Insights

The Department for Education (DfE) has released the updated Academy Trust Handbook 2025, which is effective from 1 September 2025.

One of the things I deal with on a regular basis are contracts that auto-renew. So for example an academy trust enters into a services contract that looks like it's set up to run for two years. However buried in the terms and conditions is some drafting that says unless the client takes some specified proactive actions, then rather than come to an end after those two years the contract will automatically roll-over and the term will be extended - sometimes by a year, sometimes by more. (The 'worst' example I've seen was a contact that was auto-extended by an additional five years).

Media headlines have dramatised the recent statutory government guidance, which allows local authorities flexibility to use capital receipts from qualifying asset sales to fund revenue costs. It has been confirmed that this could include funds generated by local authorities in disposing of school playing fields. 

From the early 1990s, PFI (or Private Finance Initiative) projects were used by the Government to help regenerate school estates across the country. 

This judgment clarifies that, for the purposes of the Equality Act 2010, sex-based rights and protections are grounded in biological sex. That is, the word 'woman' and 'man' refer to biological sex.

Whilst the recruitment process is an important part of selecting the right person for the job, the probationary period is critical for evaluating new staff members and ensuring they are the right fit - both professionally and culturally for your school.