing barriers – encouraging children to dream big.”

Following a public consultation, the Department for Education has confirmed changes to French, German and Spanish GCSEs, supported by a research review by Ofsted, to help students build confidence and excel in learning languages.

In the updated GCSEs, students will be assessed on the most common vocabulary used in conversations and writing, as well as grammar and pronunciation, increasing clarity for teachers and improving the practical benefits for students.

Research shows that a focus on these ‘building blocks’ enables students to more clearly see progress in their ability to understand and use the language, and in turn grow in confidence and motivation.

The changes aim to fulfil the government’s ambition for 90% of Year 10 pupils to study EBacc subjects for GCSE by September 2025. So far, over 95% of students have been entered for GCSE English, maths and science and over 80% in humanities subjects, and the government wants to increase the number of students studying language GCSEs too.

The consultation was based on recommendations from an expert panel chaired by Ian Bauckham and received 1,644 responses, with the majority from language teachers agreeing with the proposals. The plans for the new French, German and Spanish GCSEs reflect sector feedback, giving exam boards an additional year to develop them.

Schools Minister Robin Walker said: “Studying languages opens up a world of new, exciting opportunities for people and is hugely important for a modern global economy.

“That’s why we want more young people to take up modern language GCSEs, and these evidence-based changes aim to do just that – making these qualifications more well-rounded and accessible, and helping more young people to enjoy learning languages.”

The revised GCSEs will start to be taught in September 2024, with first exams being held in 2026. The changes to the language GCSEs include:

• Students will be assessed on the basis of 1,200 ‘word families’ at foundation tier GCSE and 1,700 ‘word families’ in higher tier GCSE
• An example of a word family could be ‘manage’, ‘managed’ and ‘manages’. Exam boards will select topics and themes to inform the selection of key vocabulary, as opposed being prescribed in the subject content
• At least 85 per cent of the ‘word families’ will be selected from the 2,000 most frequently occurring words in a language to make sure students have a good knowledge of the most common words

Ofqual has also confirmed the assessment approach today, following a public consultation, which sets out the revised assessment objectives and confirms that the current use of tiered assessments and non-exam assessment (NEA) will continue. Ofqual will now conduct a public technical consultation on the details of assessment requirements and then exam boards will develop GCSE specifications, ready to be taught from September 2024.