DfE to stop reporting Covid absences The government has returned to pre-COVID updates on the absence. The DfE removed their "questions on pupil absence due to COVID-19", which means that there will no longer be a record of absences caused by Covid. Schools will now include any COVID-related absences under the 'illness' code on the register. H...

TikTok fight leads to surprise Ofsted visit Concerns over the safeguarding at Northampton International Academy have been raised after a TikTok video showed three students punching and hair pulling two other students. The academy has had many ups and downs with their safeguarding in recent months. The school was rated 'good' in their last full Ofst...

The impact of Ofsted on student's wellbeing The charity States of Mind has produced a short film called Breaking the Silence, which offers a fascinating insight into how students view the educational system in the UK. Using the input of 150 students and 80 head teachers, teachers and Ofsted inspectors, the charity found that young people say that t...

 Schools White Paper The biggest school's headline in March was the release of the school's white paper. The paper was Nadhim Zahawi's first as education secretary. The paper laid out the key ambitions of the government: Every school should be part of a MAT by 2030 Up to 6 million "tutoring courses" by 2024, with tutoring becoming a permanent ...

Appraisal time is approaching! Appraisals can be a time of high stress. It's normal for even the most confident, beloved teacher to feel some anxiety at appraisal time. Appraisals shouldn't be a rod to beat your teachers with, but should be a part of a wider conversation around school improvement. A good appraisal should be thorough but supportive,...

The new Keeping Children Safe In Education report was released earlier this year. Although there weren't any major changes to the report, there were some important additions. Our experts have gone through the updates to bring you this digest. Child-on-child sexual violence Sadly, child-on-child sexual violence and harassment are stil...

Using an external partner for internal scrutiny can be a worrying task, with your procedures and practices being put under scrutiny and tested for weaknesses. But is internal scrutiny really a scary prospect?  Schools and trusts are already carrying out internal scrutiny routinely, often on a day-to-day basis, it just isn't nece...

In academy finance, GAG pooling is now an important topic of discussion for multi-academy trusts (MATs). Pooling was once seen as a niche or controversial practice. Now, it is a key way strong trusts manage their resources and plan for growth. What is GAG pooling? Why is it becoming popular? What should trust leaders think about as they deal with t...

Payroll in schools is expected to be straightforward: staff are paid correctly, on time, every time. But in reality, it's one of the most complex and high-risk administrative functions in education - and one many schools quietly struggle to manage. Not because teams aren't capable, but because the demands have outgrown the way payroll is ...

Internal scrutiny plays an essential part in managing risks in schools and trusts, but whilst traditional methods focus primarily on ensuring compliance with regulations and internal procedures, they often fall short in identifying and addressing hidden risks that lurk beneath the surface. This blog aims to delve deeper into the imperative of enhan...

The last couple of years have helped to show the general public how schools are more than 9am to 3pm providers of education to children. That they are centrepieces of communities, the facilitators of childcare that enable parents to go to work, one of the first lines in safeguarding, and essential contributors to the social development of our young...

As schools prepare for the new academic year, HR strategies are more critical than ever. In a recent Keystone Knowledge webinar, Pip Lloyd, Head of HR at Keystone, shared invaluable insights into crafting effective HR strategies and navigating the evolving landscape of education. Here's a comprehensive summary of the key takeaways and actionable in...

The Keystone team have gone above and beyond this year.

2021 was a tough year for many and the Keystone staff had their share of struggles. Despite this, they went above and beyond to give our clients an exceptional service with measurable outcomes for pupils. Our vision is for every child to receive an outstanding education, underpinned by excellent school and trust management – and we like to think th...

Good meetings help get things done. They harness the skills and experience of those around the table to solve problems, ask intelligent questions and improve strategy to get things done. Bad meetings do not get things done. They waste people's time, exacerbate tension, entrench partisan behaviours and frequently cover the same ground repeatedly wit...

Keeping up with the changes to school and trust legal and regulatory compliance can sometimes feel like a full-time job. Changes to the Academy Trust Handbook (formerly the Academy Financial Handbook) and other requirements can feel like they are never-ending and it's often a relief to be able to say: 'yes, we're compliant with the latest regulatio...

"If you're don't like change, you'll like irrelevance even less." So goes a quote I read several years ago and became one of those screenshots that I keep on my phone. Brutal, but true. And as school business management continues on its inexorable curve of seemingly getting harder, it's ever more important that we can find creative ways of approach...

In November, the government released a report entitled 'Schools' Views on the Perceived Benefits and Obstacles to Joining a Multi-Academy Trust.' The research comes from 700 schools across the UK. 300 of these have either joined or set up a MAT within the last 3 years, 300 are maintained by the local authority and are not interested in joining...

7 steps to effective internal scrutiny

Internal scrutiny can be so much more than a tick-box exercise to meet a regulatory requirement. With the right people and a strong plan in place, internal scrutiny becomes an effective tool which provides reassurance, unbiased advice and strategic recommendations for your organisation. Here at Keystone Knowledge, we believe that there are seven st...

The Department for Education (DfE) has released the 2025 draft of the Keeping Children Safe in Education (KCSIE) guidance, which comes into effect on 1 September 2025. This statutory document is essential reading for all schools, colleges, and education providers in England. While this year's update is described as containing only technical changes...

Internal scrutiny for schools, academies, and trusts is often seen as a compliance exercise, but it's essential for driving improvements across your academy and trust's operations. The Academy Trust Handbook (ATH) requires all academy trusts to have a programme of internal scrutiny in place to provide independent assurance on the effectiveness of r...