The Key

25/08/2026

Get ready for your September INSET 📚

Our updated 2026/27 safeguarding INSET pack has everything you need to deliver effective, up-to-date training to your staff this September.

Your pack includes:
• The key updates from KCSIE 2026
• New interactive exercises, scenarios and videos
• Guidance on how AI impacts safeguarding
• A focused section on child-on-child abuse
• Support around pupil mental health
• A mix-and-match library of safeguarding topics, ranging from cyber-bullying to child criminal exploitation

Explore the full INSET pack: https://safeguarding.thekeysupport.com/factsheets-and-briefings/safeguarding-and-child-protection-inset-pack-202627/

20/07/2026

Why are teachers leaving the profession? 🤔

Dame Alison Peacock shares what the evidence really says about teacher recruitment and retention, from classroom behaviour to flexible working and why supporting teachers matters more than ever.

Watch the full episode here: https://youtu.be/1CbH3ULoDM8

Or listen wherever you get your podcasts!

17/07/2026

What builds professional respect in teaching?

Dame Alison Peacock argues that confidence comes from more than experience alone. It's built through reflection, evidence-informed practice, professional learning and being able to explain why you do what you do.

Watch the full conversation here: https://youtu.be/1CbH3ULoDM8

Or listen wherever you get your podcasts!

17/07/2026

Here are this week’s top sector stories 📰

📖 The DfE has published the Academy Trust Handbook, effective from 1 October 2026.

📸 New Teacher Tapp research commissioned by Tes has found that more than half of primary schools in England shared pupil photos on social media with parental permission.

💷 The DfE has set out proposals to ‘rebalance’ SEND funding towards schools, consulting on proposals to let local authorities transfer funds into mainstream schools' budgets for high-need cases.

To stay up to date with all the latest education news, sign up to our weekly news briefing: https://key.sc/signupnews

16/07/2026

"When teachers arrive in school, they're not the finished product."

In the latest episode of Trust Matters: Lessons in Leadership, Dame Alison Peacock shares why continuing to build knowledge, expertise and confidence throughout a teaching career is key to strengthening the profession.

Watch here: https://youtu.be/1CbH3ULoDM8

Or listen wherever you get your podcasts!

15/07/2026

The Academy Trust Handbook 2026 has been published 📢

Changes in the 2026 handbook include:

• A new focus on inclusion

• New financial training expectations for trustees

• Stricter rules for appointing chief financial officers

• Enhanced requirements for procurement and purchasing

• Tighter controls for executive pay, pensions, benefits and severance payments

Read more here 👇

The Academy Trust Handbook has been updated, but won't take effect until 1 October 2026. Changes of note include an explicit focus on inclusion, new financial training expectations for trustees and tighter controls over executive pay.

15/07/2026

NEW: What it will take to rebuild teaching as a profession 🎙️

Teaching is one of the most important jobs in society. So why doesn't it always feel like it's treated that way?

For the final episode of this series of Trust Matters: Lessons in Leadership, we sit down with Dame Alison Peacock, Chief Executive of the Chartered College of Teaching, to discuss what it will take to ensure teaching is recognised, trusted and valued.

Throughout the conversation, Alison shares her thoughts on:

• Why teaching deserves greater professional trust and respect
• How evidence-informed practice can strengthen, rather than constrain, teachers
• Why retention is about more than pay and workload
• The impact of accountability measures and performance pressures on teachers
• How AI should support teaching without replacing the uniquely human parts of it

Watch here: https://youtu.be/1CbH3ULoDM8

Or listen on Spotify, Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts.

13/07/2026

School attendance isn't always a choice 💔

Steve Chalke MBE, founder of Oasis UK, explains how housing instability can have a huge impact on school attendance. That's why Oasis is investing in stable housing, so children can focus on learning instead of where they'll be living next.

Watch the full episode here: https://youtu.be/VmzAJEl7MGo

🎧 Also available on Spotify and Apple Podcasts

10/07/2026

☀️ As temperatures continue to climb, is your school prepared for hot weather?

💧 Making sure everyone stays hydrated
🏃 Adapting PE and other physical activities
🌳 Limiting time outdoors during the hottest part of the day
🚨 Spotting the signs of heat exhaustion and dehydration

For more practical tips and guidance read our article below 👇

10/07/2026

Here are this week’s top sector stories 📰

🛡️ The DfE has published Keeping Children Safe in Education (KCSIE) for the 2026/27 academic year.

📚 Bridget Phillipson has announced that ministers will continue with plans to include religious education (RE) in the national curriculum for the first time.

🧑‍🏫 The Education Endowment Foundation (EEF) has produced a new guide to support inclusive teaching and strengthen classroom practice.

To stay up to date with all the latest education news, sign up to our weekly news briefing: https://key.sc/signupnews