Articles

MAT mergers are increasingly forming part of the strategic conversation for trusts considering how best to build resilience, strengthen school improvement capacity and create sustainable organisations for the future. We are seeing more trusts explore whether combining their resources, expertise and infrastructure could deliver greater benefits for the schools they serve.

As technology continues to shape the way people communicate, gather information and raise concerns, it is crucial for colleges to adapt their approaches to complaint management effectively and sensitively

Further education (FE) is entering a period of profound change. Devolution, industrial strategy, demographic growth and renewed government investment could align colleges more closely with local economic priorities, positioning them as vital infrastructure for growth, skills and opportunity.

Yet demand for places and specialist facilities is rising just as colleges have less freedom to borrow and much of the estate still needs significant investment.

For many further education (FE) colleges delivering higher education (HE), regulation has involved oversight from both the Department for Education (DfE) and the Office for Students (OfS). Colleges have therefore had to operate within two regulatory frameworks, sometimes addressing similar issues through different requirements.

The Government’s schools white paper, Every Child Achieving and Thriving, and the SEND consultation, Putting Children and Young People First, set out a major proposed restructuring of the schools and SEND system in England.

The supervision exemption was removed from the definition of regulated activity with children, as it applies to unpaid/voluntary roles, with effect from 1 September 2026.

Organisations that permit adults to work in a voluntary/unpaid capacity with children should now review those arrangements and decide whether to carry out enhanced DBS and Children's Barred List checks.