Creating an Action Plan to Reduce Gender Pay Gap
By Spring 2027, the landscape of HR compliance for large educational institutions in the UK is set to shift significantly. While reporting gender pay gap data has been a requirement for years, the transition from voluntary to mandatory Action Plans will force schools and multi-academy trusts (MATs) to move beyond data collection and toward active, transparent reform.
Under the new legislation, all educational employers with 250 or more employees—which includes the majority of secondary schools, large primaries, and MATs—will be required to publish a formal action plan on the government's gender pay gap service.
How to Deliver ‘Dip Monitoring’ of your Trips and Visits
A "masculinity crisis" is reaching a boiling point in UK classrooms, according to a stark new report from the NASUWT teaching union. The union’s latest annual survey reveals that gender-based aggression is no longer a peripheral issue but a central challenge to school safety and teacher retention.
For the fourth consecutive year, reports of misogynistic abuse from pupils have climbed. Nearly one in four (23.4%) female teachers reported being targeted in the last year—a significant leap from 17.4% in 2023.
NASUWT Warns of "Masculinity Crisis" as Misogyny Hits Record High
REMINDERS
In the hustle and bustle of other responsibilities, you may have overlooked some articles from Compliance Matters Issue 57. Below are some of the things that made the news in the world of compliance in April 2026.
The Outdoor Education Advisers Panel (OEAP) – now also known as AAOLEV (The Association of Advisers for Outdoor Learning and Educational Visits) – note that it is a statutory requirement for employers to monitor the implementation of their health and safety arrangements. In terms of the management of trips and visits, this usually requires an EVC to undertake a programme of 'dip monitoring' to spot check the efficacy of trips. This might include checking that the educational aims of the trip are being achieved, on-site management of a trip is effective, that the staff and other adults are following the risk assessment and/or the provider is delivering the procured services effectively.
Schools in Knife Crime Hotspots to Receive Specialist Violence-Prevention Training
The UK government has unveiled a £1.2 million investment aimed at fortifying schools against the "plight" of knife crime. Under the new Safety In and Around Schools Partnership, up to 250 schools located in high-risk areas will receive specialist training to divert children from serious violence and rebuild a sense of security within the educational environment.
The measures include mentoring for high-risk students, "chaperoned" school routes, and the deployment of a specialist school self-assessment tool to identify where and when pupils feel most vulnerable.
DfE Statutory Guidance update: Use of Reasonable Force in Schools – How Handsam Can Help
The new DfE Statutory Guidance update on ‘Restrictive interventions, including use of reasonable force, in schools’ came into force for all schools in England on 1st April 2026.
This wholly replaces the previous guidance which was entitled ‘Use of reasonable force’.
Clients should be aware that the new guidance is significantly different, for example mandating that ‘Schools should not have a ‘no contact’ policy’. It also introduces a new category of Seclusion, redefines clearly some other terminology, such as the difference between Restraint and Restrictive Intervention, and vastly increases the requirement for recording and reporting
Teaching a child to look both ways before crossing the road is a foundational rite of passage for every parent. Now, the UK’s data watchdog, the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO), is arguing that online privacy must be treated with the exact same level of urgency and regularity.
A new campaign launched by the ICO - SWITCHED ON TO PRIVACY suggests that protecting personal data should no longer be a niche technical topic, but an essential life skill as "natural as teaching a child to cross the road."
Why Online Privacy is the New "Road Safety" for Schoolchildren
Office 27, East Moons Moat Business Centre
Oxleasow Rd, Redditch B98 0RE
Phone: 0333 207 0737
