England's school news this week includes a safeguarding duty coming into force, academy executive pay controls and research on young people's experiences. Funding guidance and educational psychologist training plans need different responses from consultation delays and reported inspection changes.
This briefing covers Sunday 27 September to Saturday 3 October 2026. Sources were reviewed on 4 October. The nine stories below distinguish confirmed changes, baseline evidence, provider statements and reported intentions, with a proportionate local action or watch point for each.
Quick scan: nine developments and their status
| Date | Development and status | Leadership response |
|---|---|---|
| 29 September; effective 1 October | Academy senior pay controls: guidance published, controls in force | Check approvals before recruitment and pay decisions |
| 30 September | Safeguarding information-sharing duty: commenced | Review the local sharing and escalation procedure |
| 30 September | Bromcom SSO incident: FAQ updated, investigation ongoing | Route any controller notice to the DPO |
| 1 October | Growing Up in the 2020s: baseline research published | Check pupil voice and access to trusted adults |
| 1 October | EP training: applications opened for September 2027 | Plan against current capacity and future training separately |
| 1 October, 23:00 | Progress 8: consultation-response delay reported | Keep options planning conditional on the final model |
| 2 October | 2027/28 NFF: summary policy published | Separate formula assumptions from local allocations |
| 2 October | Prevent: practical DSL guidance updated | Brief staff on context and the existing referral route |
| 2 October | Ofsted changes: ministerial intention reported | Watch for official detail before revising procedures |
Safeguarding and data: check the duty and the evidence
30 September: the information-sharing duty came into force
The new safeguarding information-sharing duty commenced on 30 September. The accompanying government guidance was updated earlier. The event this week is commencement of the duty. The advice predates this window.
Schools need to understand the duty's scope alongside their existing safeguarding and data-protection responsibilities. A statutory sharing duty still requires a considered decision about the relevant information and the appropriate recipient.
Ask the DSL and data-protection lead to check local procedures against the legislation and guidance. Confirm who records the rationale, who receives the information and how unresolved concerns are escalated.
Sources: the commencement regulation and government information-sharing guidance.
2 October: Prevent guidance added examples of concerning behaviour
DfE updated its guidance for designated safeguarding leads on 2 October. Additions to concerning behaviours include fixation on weaponry or explosives and antisemitism.
This practical guidance is non-mandatory; the underlying Prevent duty is statutory. Examples support professional assessment in context. They don't form a checklist that automatically establishes radicalisation or determines a referral.
Brief relevant staff on the updated examples and the school's existing route to the DSL. Preserve the child's circumstances and the evidence behind any concern. Follow local safeguarding arrangements where an urgent risk needs action.
Source: DfE's Prevent duty guidance collection, updated 2 October 2026.
30 September: Bromcom updated its legacy SSO incident FAQ
Bromcom's FAQ was updated on 30 September about an incident identified on 6 September. The investigation remains ongoing. This is an update on an earlier incident, with affected controllers being contacted.
The provider says the incident involved limited registration data, with no evidence of MIS compromise and no passwords or tokens exposed. These are provider statements about the investigation. Independent assurance of each school's exposure remains outstanding.
If contacted, preserve the notice and route it to the DPO. Confirm the affected records, chronology and mitigations. Each controller must assess its own notification and other obligations; uncertainty needs follow-up rather than a blanket reassurance.
Sources: Bromcom's incident FAQ and Data Protection Education's incident analysis.
Pay and funding: put the new rules into the planning calendar
29 September: academy senior pay guidance preceded 1 October controls
DfE published senior pay controls guidance on 29 September, effective from 1 October. Trusts must seek prior approval before advertising new executive appointments above £174,000 remuneration or £25,000 performance-related pay.
Approval is also required for executive remuneration increases faster than those of the trust's teachers, regardless of the pay level. The teacher comparison uses the trust's actual overall change, including progression, rather than only the national award.
The remuneration threshold is pro-rated for part-time roles; performance pay is assessed separately. Boards and HR leads should check proposed packages, supporting evidence and approval timing before recruitment or a pay decision proceeds.
Sources: DfE's senior pay controls and executive salary guidance.
2 October: the 2027/28 funding formula policy was published
DfE published its schools national funding formula summary policy for 2027/28 on 2 October. Formula factors are mostly unchanged, with a 2.5% mirroring threshold for local authorities' movement towards the national formula.
That threshold is not a promised 2.5% increase in every school's budget. Expanded free-school-meal eligibility will be funded separately through the dedicated schools grant because of the lag in formula data.
Read the new SEND inclusion factor context alongside local allocation plans. Finance leads should record relevant block-transfer and disapplication deadlines, then model pupil numbers and local formula choices before treating national policy as a settled school allocation.
Source: DfE's 2027/28 schools NFF summary policy, published 2 October 2026.
Pupil experience and SEND: listen now, plan capacity realistically
1 October: Growing Up in the 2020s published its first pupil baseline
DfE published the first survey findings for young people aged 12 and 13 on 1 October. Nearly 8,000 Year 8 pupils were surveyed in 2024/25 for the Growing Up in the 2020s study.
Among pupils who reported bullying, 31% said staff knew about it. Across the survey, 63% reported school belonging and 25% met the study's measure of probable mental health disorder. The findings also show inequalities associated with SEND and disadvantage.
This is baseline research, not proof of a trend or a diagnosis of individual pupils. Leaders can review whether pupils know a trusted adult, can report bullying accessibly and receive a visible response. Examine whose voices local surveys may miss.
Source: DfE's Growing Up in the 2020s research brief, published 1 October 2026.
1 October: funded EP training applications opened for 2027 entry
Applications opened on 1 October for educational psychologist funded training beginning in September 2027. Schools Week reported an increase in funded places from 204 to 239, an additional 35 places.
The programme is a three-year doctorate. More training places may strengthen future capacity, but they don't supply an immediate increase in qualified EP availability for schools this term.
SENCOs and trust leaders should distinguish current commissioned access, waiting times and agreed interim support from future workforce plans. Share the application route with eligible colleagues without promising a shorter assessment wait now.
Sources: the Association of Educational Psychologists' funded training information and Schools Week's training-place report.
Accountability: keep planning assumptions open
1 October, 23:00: a Progress 8 response delay was reported
Schools Week reported at 23:00 on 1 October that the response to the consultation on key stage 4 performance measures had been delayed. DfE said it would respond in due course.
The proposed Progress 8 model remains a proposal. The delay matters for GCSE options planning because accountability assumptions can influence curriculum, staffing and advice to families before the final design is known.
Keep a record of which options decisions rely on confirmed requirements and which depend on the consultation outcome. Plan review points for official detail; avoid presenting the proposed model to families as an adopted rule.
Sources: Schools Week's delay report and DfE's performance-measures consultation.
2 October: further Ofsted changes were reported as a ministerial intention
The Guardian reported on 2 October that the Education Secretary planned further changes to Ofsted, with details to be communicated. Ofsted declined to comment, and its evaluation is due later.
This is a reported intention, not an enacted inspection change. Leaders cannot infer a revised framework, complaints route or inspection outcome from the report alone.
Continue using the current published inspection arrangements. Assign someone to watch for official announcements and the evaluation, then assess any confirmed changes against the school's existing evidence and governance processes.
Source: the Guardian's Ofsted report, published 2 October 2026.
Where Student Radar fits
Authorised staff can organise and review local evidence through SEND/Provision Map, SEF/CPD and Statutory Cohorts/Attendance. My Actions can record agreed follow-ups with owners and review dates. Access and professional review still need to match the purpose of the work.
Student Radar can't validate national statistics, determine legal compliance, decide safeguarding referrals or inspection outcomes, set pay or funding policy, or make pupil decisions. Those responsibilities remain with people using authoritative records and the applicable rules.
Week ahead: keep duties, decisions and watch points distinct
- DSL and DPO: check sharing procedures, the Prevent update and any incident notice.
- Trust board and HR: confirm executive-pay approval requirements before proceeding.
- Finance lead: map NFF assumptions and the relevant local deadlines.
- Pastoral and SEND leads: review reporting access, pupil voice and current EP support.
- Curriculum and governance leads: watch for the Progress 8 response and official Ofsted detail.
- Give each agreed follow-up an owner, a source and a review date.