'Every child achieving and thriving': what the new education vision means for school staffing

While the headline focus is rightly on improving outcomes for children, the reforms carry significant implications for school staffing, leadership, and workforce planning. Below, we set out what school leaders and employers need to know.

A larger workforce on the horizon?

As part of the reform package, the Government has again announced plans to recruit 6,500 additional expert teachers across the country into both schools and colleges.

This is intended to strengthen capacity, improve access to specialist teaching, and support the shift toward a broader and more enriching curriculum.

For schools, this may eventually ease pressure on existing staff. However, the full benefit will depend on the sector’s ability to attract and retain candidates – a challenge that remains acute. In the meantime, leaders should expect ongoing short‑term strain until the additional workforce begins to filter through.

A move toward broader, more enriching education

A central theme of the policy is shifting pupils’ school experience “from narrow to broad,” placing greater emphasis on cultural, creative, social, and community-based learning.

For staff, this is likely to mean:

• changes to curriculum planning and delivery;
• increased enrichment opportunities; and
• wider expectations around cross‑curricular and community engagement.

Schools may need to adapt timetables, review job descriptions, and invest in staff development to meet these new expectations.

Elevated focus on inclusion, SEND and pupil engagement

A major strand of the strategy is ensuring that children who have previously been “sidelined” are fully included and supported in school life.

This aligns strongly with wider DfE priorities – such as early SEND identification, improved attendance, stronger pupil belonging, and better wellbeing support.

As a result, schools should prepare for:

• increased demand for SEND‑related CPD;
• more collaborative working across teaching, pastoral, and SENCO teams; and
• strengthened expectations around engagement with families and external specialists.

This will require additional staff time, expertise, and planning capacity.

Further workforce commitments announced

The policy package also includes a series of additional measures aimed at strengthening the education workforce and supporting staff throughout their careers:

• Improved maternity pay for school teachers and leaders, doubling the period of full pay to eight weeks, with Government also seeking similar improvements for support staff and college staff.
• A new and improved Teacher Training Entitlement, ensuring every teacher and leader can access high‑quality professional development, supported by over £200 million across three years for the national SEND CPD programme.
• Support for excellence in leadership, including a new mentoring and coaching offer for headteachers and a place‑based Headteacher Retention Incentive pilot.
• A strengthened partnership approach with the profession through the Improving Education Together agreement with unions and employers, ensuring that policy development is grounded in real‑world practice.

Workload: acknowledged challenge, future solutions

Reform‑related research questions explicitly highlight the need to reduce administrative burdens so staff can focus on teaching and direct pupil support.

Although concrete measures are yet to be confirmed, this signals a clear acknowledgment that workload remains a barrier to staff wellbeing and retention. Schools should continue to monitor national developments while also managing workload proactively at a local level.

Stronger expectations for leadership and governance

Research associated with the reforms points to the significant role that governance, leadership, and system‑level structures play in enabling children to achieve and thrive.

This may translate into:

• increased expectations around strategic workforce planning;
• a sharper policy focus on inclusive leadership behaviours; and
• greater scrutiny of pupil experience, staff deployment, and organisational culture.

Schools and trusts should be prepared to review governance structures, development pathways, and leadership capacity in light of these evolving expectations.

Why your people strategy matters more than ever

While national reforms may support the system, the most effective tool for managing staffing challenges remains your school or trust’s own people strategy.

The sector continues to face sustained pressure on recruitment and retention, particularly for experienced teachers, teaching assistants, and vital support roles. National policy can help – but not immediately, and not completely.

The schools and trusts best placed to weather this period are those that:

• invest meaningfully in staff wellbeing;
• offer clear and realistic development pathways;
• prioritise workload management; and
• promote a positive, inclusive culture.

In other words, while ‘Every child achieving and thriving’ may set an ambitious and positive national direction, success will depend on how effectively each school or trust strengthens its own workforce culture, capacity, and long‑term people strategy.