5 June 2026 weekly update

Dear Colleagues,

As we begin the final term of this school year, I wanted to reflect on the range of leadership that schools are asked to provide, often quietly and at very short notice before then mentioning some of the expected changes arriving in September.

Over the half-term break there was renewed concern about water supplies affecting a significant number of schools in Kent. This time, the scale of disruption that had initially been identified did not materialise, which was a relief. Even so, this and prior episodes are a useful reminder that school leaders and staff are constantly managing risks and dependencies that sit well beyond teaching and learning, and often have to do so at speed and with incomplete information.

Schools work within a framework of services and systems that sit beyond the school gate, whether that is utilities, transport, health provision, safeguarding arrangements or wider family support. When one of those systems comes under pressure, it is usually school leaders and staff who absorb the immediate impact and create day to day stability for children and families. At different times that may mean responding to infrastructure failures, serious safeguarding concerns, critical incidents in the community or the profoundly difficult circumstances that follow tragic events. That human weight is part of school leadership as much as the operational one, and I want to acknowledge the professionalism, judgement and care with which colleagues continue to respond.

Alongside dealing with the unexpected, the ongoing cycle of change and improvement continues, looking ahead to September, one of the large changes is the expansion of free school meals. From the start of the 2026 to 2027 academic year, all children in households receiving Universal Credit will be entitled to a free meal. Schools should also be preparing for the new school uniform requirements that apply from September 2026; schools may not require parents and carers to buy more than 3 branded items of school uniform, with secondary schools able to require 4 where one of those items is a tie. Schools should therefore review policies now and ensure that second-hand routes and clear information are available to families before summer purchasing begins.

There are then a number of important things to watch for over the this term. The DfE held the annual consultation earlier this year on proposed revisions to Keeping Children Safe in Education with a view to changes applying from September 2026, but the final version has not yet been published. Schools should therefore expect a further safeguarding update before the start of the new academic year and be ready to review policy, training, induction and local processes once the final document appears, as is done each year.

Alongside that, there is further detail still to come on some of the SEND reforms set out in the White Paper and the accompanying consultation, including the proposed Inclusion Bases model. Our understanding in Kent is that further DfE guidance is anticipated this term.

The new suspensions and permanent exclusions guidance comes into force over the summer, and whilst much of it ratified principles that schools will already recognise, the detail on managed moves, off-site direction, information sharing and pupil movement requires careful reading by leaders and governors.

As we move through the final term, I am very aware that much of what school leaders and staff do is rarely visible in full. Alongside the daily work of education sits a constant responsibility to respond to uncertainty, to support children and families through difficulty, and to keep communities steady when circumstances are unsettled. The care and professionalism with which colleagues continue to do that deserves recognition.

Best wishes

Nick Abrahams
Assistant Director Education (West Kent)