England's school news this week brings commitments on antisemitism, serious-violence guidance and a review of teacher working conditions. Leaders need to separate future changes from responsibilities already in place.
New early-years results, attendance estimates and inspection data also need context. Breakfast-club research offers delivery lessons, while spare adrenaline nasal sprays remain a consultation proposal.
This briefing covers 18 to 24 October 2026, with sources reviewed on 25 October and proportionate actions for schools and trusts.
Quick scan: status and the next school decision
| Date | Development and status | Practical response |
|---|---|---|
| 21 October | Bell review: 27 recommendations accepted | Track implementation and review existing response arrangements |
| 22 October; corrected 23 October | Serious violence: guidance, no new expectations | Read duties, guidance and recommendations separately |
| 22 October | Teacher working conditions: STRB remit | Keep current timetables; follow the review |
| 22 October | EYFS profile: accredited official statistics | Review cohort context and support gaps |
| 22 October | Attendance: estimates through 9 October | Compare equivalent periods and check local records |
| 23 October | Secondary IDSR: provisional KS4 update | Annotate provisional figures and cohort context |
| 23 October | Breakfast clubs: final evaluation | Check access, staffing, quiet spaces and handovers |
| 19 October | Adrenaline nasal sprays: consultation | Consider a response by 14 December |
Safety and inclusion: distinguish commitments from existing responsibilities
21 October: government accepted all 27 Bell review recommendations
The government accepted all 27 recommendations of the independent review into antisemitism in schools and colleges, led by Sir David Bell. An implementation group will take the work forward.
The response includes commitments on training and scrutiny. Acceptance doesn't make every recommendation an immediate school duty. Check implementation details and timing before changing policy or describing a new requirement to staff.
Review how staff recognise and respond to antisemitism under existing safeguarding and equality arrangements. Check reporting routes, support for affected pupils and staff, and who will monitor the implementation announcements.
Sources: independent review into antisemitism and the 21 October ministerial statement.
22 October: DfE published serious-violence guidance
DfE published Understanding and preventing serious violence in education on 22 October and corrected it on 23 October. The guidance explicitly introduces no new expectations for education settings.
It distinguishes existing duties, guidance and recommendations. Keep those categories visible when briefing staff. Shortening advice for a slide or checklist shouldn't turn a practice suggestion into a claimed statutory requirement.
Ask the safeguarding lead to compare the guidance with the school's prevention, response and partnership arrangements. Record any local gap, who will address it and when the action will be reviewed.
Source: DfE's serious-violence guidance and update history.
Staffing: the 2027 working-conditions review has begun
22 October: the STRB received its working-conditions remit
The School Teachers' Review Body (STRB) has been asked to make recommendations by April 2027. Any resulting changes could take effect from September 2027. The remit isn't an immediate timetable change.
The letter rules out increasing the 1,265 directed hours, 195 working days or pupil time. Leaders should retain existing arrangements while following the review and any subsequent government response.
If contributing evidence, describe where arrangements create workload or operational problems and how alternatives would affect pupils and staff. Separate observed pressures from assumptions about the review's eventual recommendations.
Sources: STRB remit publication and the working-conditions remit letter.
Outcomes and inspection: keep the population and period beside the figure
22 October: EYFS results improved overall, with a wider FSM gap
The accredited 2025/26 early years foundation stage profile statistics show 72.3% of children reached a good level of development (GLD), up 4.0 percentage points. The free school meals (FSM) gap widened to 21.6 percentage points.
GLD was 24.1% among children with special educational needs (SEN) and 5.0% among those with an education, health and care (EHC) plan. These are teacher assessments of cohorts, not predictions for individual children.
Read local results alongside cohort composition, assessment practice and support children received. Ask which areas need attention and whose experience is missing. National group rates can guide enquiry but can't explain a child's needs.
Source: 2025/26 EYFS profile results.
22 October: attendance estimates covered the period through 9 October
Year-to-date absence was estimated at 5.46%. For the week commencing 5 October, absence was 5.57% overall and 12.04% in special schools. The release stops at 9 October; it isn't a live late-October picture.
The school response rate for the latest full day was 98%, and estimates are subject to revision. Use this release as an early indicator. Keep its coverage and provisional nature beside comparisons with local attendance records.
Check equivalent periods and settings before interpreting differences. Use authorised records and conversations with pupils and families to understand barriers and agree support; a national rate doesn't identify the cause of an absence.
Source: DfE attendance estimates, week 41.
23 October: secondary IDSRs gained provisional KS4 data
Ofsted updated secondary inspection data summary reports (IDSRs) with provisional key stage 4 data on 23 October. Primary IDSRs were unchanged by this update.
Secondary leaders should read the updated report alongside the IDSR guide, check cohort context and label provisional figures clearly. Explain unusual patterns with evidence, while keeping uncertainty visible to governors and inspectors.
Sources: IDSR news and updates and the IDSR guide.
Daily provision: use research and consultation within their limits
23 October: the final breakfast-club evaluation was published
The early-adopters evaluation uses mixed methods to examine delivery and experiences of breakfast clubs. Its findings can inform operational decisions; they don't establish causal effects on attainment or attendance.
Use the report to review access, staffing, quiet spaces and handovers into the school day. Ask families and staff where arrangements work and where barriers remain, then give any agreed change an owner and review date.
Sources: final evaluation publication and the breakfast-club research report.
19 October: consultation opened on spare adrenaline nasal sprays
The consultation proposes changing the Human Medicines Regulations so schools could hold spare adrenaline nasal sprays for anaphylaxis. It closes on 14 December 2026. This is a proposal, not current permission or a new duty.
The legislative proposal is UK-wide. If adopted, England's school guidance would be updated later. Continue current medical arrangements and individual healthcare plans while the consultation and legislative process run.
Consider a response with the medical-needs lead, covering training, storage, emergency procedures and communication with families. Don't change an individual child's treatment on the basis of a proposed regulatory change.
Sources: MHRA consultation and its announcement and closing date.
Week ahead: give each follow-up an owner
- Ask the safeguarding lead to review existing antisemitism and serious-violence arrangements, separating current duties from future commitments.
- Give a staffing lead responsibility for tracking the STRB review without changing current timetables on the strength of the remit.
- Keep cohort definitions, covered periods and provisional labels beside EYFS, attendance and secondary IDSR comparisons.
- Review one breakfast-club access or handover issue with families and staff, then agree a dated action.
- Decide who will coordinate any adrenaline nasal-spray consultation response before 14 December.