Ready, set, September! Start strong with a head start from us

Kick-start the school year with KeyGPT

Get the personalised support you need to tackle any work-related question

KeyGPT is included as standard in your membership ✨

✨ Draft a positive welcome back email to parents/carers that reminds them of our attendance and behaviour expectations so we can get the year off to a good start

✨ Review my SEF and suggest how I can update it in line with the new Ofsted framework, including what evidence I can use [Upload your SEF when prompted]

✨ Give me simple and effective ideas to support pupils who are anxious on the first morning back, so that all staff feel confident helping these pupils settle in

✨ Turn my complaints policy into a quick-reference summary I can keep to hand, so I always respond within our timeframes [Upload your complaints policy when prompted]

✨ Help me write a short FAQ for parents answering the most common uniform questions we get at the start of term [Upload your school uniform policy when prompted]

✨ A staff member has just put in a flexible working request. Help me weigh what they need against what the school needs, and draft a response that feels fair on both sides

Use KeyGPT today

Try KeyGPT today

Get up to speed on the latest sector changes

Make sure you and your team are clear on what’s new for 2026/27.

Keeping Children Safe in Education (KCSIE): September 2026 changes

KCSIE has been published for the 2026/27 academic year. Understand the changes and what your next steps should be.

Relationships, sex and health education (RSHE) requirements: updated for September 2026

Understand the new requirements for primary and secondary schools, which will be statutory from September 2026. Find out what you're expected to cover and what you need to share with parents/carers.

EYFS framework: changes for September 2026

Get up to speed with the updated Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) framework, effective from 1 September 2026, so you can prepare to implement the changes in your setting.

Ofsted: latest updates

Stay up to date with all things Ofsted – select 'save for later' at the top of this page to receive notifications to keep you in the loop.

Benedict's Law (allergy safety requirements)

Find out what the new allergy safety requirements mean for your school. Download a copy our QuickRead as a ready-made resource to share with colleagues.

Allergies and anaphylaxis for school staff

Additional support for you and your team
Learn how to support pupils with allergies as part of your new statutory duty (known as Benedict's Law) from September 2026, with our 50-minute eLearning course.

Statutory eLearning courses are exclusively available to Whole School members. Take a free 14-day trial or upgrade today.

Navigate your safeguarding responsibilities to staff and pupils

Refresh your team’s knowledge of safeguarding essentials to help keep your pupils safe.

Safeguarding after the summer holidays: issues to be aware of and signs to look for

Understand the safeguarding risks that may have occurred over the summer holidays and know the signs to look out for when pupils return in September.

Keeping Children Safe in Education (KCSIE): summary

Read the key points in KCSIE 2026 and know where to look for information on specific areas of safeguarding in the statutory guidance.

Single central record: requirements and template

Save time and stay compliant by using our single central record (SCR) template. Find a summary of what must be recorded and which staff the document must cover, in line with Keeping Children Safe in Education guidance.

Filtering and monitoring

Effective filtering and monitoring is a safeguarding requirement. Find out what your school needs to know and do about it, and share our summary with your team.

Safeguarding and child protection INSET pack: 2026/27

Save hours of time prepping for September, and feel confident that you’re delivering the most relevant knowledge to keep your school community safe, with the most comprehensive safeguarding INSET pack on the market, updated in line with KCSIE 2026.

Safeguarding and child protection: the essentials 2026/27

Invite anyone who misses your September INSET to take this eLearning course, so you don't need to repeat your INSET session again and again. If you use a screen reader, or if you’ve found that the accessibility settings in this course don't address your needs, use our accessible version.

Keeping Children Safe in Education 2026, part 1 assessment

Check your team’s understanding of the guidance and that they know how to respond to a safeguarding situation with this short online assessment.

Available to members with Leaders+ Safeguarding or Whole School. Upgrade today.

September safeguarding training for you and your team

Deliver year-round safeguarding training - your way

Whether you prefer to run dedicated half-termly sessions, share insights and updates more frequently, or perhaps have another system that works for you, we've got you covered with briefings, factsheets and eLearning on these topics and more:

View all of our safeguarding resources

Available to members with Leaders+ Safeguarding or Whole School. Take a free 14-day trial or upgrade today.

Additional safeguarding training

Review and update your policies and documents

Some of our most popular policies are listed below to help you get started, or look at our full statutory policy list.

Statutory policies and documents for schools and trusts

Download our list of the policies and documents your school or trust must have, so you're clear on any changes and can make sure you’re compliant.

Attendance policy: model and examples

Download and adapt our model attendance policy, or if you prefer to write or review your own, use our checklist setting out requirements and good practice. Share your policy highlights with parents and carers using our handy summary letter.

Behaviour policy: model and examples

Download and adapt our model behaviour policy, or if you prefer to write or review your own, use our checklist to make sure you're following requirements and good practice.

Child protection policy: model

Make sure your child protection policy reflects Keeping Children Safe in Education 2026. If you previously adapted our model, use our summary of what's changed and why to help you decide what changes to make. If you have your own policy, use our checklist to make sure it covers everything it needs to.

Online safety policy: model and examples

Download and adapt our model online safety policy, which includes acceptable use agreements for pupils, parents/carers and staff. See examples of policies from primary, secondary and special schools.

School improvement plan: template, checklist and monitoring guidance

Download one of our school improvement plan (SIP) templates and use our checklist to help you evaluate your own SIP. Learn how you can monitor implementation of your SIP.

Compliance hub

Use our guidance and resources to help you stay compliant with key areas of school leadership.

Self-evaluation form (SEF): guidance and template

Get help writing your school's self-evaluation form (SEF). Download our template SEF, based on Ofsted's 2025 inspection framework, to evaluate your provision and identify areas for improvement.

Share our essential on-demand training with every member of staff who needs it, to help you meet your statutory requirements

Taking training at the start of the academic year means all of your staff will be on the same page, and up to date with the latest guidance. Here are some of the courses you may wish staff to take this September:

View all available training courses

Statutory eLearning courses are exclusively available to Whole School members. Take a free 14-day trial or upgrade today.

Essential on-demand eLearning

Assign training to your staff with Training Hub

Training Hub provides clarity, confidence and compliance you can prove

Training Hub helps take the headache out of managing statutory training across your school or trust, by bringing together high-quality training resources and intuitive tools that enable you to assign, track and evidence what you need to.

New for 2026 you can now:

💻 Assign self-serve training to staff from 1 central place

📈 Quickly see who has and hasn’t completed their training, and let automated reminders keep completion on track

📋 Evidence compliance instantly, with 1-click reports, downloadable records and certificates

➕ Upload your own training materials alongside our safeguarding training and statutory eLearning courses, to make it bespoke to your school

Explore Training Hub

Want access to Training Hub? Upgrade today.

Training Hub

Download your termly tasks and planners

Plan ahead for the upcoming term, using our checklists and calendars.

Termly tasks for headteachers: autumn 2026

Keep on top of your regular and unique tasks for this autumn term with our downloadable checklist.

School business manager (SBM): task checklist

Use our checklists to make sure you're staying on top of your SBM tasks for the 2026/27 academic year. Find checklists for maintained schools and academies, and deadlines for yearly, termly and monthly tasks.

Termly tasks for primary subject leaders: checklist

Download our checklist to help you plan ahead and keep on top of your termly tasks. It covers curriculum planning, subject monitoring and setting your subject vision.

Termly tasks for secondary heads of department/subject: checklist

Download our checklist to help you keep on top of your termly tasks. It includes tasks to help with preparing for exams, managing staff, and monitoring your subject.

SENCO's year planner

Get organised with our annual planner for special educational needs co-ordinators (SENCOs). You'll find strategic aims for the autumn, spring and summer terms to help you plan your diary, and a list of operational tasks to schedule in throughout the year.

School year planners: template

Use our editable, printable 2026/27 planners to keep up with important dates and deadlines for your primary, secondary or all-through school. They include statutory deadlines, religious holidays, and national and international initiatives.

Assembly planner for the year ahead (2026/27)

Get your assembly topics sorted with our downloadable planner. Adapt our weekly schedule and share it with staff to remind them what’s coming up.

Understand the risks and opportunities of artificial intelligence (AI)

During the last academic year, the use of AI has increased exponentially in education, and more generally. Make sure you and your team are informed about the opportunities this can bring, and aware of the potential safeguarding risks.

Artificial intelligence (AI): model policy and examples

Download our AI model policy and adapt it to suit your context. It's designed to help your school/trust use AI and to harness the potential that AI tools offer to enhance teaching and learning, and to reduce workload, in a responsible and secure way.

Artificial intelligence (AI) in schools: staff factsheet

Get your head around the basics of generative AI, including ChatGPT and Google Gemini, and what it means for your school/trust. Share this information with your staff, and governors or trustees, to get everyone on the same page.

Resources to share with your staff, parents and carers

Available to members with Leaders+ Safeguarding or Whole School. Take a free 14-day trial or upgrade today.
Safeguarding support on the risks of AI

Access support for your trust and schools

Whether you’re growing your trust or tackling your budget, feel confident that you have the resources to support your trust and schools this autumn.

Academy Trust Handbook 2026 published

The Academy Trust Handbook has been updated, but won't take effect until 1 October 2026. Changes of note include an explicit focus on inclusion, new financial training expectations for trustees and tighter controls over executive pay.

Academy Trust Handbook: summary of changes from October 2026

Changes to the Academy Trust Handbook include a stronger focus on inclusion and new expectations for trustee financial training and CFO qualifications. Tighter controls on procurement, executive pay and severance payments are also introduced.

Complaints policy: model and examples

Adapt our model complaints policy to your school's context, and use our checklists to make sure your procedures are compliant.

Website requirements: academies and academy trusts

Find out what academies need to publish online, and if you’re in a multi-academy trust, what your trust website needs to include. Use our checklists to help you comply.

Budget management: annual to-do list

Download and use our budget checklist to track tasks by month across the financial year, and get advice on the main things you need to consider.

Year-around support for your clerk, chair and governors or trustees

Don't have GovernorHub included in your membership? Take a free 14-day trial or upgrade today.

GovernorHub

The Key has taken great care in publishing this article. However, some of the article's content and information may come from or link to third party sources whose quality, relevance, accuracy, completeness, currency and reliability we do not guarantee. Accordingly, we will not be held liable for any use of or reliance placed on this article's content or the links or downloads it provides. This article may contain information sourced from public sector bodies and licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.

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