Reception results jump, teacher conditions remit, antisemitism review accepted and breakfast club findings (24 October 2026)
The Department for Education had a busy week. Reception-year results posted their biggest annual rise since the 2021 EYFS reforms, the Education Secretary sent the School Teachers' Review Body a remit on pay floors, pay ceilings and the 195-day rule, and the government accepted all 27 recommendations of Sir David Bell's antisemitism review.
We also cover the final evaluation of the free breakfast club early adopters and a change at the top of the department.
72.3% of reception children reached a good level of development in 2025/26, up 4.0 points in a year
Early years foundation stage profile results published on 22 October show 72.3% of children had a good level of development (GLD) at the end of reception, up from 68.3% in 2024/25 and 65.2% in 2021/22. The share at the expected level across all 17 early learning goals rose to 70.9%, from 66.9%. The average child reached the expected level in 14.4 goals, up from 14.1.
DfE says the 4.0 percentage point rises on both measures are the largest since the 2021 reforms; the next biggest were 2.1 and 2.3 points in 2022/23. The government's target is 75% reaching a GLD by 2028, and the release asks readers to interpret the jump alongside policy changes, including wider access to profile data for accountable bodies from September 2025 and an updated profile handbook.
The disadvantage gap did not close. Children eligible for free school meals rose to 54.8%, against 76.4% for those not eligible, so the gap widened slightly from 21.3 to 21.6 points. The gap between autumn-born and summer-born children narrowed from 14.4 to 12.2 points. DfE published local authority GLD targets for 2028 and a contextual GLD score methodology on the same day.
Sources: Explore education statistics, EYFS profile results 2025/26, 22 October 2026, GOV.UK, EYFS profile results: 2025 to 2026, 22 October 2026, GOV.UK, Local authority GLD targets: 2028, 22 October 2026.
Lucy Powell asks the STRB to design an academy pay floor, remove the pay ceiling and loosen the 195-day rule
With pay for 2026/27 and 2027/28 already settled, the Education Secretary's remit letter of 22 October to STRB chair Dr Mike Aldred turns to working conditions. The review body is asked for recommendations on three matters: how the minimum pay floor for academy and alternative provision academy teachers under the Children's Wellbeing and Schools Act should work, how the ceiling on pay should be removed for maintained schools, and a targeted change to the 195-day provision.
The letter says the pay floor should cover pay only, not allowances, TLR payments or pensions, and asks whether each STPCD pay range needs its own floor or whether a single floor should apply to all teachers. On leadership pay it asks whether the current facility to pay heads up to 25% above their group maximum is enough, and whether that flexibility should extend to assistant and deputy heads. Threshold arrangements stay.
On working time, DfE wants to clarify that teachers may work their directed hours on up to 195 days, giving leaders room to vary individual patterns, but full-time teachers will not be required to be available on more than 195 days and directed time stays at 1,265 hours. Pupil time is unaffected. The letter also confirms the academy 'have regard' duty is intended to start in September 2027. Recommendations are due by April 2027, with changes in place before 1 September 2027. The letter says teachers will have had a 17% pay rise by September 2027 since the government took office.
Sources: GOV.UK, STRB remit letter: working conditions for 2027, 22 October 2026, Letter from Lucy Powell to Dr Mike Aldred (PDF), 22 October 2026.
Government accepts all 27 recommendations of Sir David Bell's review of antisemitism in schools and colleges
The independent review, published on 21 October, found that three in five Jewish pupils aged 16 to 19 had experienced or witnessed antisemitism, and that contemporary forms linked to the Middle East had made it 'unacceptably casual'. The government has accepted all 27 recommendations.
The response commits DfE to encourage all schools and colleges to adopt the IHRA working definition of antisemitism, introduce dedicated antisemitism training for leaders and safeguarding staff, strengthen Keeping Children Safe in Education and the guidance on political impartiality, improve reporting and recording of antisemitic incidents, and give enhanced support on complex cases. An implementation group has been set up, and Sir David Bell will review progress after one year.
Sources: DfE press release, 21 October 2026, GOV.UK, Independent review into antisemitism in schools and colleges, 21 October 2026.
Breakfast club early adopter evaluation: 80% of parent users say the club helps them get to work on time
The final report on the free breakfast club early adopters, by Ipsos UK with the Behavioural Insights Team and Northumbria University, was published on 23 October. Its parent survey drew 5,487 responses from 321 early adopter schools. Among users, 80% said the club helped them get to work on time, 73% said it let them work earlier or longer, 52% were spending less on childcare and 22% said they were less likely to run out of food before payday.
Among non-users, 49% said their existing arrangements were adequate, 32% preferred family breakfast time and 26% said their child did not want to go. Timing (17%), food concerns (9%) and booking inflexibility (7%) were the practical barriers, and some parents wrongly assumed the clubs were only for families eligible for free school meals. The report recommends clearer messages that the offer is universal, flexible booking and quiet spaces for pupils with SEND. Observed staff-to-pupil ratios in mainstream settings ran from 1:10 to 1:13.
Sources: GOV.UK, Breakfast club early adopters: final report, 23 October 2026, Ipsos UK research report (PDF), 23 October 2026.
Simon Ridley will replace Susan Acland-Hood as DfE Permanent Secretary
Simon Ridley, currently Second Permanent Secretary at the Home Office and formerly head of the Cabinet Office COVID-19 Taskforce, has been appointed Permanent Secretary at DfE, the department announced on 21 October. Susan Acland-Hood, who has led the department since 2020, is leaving for a role outside government.
Source: DfE news story, 21 October 2026.
What this means for schools and parents
Primary heads should look up their local authority's 2028 GLD target and the new contextual GLD methodology. A 4 point national rise will raise expectations of your reception results, and the free school meals gap is still 21.6 points.
Trust leaders and governors: the academy pay floor and the 'have regard' duty are both aimed at September 2027. The STRB reports by April 2027, so the window to influence how the pay ceiling is removed and how flexible working within the 195-day limit is framed is this winter.
Parents of children in year 6: the on-time deadline for secondary school applications in England is 31 October 2026, this coming Saturday. Apply through your home council even if you are naming schools in another area.