School leadership topics
Choose one topic, then narrow. Start with one of six focused guides, or find your topic in the A–Z.
Focused guides
Six topics with a longer guide, plus the resources, articles and partner products behind each one.
- Safeguarding and DSL leadershipKeeping children safe in education 2026 has applied to schools in England since 1 September 2026. What changed, what to check this term and the common pitfalls, with the paragraph numbers to look up.
- Ofsted report cards, the toolkit and the renewed inspection frameworkOfsted no longer gives a school in England a single overall grade. A full inspection now ends in a report card: a grade for each evaluation area on a five-point scale, from ‘exceptional’ to ‘urgent improvement’, with safeguarding reported separately as ‘met’ or ‘not met’.
- Wellbeing for school leadersThe DfE’s education staff wellbeing charter, what Ofsted’s toolkit looks for and pupils’ mental health in KCSIE 2026, with what to do this term, for schools in England.
- SEND in England: the code of practice, the graduated approach and where reform standsThe SEND code of practice and the law behind it still apply in England. The reforms the government set out in February 2026 are proposals: it does not expect new legislation to take effect until September 2029, and it has not yet published its response to the consultation.
- Primary assemblies and collective worshipThe law on daily collective worship in England, what to check this term and the common pitfalls, with primary assembly packs for the school year.
- Workload reduction for school leadersWhat the teachers’ pay and conditions document and Ofsted’s toolkit say about workload in schools in England, what to check this term and the DfE’s free toolkits.
All topics
Each topic page says what it covers.
Explore roles and education updates
Browse leadership content by role and follow education updates in The Roundup. You can also read articles.