Education Update: January 2026

Academies and Colleges - the use of confidentiality provisions in settlement agreements

In October the Government introduced a provision into the Academy Trust Handbook and the College Financial Handbook to significantly limit the use of confidentiality provisions in settlement agreements. There were a number of questions arising from this unexpected change and Stone King immediately pulled together a detailed letter to the DfE asking for clarity on the implications of the change. We are yet to receive a response to that letter, but are actively engaged in connecting academies and colleges and sharing intel’ regarding the response to requests for consent. To date, we have not seen any requests for the inclusion of confidentiality provisions being approved by the Treasury/DfE. We will continue to exert pressure on the DfE via various routes to ensure that trusts and colleges have the most up to date information about the issue.   

Parental complaints

Over the past few years, we have seen a significant increase in the volume of parental complaints about schools.  Not only is the volume of complaints increasing, but so is their complexity and the number of persistent and vexatious complaints being made. An inordinate amount of time and resources is spent handling these complaints fairly and in accordance with statutory duty. The situation has worsened considerably, over the past year, with the use of free advanced generative AI tools. What this means is far lengthier correspondence littered with references to (often irrelevant and at times non-existent) statutes or regulations and schools are therefore forced to seek legal advice.  School complaints have hit the headlines for some time now and revised guidance is awaited. However, in the meantime, we are busy drafting amendments to our template procedures in an attempt to discourage parents from using AI.

Governance reviews – research and surge in demand

All colleges are required by DfE to undertake a governance review at least once every three years. Academic year 2026/27 is the last year of the second three year cycle and we are seeing a significant surge in demand for reviews to be conducted in Autumn Term 2026. We have suggested previously to DfE that there should be some consideration given to adjusting the timing requirement because we can expect to see this same pattern every three years rather than it be more evenly spread. Likewise introducing some flexibility would allow a college to better target the timing of a review to better take account changes in circumstances such as changes in Chair, CEO or Governance Professional.  

Stone King is one of the leading reviewers of governance effectiveness in the sector and towards the end of last year we published a report resulting from research conducted in collaboration with University of Sunderland. The research covers themes emerging from our reviews and includes a number of recommendations. We are keen to maximise the benefit of reviews for the college sector, the wider education sector and adjacent social impact sectors. We have made the report freely available and are encouraging debate around the issues identified within it, with a series of focussed events being planned in the coming months.

School trips post Brexit

School trips to Europe bring a number of complex issues since Brexit. The immigration team are currently assisting a Multi Academy Trust as they prepare for an upcoming summer school trip to Spain. As many of the participating students are non‑British nationals, each is required to obtain a Schengen visa before they can travel. With the trip fast approaching, Stone King’s Immigration Team are working swiftly to support the Trust by preparing a full bundle of documentation, including template Letters of Support from parents and the school, letters to the Consulate General of Spain, and detailed representations addressing how the visa criteria are met. The team are also compiling a comprehensive travel pack for staff to take with them, ensuring they have all the necessary paperwork should any questions arise at the border.

Disputes between separated parents

In October, in response to an increase in queries in how to manage disputes between separated parents and navigating orders for disclosure to the family court, we launched our specialist webinar dealing with this topic. Increasingly, schools are being caught in the middle of managing tricky separated parents issues.  Without careful management, schools can all too often find themselves being caught up unwittingly in parental conflict and left unsure as to what they can do, how information can be shared, or how best to support the student. These situations can be complex, and getting it wrong risks complaints and confusion. We have designed a webinar that can be tailored to each school, capturing the questions that schools are dealing with on the ground every day. Senior leaders who have undertaken the training have found it to be invaluable in “supporting confidence in managing parental conflict … the use of ‘real-life’ examples … allowed us to explore the application of the legal framework and guidance in practice.”