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Updated for April 2023

THE SCHOOL WEBSITE
REQUIREMENTS GUIDE 2023/24
NEW EDITION UPDATED
August 25, 2023

school website compliance

RIGOUR & PRECISENESS ON YOUR SCHOOL WEBSITE WILL ENSURE YOUR INSPECTION STARTS WELL AND AVOIDS UNNECESSARY ISSUES

Inspectors are setting higher expectations for your school website than ever before.
This definitive guide and checklist for what all Schools and Trusts must publish online
has been downloaded tens of thousands of times.

Chapter 1

WHAT'S NEW FOR 2023/24?

“Your website has the potential to raise key concerns for inspectors or set you up brilliantly for success.”

school website requirements

Changes to school website requirements were last updated on September 6, 2022. As usual, we interpret the requirements and provide best practice advice around all areas.

“KEY ACTION for 2022/23: The expectation of your website is that it effectively demonstrates the quality of education in your school. Use the triangulation of website content, student & parent voice and evidence in school as the basis for everything.”

Throughout this guide, we will explore the details of what Maintained Schools, Academies, Free Schools & Trusts must publish online and the most important actions you need to take to make your website compliant.

What’s more, you’ll find a full, current, and comprehensive checklist to audit your website alongside best practice advice and examples of schools that are excelling at compliance.

Chapter 2

Latest School Website Requirements and Parental Engagement

Last updated for August 25, 2023

The very latest strategies for highly effective school website compliance are focused on how you effectively use your website to get ahead of an inspection by evidencing how you do what you say you do.

Are you demonstrating the quality of education in your school through your school website?

That is now what the very best schools are doing and it isn’t as hard as you might think. Think about what you say you do in a particular area of school life. Then listen to parents, students and teachers to get their opinion. Then provide evidence on your school website of this in action. Repeat this process for everything you do. As a result they don’t worry about inspections.

 

Do you want to get a head start on an inspection before it begins? Here are some of the most important things to consider as you work on your school website requirements:

 

* Note the way we deal with ‘must’ and ‘should’ requirements, if a requirement says should or must we’re recommending you add the content to your website. All the ‘should’ requirements are included in the guide.

* Our checklist explains what content to display on your website and offers suggestions on how to implement them to ensure you meet and exceed the current requirements.

* The checklist has been designed to be simple to follow and allow for a consistent approach as you audit your own website. Mark off a requirement status however you want, and assign an individual to be in charge of resolving a section of requirements. (As an aside, our School Website Compliance Software is a cost-effective, powerful way to attain and maintain 100% compliance and is best used alongside this Guide)

* If you’re ready to learn everything about school website compliance and become your school’s in-house compliance expert, join the School Marketing & Communications Membership and get unlimited access to all our compliance training and resources.

* If you are struggling for time, ask one of our experts to carry out a Pro School Website Audit for you and we’ll provide a fully actionable report on your website and support you in making your site compliant as quickly as possible.

Further Reading:
Chapter 3

5 Top Tips for School Website Compliance

Our in-house experts have access to DfE contacts, Multi Academy Trust Director’s and hundreds of schools using the School Website Requirements Software. The hard truth? Inspectors are looking for much more than just a completed checklist.

So, before we get to the detailed checklist that outlines and explains all the required content for your school or college website here’s our top 5 tips to take your website beyond the statutory requirements for 2023/24

TIP #1

If there are website issues there WILL be issues in school …

Wow! That’s quite a statement. Well, it’s direct from the horses mouth as it is a mantra that inspectors follow. Your school website sets the tone for your inspection and is your greatest opportunity to avoid unnecessary questions and headaches.

If, by and large, you had a clear rigour and precisness to your approach to everything you do any small issues will not be a concern. If that’s not the case, then inspectors will keep pulling on any thread they find.

TIP #2

Content MUST be easy and fast to find

This is a requirement that we always include. The thing is, it’s still an issue on lots of websites. We all know, very well, the frustration of struggling to find information on a website. Ofsted Inspectors are no different.

One inspector told us that if he cannot find what he is looking for in 10 minutes he will give up. Think about how long 10 minutes is to spend looking around a website for a specific item. That’s a LONG time!

What’s the top tip here? Be sure you know where your statutory content is and make it very easy to find.

Read our Definitive guide to School Website Structure.

TIP #3

Safeguarding – if that’s an issue, everything else isn’t even worth looking at

Safeguarding is Ofsted’s number one priority. Rightly so. When inspectors visit your website for they come to school they are looking for an immediate, clear picture of how you approach safeguarding and whether or not you treat it as your highest concern.

If you so much as have an out-of-date safeguarding policy on your website – that’s an instant leadership and management issue.

If you know you have an inspection looming and you want to make the best possible changes quickly. Get this sorted – today!

Read more here.

TIP #4

Work systematically and set reminders

All too often, we see examples of school websites that have out of date content and a variety of statutory content added in all manner of formats.

It is so important it is to figure out a process and a schedule for checking your website. What’s more, if you set reminders when you need to update specific policies and content, you will be able to rest assured that all is in hand.

You will find things so much easier if you do. If you don’t know where to start, consider The School Website Compliance Software that is available as a standalone package or as part of any school website from Schudio.

TIP #5

Make sure you stay current all year round

Changes to the statutory requirements can crop up at any time of year. Furthermore, it’s not unheard of these days for a requirement to be added but not appear on the list of ‘what schools must publish online’; take safeguarding for example.

It’s really important to have a plan in place to ensure you stay fully aware of the latest requirements all year round. Using this guide is the best place to start.

Our experts stay current all year round and provide ongoing support and advice – your next best step is to join us for our School Website Compliance Workshop.

Chapter 4

Presenting Policies & Documents

Displaying policies and documents on your school website may not be the most exciting content to display, but it’s really important to get it right consistently. Statutory content doesn’t generally need to be updated as frequently as other areas on your website, such as news or your blog. But, it does have to stand the test of time. Visitors will be looking at the same policy page until your website gets re-designed (probably about 3 years) so making sure this page looks and functions correctly is important.

An important note – make sure you include any relevant legislation in the introduction to each of your policies where you are instructed to reference it. You’d be amazed how often this is missing!

Displaying Policies

Group your policies into categories and display them on your page, rather than one long list of documents for a visitor to scan through. Add some sort of styling to the page, even something as simple as an icon next to the file-name will break up the content and make it easier to use.

Also, think about the functionality you offer visitors. It’s quite nice to include specific links for downloading and printing policies, and if you can include an in-page preview of the document that’s a brilliant approach. This has the benefit of not taking your visitors away from the page, rather offering readily accessible content directly within the page (Ofsted says this is compulsory with some content).

embedded school policies

Policies displayed with Schudio School Website Software Document Groups Module

The Schudio Solution

We offer a whole unique and powerful module for managing documents called Document Groups. Upload a file, provide details of the name and add it to the page. Create as many groups of documents as you need, drop them anywhere on your website. You can even drop them in multiple locations and when you update, for example your SEND policy, it will update in every location on your website.

For Multi-Academy Trusts, this can be used across all websites, no matter who your provider is for each school so that you can effectively manage your policy content from one place for all your websites.

This solution is available to any users of The School Website Compliance Software or any Schudio School Website Design Package.

Chapter 5

The School Website Checklist 2023/24

Ofsted school website requirements change often.
This School Website Checklist is always up to date.

The sections below contain all the latest requirements so you’ll have everything that is expected of your school website
fully covered before Ofsted arrive. If you need any help or advice, as you work your way through this school website checklist, let us know.

You can schedule a free call anytime!

SCHOOL WEBSITE
CHECKLIST 2023/24

Last updated August 25, 2023

ABOUT THIS GUIDE

This checklist for Schools and Colleges details all content to be included on your
website as indicated by the Department for Education. This checklist is best used in conjunction
with The School Website Compliance Software or any Schudio School Website Design Package.

Table of Contents

Section 1 – school contact details

NOTE: Schools that do not have a website

You must still publish all of the information which is set out on this webpage online even if you do not maintain your own website. You can use an alternative website to host the information as long as you make the address and details of the website known to parents, for example, by providing parents with the URL (website address) and any other relevant details.

Your school or college website should include the following contact details:

Requirements
  • 1.1 Name of your school or college
  • 1.2 Postal address of your school or college
  • 1.3 Telephone number of your school or college
  • 1.4 Name of the member of staff who deals with queries from parents and other members of the public
  • 1.5 Name of the headteacher or principal (only for Academies but we advise all schools action)
  • 1.6 Name and address of the chair of the governing body (if you have one)
  • 1.7 Name and details of your SEN co-ordinator (SENCO) if you’re a mainstream school
Academies or free school, should also publish details about the owner
  • 1.8 If the school’s owner is an individual, you should publish the proprietor’s full name and contact details (address and a telephone number)
  • 1.9 If the school’s owner is a body of persons, you should publish the address and telephone number of it’s office

Schudio Tips

During setup of your website we will ensure the contact details of school are added.
We recommend your address be available on every page - usually in the footer of your website.
As an aside, the address of your Chair of Governors can be c/o your school.
Also make sure the 'name of a member of staff' is also added to your contact page.

Section 2 – admission arrangements

The admission arrangements section is different depending on your school type and who determines your admissions.

Requirements
Maintained Schools (Governor Determined Admissions)
  • 2.1 If the school’s governing body decides your admissions, you must publish your school’s admission arrangements each year and keep them up for the whole school year.
    You must explain:
  • 2.1.1 how you’ll consider applications for each relevant age group at your school
  • 2.1.2 What parents should do if they want to apply for their child to attend your school
  • 2.1.3 Your arrangements for selecting the pupils who apply
  • 2.1.4 Your ‘over-subscription criteria’ (how you offer places if there are more applicants than places)
You must also publish a timetable for organising and hearing admission appeals for your school by 28th February each year. This must:
  • 2.2 include a deadline for lodging appeals which allows those making an appeal at least 20 school days from the date of notification that their application was unsuccessful to prepare and lodge their written appeal
  • 2.3 include reasonable deadlines for those making an appeal to submit additional evidence, for admission authorities to submit their evidence and for the clerk to send appeal papers to the panel and parties
  • 2.4 ensure that those making an appeal receive at least 10 school days’ notice of their appeal hearing
  • 2.5 ensure that decision letters are sent within 5 school days of the hearing wherever possible
Community schools and voluntary-controlled schools If the local authority manages your admissions process, refer parents to the local authority to find out about your school’s admission and appeal arrangements.
Academies & Free Schools
  • 2.6 Admissions arrangements of all mainstream academies and free schools must comply with the ‘School admissions code’ and the ‘School admissions appeals code’.
  • 2.7 Academy trusts must publish the admissions arrangements for their schools on their website and keep them there for the whole of the offer year (the school year in which offers for places are made).
16 to 19 Academies & Colleges
  • 2.8 If you’re a 16 to 19 academy, FE college or sixth-form college, we recommend that you publish details of your admission arrangements.You should publish this information a year before the beginning of the academic year to which arrangements apply, to help parents and students make an informed choice, and we recommend that the arrangements do not change during the year. You should include details of:
  • 2.8.1 Open days your college or academy is planning
  • 2.8.2 The process for applying for a place at your college or academy
  • 2.8.3 Whether your college or academy gives priority to applications from pupils enrolled at particular schools

NOTE: The School admissions code and the School admissions appeal code do not apply to 16 to 19 academies, FE colleges and sixth-form colleges.

Schudio Tips

Provide as much information for each applicable requirement as you can.
The easier it is to find your admissions information, the more likely a potential applicant will apply to your school or college.

Section 3 – ofsted report

Schools and colleges should do one of the following:

Requirements
  • 3.1 Publish a copy of your school’s or college’s most recent OFSTED report
  • 3.2 Publish a link to the webpage where users can find your school’s most recent OFSTED report

Schudio Tips

The OFSTED reports requirement advises that one of the requirements must be met. However we recommend you provide information for both requirements. Providing your OFSTED report on your own website also gives you the chance to comment on the report.

E.g. How pleased you are, or what is being done after the recent inspection.

Section 4 – Exam & Assessment Results

IMPORTANT UPDATE:

Key stage 4 and 16 to 18 performance measures will be published by the Secretary of State for the 2021 to 2022 academic year.

For key stage 4 and 16 to 18 results, you should update your website to include the latest measures which, once published, will be based on tests, exams and assessments from the 2021 to 2022 academic year.

Alongside your key stage 4 and 16 to 18 results, you may wish to add the following sentence:

“Given the uneven impact of the pandemic on school and college performance data, the government has said you should not make direct comparisons between the performance data for one school or college and another, or to data from previous years.”

Key stage 2 (end of primary school) results

You do not need to publish your key stage 2 results for the academic year 2021 to 2022 on your website, as the Secretary of State will not publish this data. This is because statutory assessments returned for the first time since 2019, without adaptations, after disruption caused by the pandemic.

You should continue to display your school’s most recent key stage 2 performance measures, as published by the Secretary of State, on your website. For most schools, these will be the performance measures published for the 2018 to 2019 academic year.

You should clearly mark that these performance measures are for the 2018 to 2019 academic year and are not current. For example, you could add the following sentence to your results:

UPDATED DEC 15, 2022: “The government will not publish KS2 school level data for the 2021 to 2022 academic year. The last available public data is from the 2018 to 2019 academic year. It is important to note that the data from that year may no longer reflect current performance.”

IMPORTANT NOTE: for Academies, Free Schools & Trusts all these requirements are listed as should rather than must

Requirements for Key Stage 2 (end of primary school) results
Performance Tables Published in December
  • 4.1 You must publish the following details from your school’s most recent key stage 2 performance measures as published by the Secretary of State (for most schools, the performance measures published for the 2018 to 2019 academic year):
  • 4.1.1 Progress scores in reading, writing and maths
  • 4.1.2 Percentage of pupils who achieved at least the expected standard in reading, writing and maths
  • 4.1.3 Percentage of pupils who achieved at a higher standard in reading, writing and maths
  • 4.1.4 Average ‘scaled scores’ in reading and maths
Requirements for Key Stage 4 (end of secondary school) results
Performance Tables Published in January
  • 4.2 You must publish the following details from your school’s most recent key stage 4 performance measures as published by the Secretary of State (for most schools, the performance measures published for the 2018 to 2019 academic year).:
  • 4.2.1 Your school’s Progress 8 score
  • 4.2.2 Your school’s attainment 8 score
  • 4.2.3 Attainment in English and maths – percentage of pupils achieving a grade 5 or above in GCSE English and maths
  • 4.2.4 English Baccalaureate (EBacc) average point score (APS) – in 2018, the EBacc attainment measure changed to an average point score, showing pupils’ point scores across the 5 pillars of the EBacc
  • 4.2.5 Pupil destinations – percentage of students staying in education or employment after key stage 4

We suggest that schools also publish the percentage of pupils that enter the English Baccalaureate (EBacc) staying in education or going into employment after key stage 4 (pupil destinations).

Requirements for Key Stage 5 (KS5)
Performance Tables Published in January & March [Previously Required, Now Recommended]

NOTE: Progress performance measures
If your school operates a sixth form, you do not need to display progress measures (level 3 value added), or an English and mathematics progress measure, for 16 to 18 students on your website. These measures will not be published for the 2021 to 2022 academic year.

  • 4.3.1 The progress your students have made compared with students across the country.
    (Shown separately for A levels, academic, applied general and tech level qualifications)
  • 4.3.2 The average grade that students in your college get at KS5.
    (Shown separately for A levels, academic, applied general and tech level qualifications)
  • 4.3.3 The progress students in your college have made in English and maths
  • 4.3.4 Retention (this is the proportion of students who get to the end of the main programme of study that they enrolled on at your institution)
    (Shown separately for A levels, academic, applied general and tech level qualifications)
  • 4.3.5 Destinations (this is the percentage of students who continue in education or training, or move on to employment at the end of 16 to 19 study)

Schudio Tip

Provide your most recent assessment results on your website and alongside it your comments on the results. This is your opportunity to explain the data your results show.
Make sure you use the language of the requirements in your documents.

Bring this content to life by including or linking to News stories on your site talking about the success of your students. You might want to link to your results day news stories or similar.

SECTION 5 – PERFORMANCE MEASURES WEBSITE

This requirement ensures a link to the school and college performance measures website is present.

Requirements
  • 5.1 You must include a link to the school and college performance tables and your school’s performance tables page.

Schudio Tip

Link to your own school page on the performance tables website, not just the main website. This link could be included from your results page, your Ofsted page, or straight from a menu item.

Make sure to follow best practice when linking to external websites and have the site open in a new window/tab.

SECTION 6 – CURRICULUM

This requirement is for information about the curriculum being taught at your school to be presented on your website. Some requirements are education phase specific.

NOTE for all schools: Your approach to the curriculum should also include how you are complying with your duties in the Equality Act 2010 and the Special Educational Needs and Disability Regulations 2014 about making the curriculum accessible for those with disabilities or special educational needs.

Requirements
  • 6.1 The content of the curriculum your school follows in each academic year for every subject, including for mandatory subjects such as Religious Education even if it’s taught as part of another subject or subjects or is called something else
  • 6.2 How parents or other members of the public can find out more about the curriculum your school is following
Phase of education specific requirements
  • 6.3 The names of any phonics or reading schemes you are using in Key Stage 1
  • 6.4 A list of the courses available to pupils at key stage 4, including GCSEs
  • 6.5 The 16 to 19 qualifications you offer
  • 6.6 How you meet the 16 to 19 study programme requirements (if you have a sixth-form or offer education at 16 to 19)
Additional Academy and Free School specific requirements:
  • 6.7 Your approach to the curriculum

Schudio Tip

Make sure you cover all the requirements appropriate for the phases taught at your school. Consider backing up your curriculum information up with regular blog posts demonstrating work.

SECTION 7 – BEHAVIOUR POLICY

Additional information is available in the government guidance for school leaders and staff on developing and publishing your school’s behaviour policy.

Requirements
Maintained Schools
  • 7.1 Publish details of your school’s behaviour policy.
    This must comply with section 89 of the Education and Inspections Act 2006.
Academies and Free Schools
  • 7.2 If you are an academy or free school, you should publish details of your school’s behaviour policy, including its anti-bullying strategy.

Schudio Tip

Consider grouping your policy documents, including your behaviour policy together for easier navigation through them by your website visitors.

If your behaviour policy adheres to the section within the act include that somewhere in your policy document, ideally on a title page.

SECTION 8 – PUPIL PREMIUM

All schools that receive pupil premium funding must publish a pupil premium strategy statement each year by 31 December. The details listed below as requirements are the main focus, but, you must use the template linked here.

Notes from guidance: In the strategy statement, you must explain how your pupil premium and recovery premium is being spent and the outcomes that are being achieved for pupils. It’s important that parents and governors understand this, and you should write it with them in mind.

You must use the DfE template to produce your statement. This can be found alongside completed examples and guidance for school leaders on the pupil premium guidance page.

The template has been designed to ensure that your statement reflects the requirements in the pupil premium conditions of grant. This includes a requirement for pupil premium and recovery premium to be spent in line with the department’s ‘menu of approaches’ from the start of the 2022 to 2023 academic year. The menu can be found in the document ‘Using pupil premium: guidance for school leaders’, on the pupil premium guidance page.

We recommend that you plan your pupil premium use over 3 years. If you do so, you are still required to update your statement each year to reflect your spending activity for that academic year and the impact of pupil premium in the previous academic year.

Requirements
For the current academic year, you must include:
  • 8.1 How much pupil premium funding you received for this academic year
  • 8.2 Details of the main barriers to educational achievement that the disadvantaged children in your school face
  • 8.3 How you will spend your pupil premium funding to address these barriers and the reasons for the approach you’ve chosen
  • 8.4 How you will measure the impact of the pupil premium
  • 8.5 The date of the next pupil premium strategy review
For the previous academic year:
  • 08.6 How you spent your pupil premium funding
  • 08.7 The effect that the pupil premium had on pupils

 

Schudio Tip

Review the guidance and look at the sample filled out strategy templates and use them as a basis for providing the information required.

REMOVED SEPT 2022 SECTION 9 – YEAR 7 LITERACY & NUMERACY CATCH-UP PREMIUM

NO LONGER REQUIRED AS OF SEPTEMBER 2022

If your school has received year 7 literacy and numeracy catch-up premium funding for the 2019 to 2020 academic year, you must publish:

Requirements
All Schools
  • 9.1 Details of how you spent your allocation for that year
  • 9.2 How your use of that allocation made a difference to the attainment of the pupils who benefit from the funding

As final payments of the Year 7 catch-up premium were made in relation to the 2019 to 2020 academic year, the 2020 to 2021 academic year will be the last year on which schools must report how this funding was used.

Schudio Tip

Include a table of broken down costs in your report so the information is easier to read, but don’t forget to include the explanations of how it made a difference.

SECTION 10 – PE & SPORT PREMIUM FOR PRIMARY SCHOOLS

If your school receives PE and sport premium funding, you must publish details of how you spend this funding and the effect it has had on pupils’ PE and sport participation and attainment.

Academies: Your grant funding agreement may also include additional information you must publish.

Requirements
  • 10.1 How much PE and sport premium funding you received for this academic year
  • 10.2 A full breakdown of how you’ve spent or will spend the funding this year
  • 10.3 The impact of the premium on pupils’ PE and sport participation and attainment
  • 10.4 How you will make sure these improvements are sustainable
  • 10.5 Details of how many pupils within your year 6 cohort are meeting the national curriculum requirement to swim competently, confidently and proficiently over a distance of at least 25 metres, use a range of strokes effectively and perform safe self-rescue in different water-based situations.

Schudio Tip

Review the guidance especially the sections on what you should and should not use your funding for.
Again a table works well for presenting the costs, but an itemised report explaining each item, how it made a difference and is sustainable should ensure this document meets all the requirements.

SECTION 11 – SPECIAL EDUCATIONAL NEEDS (SEN) AND DISABILITY INFORMATION

You must publish a report on your school’s policy for pupils with SEN and update it annually. You should update any changes occurring during the year as soon as possible. You should update any changes occurring during the year as soon as possible. The report must comply with section 69 of the Children and Families Act 2014.

Requirements
Special Education Needs (SEN) Report – The report must contain:
  • 11.1.1 The arrangements for the admission of disabled pupils
  • 11.1.2 The steps you have taken to prevent disabled pupils from being treated less favourably than other pupils
  • 11.1.3 The facilities you provide to help disabled pupils to access the school
  • 11.2.1 Increasing the extent to which disabled pupils can participate in the school’s curriculum
  • 11.2.2 Improving the physical environment of the school for the purpose of increasing the extent to which disabled pupils are able to take advantage of education and benefits, facilities and services provided or offered by the school
  • 11.2.3 Improving the delivery to disabled pupils of information which is readily accessible to pupils who are not disabled

Schudio Tip

If you’re a mainstream school make this page about the students by talking about them and celebrating them like all the other students. Have a page with more than just some reports!
Make sure you reference legislation in your reports.

SECTION 12 – GOVERNORS’ INFORMATION & DUTIES

Schools must publish on their website up-to-date details of its governance arrangements in a readily accessible form.

Maintained Schools publish information on the governing body in line with the constitution of governing bodies of maintained schools statutory guidance.

Academies can follow details as explained in the ‘Academies financial handbook’ (paragraphs 2.49 to 2.50).

Requirements for Maintained Schools
  • 12.1 Details of the structure and responsibilities of the governing body and its committees
For each governor who has served at any point over the past 12 months:
  • 12.1.1 The full names of the Chair of the governing body and Chair of each committee information about each governor, including their full name, date of appointment, term of office, date they stepped down (where applicable) and who appointed them (in accordance with the governing body’s instrument of government)
  • 12.1.2 Relevant business and financial interests including:
    • Governance roles in other educational institutions
    • Any material interests arising from relationships between governors or relationships between governors and school staff (including spouses, partners and close relatives)
  • 12.1.3 Their attendance record at governing body and committee meetings over the last academic year
  • 12.1.4 Governing bodies should also publish this information for associate members, making clear whether they have voting rights on any of the committees to which they have been appointed.
  • 12.1.5 Publish Governing Board Diversity Data.
Requirements for Academies & Free Schools
  • 12.2 The structure and remit of the members, board of trustees, its committees and local governing bodies, and the full names of the chair of each
For each member who has served at any point over the past 12 months:
  • 12.2.1 Their full names, date of appointment, date they stepped down (where applicable), and relevant business and pecuniary interests including governance roles in other educational institutions
For each trustee who has served at any point over the past 12 months:
  • 12.2.2 Their full names, date of appointment, term of office, date they stepped down (where applicable), who appointed them, and relevant business and pecuniary interests including governance roles in other educational institutions. If the accounting officer is not a trustee their business and pecuniary interests must still be published
For each trustee who has served at any point over the past 12 months:
  • 12.2.3 Their attendance records at board and committee meetings over the last academic year
For each local governor who has served at any point over the past 12 months:
  • 12.2.4 Their full names, date of appointment, term of office, date they stepped down (where applicable), who appointed them, and relevant business and pecuniary interests including governance roles in other educational institutions
For all local board members:
  • 12.2.5 Publish Governing Board Diversity Data
Requirements for FE & Sixth Form Colleges
  • 12.3 The governing body’s structure and responsibilities
  • 12.3.1 Details of any committees
  • 12.3.2 The names of all governors, including the chair

You may wish to simply publish your governors’ handbook, which should include all this information.

Schudio Tip

This information should be provided in a ‘readily accessible’ form.

SECTION 13 – CHARGING & REMISSIONS POLICIES

Publish your school’s charging and remissions policies. Read about school charging and remission.

The policies must include details of

Requirements
  • 13.1 The activities or cases for which your school will charge pupils’ parents
  • 13.2 The circumstances where your school will make an exception on a payment you would normally expect to receive under your charging policy

Schudio Tip

Make sure you have this policy (or policies) on your website and that you are covering both charging and remissions, one policy is probably easier with information about both included.

SECTION 14 – VALUES & ETHOS

Schools and colleges should:

Requirements
  • 14.1 Publish a statement of their ethos and values

Schudio Tip

Have a headteacher’s/principal’s welcome on your website as well as the ethos and values page. Maybe create a link between the two pages so visitors who read the welcome will also be able to go straight to your ethos and values page.

SECTION 15 – REQUESTS FOR COPIES

Regarding requests for paper copies of information on your school website.

Requirements
  • 15.1 If a parent requests a paper copy of the information on your school’s or college’s website, you must provide this free of charge.

Schudio Tip

The requirement is that you provide the copies, but we always advise writing something on your website (usually on the policies page or contact us page) explaining that this option is available, and the best way to request it.

SECTION 16 – PUBLIC SECTOR EQUALITY DUTY

Previously titled, Equality Objectives – Public bodies, including Maintained Schools, Academies and Free Schools must comply with the public sector equality duty in the Equality Act 2010 and the Equality Act 2010 (Specific Duties and Public Authorities) Regulations 2017.

The Equality Act 2010 and Advice for Schools provide information as to how your school can demonstrate compliance, for example, including details of how your school is:

This means you must publish:

Requirements
This means you have to:
  • 16.1 Publish details of how your school is complying with the public sector equality duty – you should update this every year
  • 16.2 Publish your school’s equality objectives – you should update this at least once every 4 years
You need to include details of how your school is:
  • 16.3 Eliminating discrimination (see the Equalities Act 2010)
  • 16.4 Improving equality of opportunity for people with protected characteristics
  • 16.5 Consulting and involving those affected by inequality in the decisions your school or college takes to promote equality and eliminate discrimination (affected people could include parents, pupils, staff and members of the local community)
  • 16.6 Under the Equality Act 2010 (Specific Duties and Public Authorities) Regulations 2017 organisations are required to publish information on its website about the gender pay gap in their organisation. [note: this requirement is only for organisations with over 250 employees]

Schudio Tip

This is likely to be in the form of a report. We’d recommend publishing this either with your other policies, or on a page specially for all information regarding equality.

SECTION 17 – COMPLAINTS

All schools and colleges should publish details about their complaints policies and procedures.

Read guidance on developing your school’s complaints procedure.

Requirements
Maintained Schools
Academies and Colleges
  • 17.2 All academies and colleges should publish their complaints policy online.
  • 17.3 If you’re an academy, free school, FE or sixth-form college, you should also publish your whistleblowing policy online.
Maintained Schools, Academies and Free Schools
  • 17.3 Publish any arrangements for handling complaints from parents of children with special educational needs (SEN) about the support the school provides.

Schudio Tip

These requirements are here to ensure these documents are available and easy to find on your website. Consider grouping all your policies into categories or groups and including the policies above in groups.

REMOVED SEPT 2022 SECTION 18 – EXCLUSION ARRANGEMENTS

NO LONGER REQUIRED AS OF SEPTEMBER 2022

If you are an academy or free school other than a 16 to 19 academy, you should:

[This requirement was recently downgraded to a recommendation]

Requirements
  • 18.1 Publish details of your policy for excluding pupils.

Schudio Tip

Consider grouping all your policies into categories or groups and including the policy above in a group of related policies.

SECTION 19 – ANNUAL ACCOUNTS

Your school or college website should include certain financial information.
(See ‘Academies financial handbook’ for more info)

Requirements
Academies & Free Schools (See ‘Academies financial handbook’ for more
  • 19.1 Annual report
  • 19.2 Annual audited accounts
  • 19.3 Memorandum of association
  • 19.4 Articles of association
  • 19.5 Names of charity trustees and members
  • 19.6 Funding agreement
FE & Sixth Form Colleges
  • 19.7 Colleges should publish their instruments and articles of government on their website.
  • 19.8 They should also publish their annual members’ report and audited financial statement every year.

Schudio Tip

This information is probably deserving of it’s own page on your website, but try to keep it easily accessible, probably in a related menu structure alongside other information about your school/college so it’s easy to find. This must be on the school website as well as the Trust website.

SECTION 20 – CAREERS PROGRAMME INFORMATION

Statutory guidance has been updated to expand on the aim set out in the government careers strategy. To achieve this aim, the careers strategy sets out that every school and academy providing education to students in Years 7 – 13 should use the Gatsby Charitable Foundation’s Benchmarks to develop and improve their careers provision.

For the current academic year, you should include:

Requirements
  • 20.1 The name, email address and telephone number of the school’s Careers Leader
  • 20.2 A summary of the careers programme, including details of how pupils, parents, teachers and employers may access information about the careers programme. In a way that enables pupils, parents, teachers and employers to access and understand it.
  • 20.3 How the school measures and assesses the impact of the careers programme on pupils
  • 20.4 The date of the school’s next review of the information published
Provider Access Policy Statement
  • 20.5 Schools should review their arrangements for provider access and must set out those arrangements in a policy statement. The school may revise the policy statement from time to time and we recommend that this is done annually. The policy statement must be published and should be made available on the school website.The purpose of the statement is to set out opportunities for providers to visit and to explain how requests from providers will be handled. The policy statement must include:
  • 20.5.1 Any procedural requirements in relation to requests for access e.g. the main point of contact at the school to whom requests should be directed;
  • 20.5.2 Grounds for granting and refusing requests for access e.g. details of timetabled careers lessons, assemblies or careers events which providers may attend; and should include the safeguarding policy;
  • 20.5.3 Details of premises or facilities to be provided to a person who is given access e.g. rooms and resources to be made available in support of a provider visit.

Schudio Tip

Provide this careers information in a clear location on your website. A dedicated page or area on your website for careers is a good idea. Consider including additional resources alongside the statutory information.

DfE also advise:
Beyond these requirements, the school can design the policy statement in a way which best suits their needs. For example, it could be incorporated into a wider careers plan. What is most important is that the document includes details of the opportunities for providers to visit the school to talk directly to pupils and the process for providers to request access.

Section 21 – FINANCIAL INFORMATION & EXECUTIVE PAY

All schools must meet the first requirement below, including Trusts. Maintained schools must also publish a link to the Schools financial benchmarking service as below.:

Requirements
  • 21.1 How many school employees (if any) have a gross annual salary of £100,000 or more in increments of £10,000 – we recommend using a table to display this.
  • 21.2 a link to the webpage which is dedicated to your school on the schools financial benchmarking service – follow the prompts to find your school’s specific page.

Schudio Tip

The recommendation is to add information as a table. Read the blog article linked here of information on how to achieve this. Also, if you don't have anyone earning over £100,000 still reference that.

SECTION 22 – SAFEGUARDING

Not published on the main requirements pages currently but as of September 2019 the new guidelines around Keeping Children Safe in Education makes specific mention of the requirement to publish safeguarding information on the school website.

In an inspection, the lead inspector will prepare for the inspection by gaining an overview of the school’s recent performance, and any changes since the last inspection. There is also a requirement around making some of your safeguarding information available publicly, with your website being the specific medium mentioned to do this.

Requirements
Pre-inspection planning will be informed by analysis of information on the school’s website including the presence and suitability of the safeguarding guidance
  • 22.1 Include suitable safeguarding guidance on your school website. The child protection policy should describe procedures which are in accordance with government guidance and refer to locally agreed multi-agency safeguarding arrangements put in place by the three safeguarding partners.
Individual schools and colleges should ensure they have an effective child protection policy
  • 22.2 This should be updated annually (as a minimum), and be available publicly either via the school or college website or by other means.

Schudio Tip

Inspectors will consider three key areas:
- Identify the right children. How does the school do that?
- Help: what timely action do staff within the school take, and how well do they work with other agencies?
- Manage: how do governors and staff manage their statutory responsibilities, and, in particular, how do they respond to allegations about staff and other adults?

Include specific information and evidence where possible as to how you meet these areas.

SECTION 23 – NEW for 2022 – SCHOOL UNIFORMS

The department produces statutory guidance on the cost of school uniforms which schools must have regard to when developing and implementing their school uniform policy. This guidance requires schools to publish their uniform policy on their website.

The published uniform policy should be easy to understand and, where a school has a school uniform, should:

Requirements
  • 23.1 clearly state whether an item is optional or required
  • 23.2 make clear if the item will only be worn at certain times of the year (for example, if it’s summer or winter uniform)
  • 23.3 make clear whether a generic item will be accepted or if a branded item is required
  • 23.4 make clear whether an item can only be purchased from a specific retailer or if it can be purchased more widely, including from second-hand retailers

Section 24 – NEW FOR 2022 – School Opening Hours

Schools should publish on their website their opening and closing times and the total time this amounts to in a typical week (for example 32.5 hours).

Schools should show the compulsory times they are open. This time runs from the official start of the school day (morning registration) to the official end of the compulsory school day. It includes breaks, but not optional before or after school activities.

Requirements
  • 24.1 publish opening and closing times
  • 24.2 publish total time this amounts to in a typical week (for example 32.5 hours)
  • 24.3 show the compulsory times school is open (This time runs from the official start of the school day (morning registration) to the official end of the compulsory school day. It includes breaks, but not optional before or after school activities.)

SECTION 25 – Remote Education

You should consider publishing information about your school’s remote education provision on your website. An optional template is available to support schools with this requirement.

Find out more about remote education expectations in the actions for schools during the coronavirus (COVID-19 outbreak.

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