Education Law Digest Spring Term 2026: In the news

Children’s use of social media

Following Australia’s social media ban for under 16-year-olds, the government has launched a consultation on children’s social media use. Ofsted inspectors will also be required to check that mobile phone bans are being properly enforced in schools. A nationwide tour to gather the views of parents, children and society is due to begin in the next few days.

GCSE results will be available on an app from the summer of 2026

From summer 2026, pupils in England will be able to use an “education record” app, which was trialled by 95,000 pupils in Manchester and the West Midlands last summer, to download their results. While pupils will still be able to attend school from 8am to collect their results in person, they will not be able to download their results until 11am.

There will be no changes in Northern Ireland and Wales. Students in Scotland have been able to receive their results online since 2019.

Read more here.

New teacher strikes?

Matt Wrack, general secretary of the National Association of Schoolmasters and Union of Women Teachers, more often referred to as NASUWT, has stated that talks of strikes will be inevitable at the union’s April conference unless there are improvements in pay and conditions. Paul Whiteman, general secretary of the National Association of Head Teachers has also confirmed that there is a real possibility of strikes in 2025. Recent statistics show that 19.4% of teachers leave the profession in the first two years of qualification.

Teachers in front line to tackle misogyny and harmful attitudes

In December 2025, the government announced that it had updated its plans to reduce violence against women and girls, calling it a ‘national emergency’. A key part of its strategy is education, and the government has pledged £20 million to train teachers and others to tackle harmful attitudes. As part of this commitment, every secondary school in England will have a “credible offer for educating students about healthy and respectful relationships” by 2029.

Read more here.

New Year’s Honours List

The importance of education has been recognised in this year’s New Year’s Honours List which has seen 57 people receive an honour for their service to education.  Those receiving awards include Beth Gibson, Head of Attendance and Inclusive Pathways at Birmingham City Council, who has been appointed a Member of the Order of the British Empire a.k.a. an MBE for her pioneering working on improving school attendance. Steve Taylor, Chief Executive Officer of Cabot Learning Federation, has received a knighthood following his work on tacking educational inequality across the South-West region.

Read more here.

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Independent review following rise of mental health problems (by Rachel Blythe, Director and Mediator)

Following an increase in the rates of ADHD, autism and other mental health problems, the Health Secretary has announced an independent review into whether there is over-diagnosis and the gaps in support.

You can read the post here.

What happens when separated parents can’t agree on a school (by Greg Cross, Family Law Solicitor)

Autumn is a time where parents across the country are evaluating which school is the best fit for the next stage of their child’s life. It is already one of the most significant decisions a parent can make for their child, but when parents are separated, agreeing on a school can be particularly challenging.

If one parent wants their child to attend one school and the other disagrees, the law provides a framework for resolving the dispute…

You can see the full article here.

On our minds

Guinness World Record for longest serving teacher

Glenda Atkin has received, nay, earned, a Guinness World record for being the longest serving female teacher at a single school.  Glenda spent 61 years and 43 days at Westmoreland High School in Tennessee, United States, working first as a teacher and then as a librarian and has had the school’s library named after her in recognition of her service.  Glenda worked long enough to see a child she taught become a teacher and retire 10 years before she did.  In case you are wondering, the current longest serving male teacher is Paul Durietz, with 54 years and 61 days’ service.  However, both would have to go some way to beat Medarda de Jesus Leon de Uzcategui who served as a teacher (at different schools) in Venezuela for 87 years!