Compliance hub
Use our guidance and resources to help you stay compliant with key areas of school leadership.
Curriculum and assessment
Use our guides to help you comply with curriculum and assessment requirements. Learn how Ofsted inspects your curriculum.
Curriculum requirements: academies
If you're reviewing or updating your curriculum, find out what you need to cover to stay compliant with requirements and meet the DfE's expectations.
Curriculum requirements: maintained schools
All maintained schools must follow the National Curriculum. If you're reviewing or updating your curriculum, find out what you need to cover to stay compliant with requirements and meet DfE expectations.
Special schools: curriculum requirements
Learn about the curriculum requirements for different types of special schools. Find out whether special schools must follow age-related expectations, and if there is a set amount of time you should allocate to curriculum subjects.
Alternative provision: curriculum requirements and examples
Alternative provision (AP) settings, including pupil referral units (PRUs), aren't required to follow the National Curriculum, but they do have to provide a good alternative curriculum. Find out what this includes, and see examples of curriculum offers from APs.
Key Stage (KS) 1 and KS2 assessments
Find answers to FAQs on how to comply with statutory requirements for Key Stage (KS) 1 and 2 assessments. Use our checklist of key dates and deadlines, and know what to report to your local authority and parents/carers.
How Ofsted inspects curriculum and teaching
Understand how Ofsted will inspect curriculum and teaching, and the key evidence inspectors will consider. Use our self-evaluation tool to review your current provision.
Financial management
From budget planning to buying goods, work and services, use our resources to help you comply with financial management requirements. Get to grips with how to spend and report on the pupil premium.
Monthly financial management for academies
Get to grips with what you need to prepare and do when it comes to monthly budget monitoring reports for academy trusts.
Returns required from academies
Understand what data and returns you must submit and when – including your audited accounts, budget forecast return, school resource management self-assessment and Teachers' Pensions returns.
Schools Financial Value Standard (SFVS): summary
Maintained schools must complete the SFVS every year. Read a rundown of what it covers, so you know what to expect.
Consistent financial reporting (CFR)
Understand the purpose of the CFR framework for maintained schools and pupil referral units (PRUs), and how to use COLLECT to submit a data return. Plus, see what's changed for 2026-27.
Budget planning resource hub
Use our guidance and resources to help you through the whole process of planning your budget and getting it approved by governors.
How to report on the pupil premium
Get to grips with your pupil premium reporting requirements, and see examples of other schools' strategy statements.
Spending the pupil premium
Be clear on the purpose of the pupil premium funding, as well as how you must allocate funds and how to use the DfE's 'menu of approaches'. Find out about the extra considerations for looked-after and previously looked-after children.
How to buy goods, works or services
As a maintained school or academy, you have a duty to get the best value for money from contracts you enter into. Follow our step-by-step procurement guide to make sure you're buying in the right way.
Health and safety
Use our checklists, risk assessments and guidance to help you comply with your statutory requirements when it comes to keeping staff, pupils and visitors safe in school.
Health and safety audit: template and guidance
Use our template to help you conduct a health and safety audit in your school and identify corrective actions to keep your school safe.
Fire safety in schools: requirements and guidance
Understand the statutory requirements for fire safety in schools, including risk assessments, fire alarms and staff training.
Health and safety duties of trusts: overview template and how to comply
As a trust, you have health and safety duties because you're the employer. Be clear on what these are and understand how to fulfil them. Use our overview tool to help you keep track of and monitor your requirements across your trust.
Statutory risk assessments: checklist and guidance
Stay compliant and keep your pupils, staff and visitors safe with our checklist of the risk assessments you need to have in your school. Plus, see advice on when to do a risk assessment.
Administering medicines in school: guidance
Get advice on administering medication to pupils in school, including on school trips and in the early years. Download our printable sheet of 'dos and don'ts' that staff can refer to.
First aid provision: requirements and guidance
Find out how to comply with requirements on first aid provision in schools and early years settings.
Accident recording and reporting: requirements and guidance
Get to grips with the statutory requirements for recording and reporting accidents on your school site, including serious incidents and 'near misses' involving allergies. Find out about additional rules for early years settings and special schools.
Health and safety policy: model and examples
All schools must have a health and safety policy. Use our model policy for your school or trust, which includes an accident report form, to stay compliant.
Recruitment checks
Know your section 128 from your barred list check? Use our checklist and cheat sheet to make sure you've carried out the right checks on the right people, and find advice on your single central record (SCR) requirements.
DBS checks: summary of requirements
Download our summary table to quickly identify who needs which type of DBS check. Use our template risk assessment to decide whether to accept an existing DBS certificate, and find guidance on staff starting before their check comes through.
Recruitment checks: cheat sheet
Get to grips with the difference between the key recruitment checks, including DBS checks and section 128, why they're important and how to do them. Download our cheat sheet for a handy reference.
Checks for new school staff, governors and trustees
Use our checklist to stay compliant with all the pre-employment checks you need to carry out and record for new staff, volunteers, governors and trustees.
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.
Safer recruitment policy: model
Use and adapt our model safer recruitment procedures (which you'll find in appendix 2 of our model child protection policy) to help save you time and stay compliant.
Safeguarding
Use our audit and model procedures to help you meet the requirements set out in Keeping Children Safe in Education (KCSIE).
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.
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.
Safeguarding training requirements
Get to grips with the safeguarding training requirements for different members of staff, including the designated safeguarding lead and headteacher, and for governors. Understand what training should cover and how often it should be updated.
Safeguarding audit
Audit your safeguarding arrangements to make sure you're up to date with the current statutory safeguarding guidance, including Keeping Children Safe in Education (KCSIE) 2026.
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.
Online safety: requirements and guidance
Understand what arrangements you should have in place to keep pupils safe online, including appropriate filtering and monitoring systems. Get further resources to help you manage online safety in your school.
How Ofsted inspects safeguarding
Get to grips with how Ofsted will inspect safeguarding in your school under its inspection framework. Find details of the key evidence it will consider, and use our self-evaluation tool to review your setting.
School website
Use our checklists of requirements to keep your website complaint. You also need to make sure your website is accessible to as many people as possible.
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.
Website requirements: maintained schools
Use our checklist to find out what information you need to publish on your school's website and how to keep your website compliant. Understand what data to publish for nurseries, pupil referral units, schools with small cohorts and special schools.
Publishing information: requirements for independent schools
Get to grips with what information you're required to make available to parents/carers and what to publish on your website. Use our checklist to help you stay compliant.
Accessibility requirements for school websites: guidance and template
You must publish an accessibility statement on your school's website that explains how you've made it accessible to as many people as possible. Adapt our template statement, and find guidance on meeting the standards.
SEND
Understand your statutory duties when it comes to your SEND provision, in line with the SEND Code of Practice and the Equality Act 2010. Learn more about funding for pupils with special educational needs (SEN).
SEND Code of Practice: a summary
Read our summary to help you comply with the SEND Code of Practice. Find out how the EHC assessment process works, and share our handout with staff to help them understand their responsibilities under the code.
SEND provision: requirements and best practice audit
Complete our audit to have total confidence you've got everything in place for pupils with SEND and are meeting the statutory requirements in the SEND Code of Practice.
Curriculum accessibility for pupils with SEND: checklist
To help pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) reach their full potential, they first must have equal access to your curriculum. Use our checklist to stay compliant with the Equality Act and SEND regulations.
Equality Act 2010
Be clear on the duties for schools under the Equality Act 2010, what unlawful behaviour under the Act looks like and the general exceptions for schools.
Funding for pupils with SEN: 2026-27
Understand how provision for pupils with special educational needs (SEN) is funded in your school, including top-up funding.
How Ofsted inspects SEND provision
See how Ofsted inspects SEND as part of the 'inclusion' evaluation area. Find out what inspectors will look for and how they'll gather evidence, including case sampling.
Staffing ratios
Feel confident you've got the correct ratios in place for your Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) provision, school trips and extended services.
EYFS staffing ratio and qualification requirements
Get to grips with the staffing ratio and qualification requirements in early years settings, and download our summary of the rules.
Staffing ratios for trips and visits
Understand how to decide staffing ratios for school trips based on a risk assessment. Find guidance on what you need to consider, including extra requirements for pupils in the EYFS.
Extended services: staffing ratios
The rules for staffing classes also apply for extended provision. Find out the staff you need depending on the age groups of your holiday, after-school and breakfast clubs.
Staffing ratios: special schools
Read the requirements around staffing ratios in special schools. Check out class sizes in area guidelines to give you an idea of how many staff you need per pupil in your school.
Statutory documents
Use our checklist, template and guidance to make sure you've got all the documents you need.
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.
Statutory policies and procedures (EYFS)
Find out what policies and procedures you need to have in place for the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS).
Register of business and pecuniary interests
Find out about your requirements for publishing a register of business and pecuniary interests on maintained school and academy trust websites. This covers roles such as governors, trustees and members of the trust.
Attendance register: requirements and guidance
Be clear on the rules for registering pupil attendance and absence, so you can make sure your school is compliant. Find guidance on when to close the register, and see what approaches other schools take.
School admission register: requirements and guidance
All schools must hold an admission register. Find out what should be in it, how long you should keep records, and when and how to remove a pupil from the school roll.
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.
School food
Make sure you're meeting the school food standards and labelling requirements.
School food standards and labelling requirements
Understand what the food standards are, when your school has to follow them and how you can check that you're compliant. Get to grips with Natasha's Law and allergen labelling requirements, including what's good practice for cake sales.
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