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Your voice in action: representation round-up February 2026

From major new legislation to changes in accountability, the education landscape is shifting fast. Here's how NGA has been representing governors, trustees and governance professionals so far in 2026, and making sure your voice is heard where it matters most.

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18/02/2026

As the national organisation for governors, trustees and governance professionals, one of our most important roles is to represent the governance community and advocate on your behalf at the highest levels of the education system.

As NGA’s Head of Policy and Impact, I lead this work alongside colleagues throughout NGA. Together, we are advocating for you every day, whether in meetings with policymakers, at sector events, through consultation responses or in the media. We hope this blog will become a regular way of keeping members and the wider governance community updated on that work.

A busy start to 2026

2026 is set to be a significant year for education policy as the Labour government begins to put its agenda into practice. The rollout of flagship policies, including breakfast clubs and expanded early years provision, is accelerating, while free school meal eligibility will be expanded from September this year. Meanwhile, changes to the accountability framework, including the new RISE system and Ofsted inspection framework, come into effect for the first time.

Alongside these announced changes, further reform is now taking shape. The Children’s Wellbeing and Schools bill, the most significant piece of education legislation for many years, is expected to become law by May. The government is also preparing a major white paper setting out its longer-term vision for the sector, which could be published as early as next week. This is likely to include policy shifts on workforce, complaints, system structures, and perhaps most significantly, SEND.

Taken together, these changes will amount to the most substantial shift in our education system since the Gove reforms of the early 2010s. We are working hard to ensure the voice of the governance community is heard throughout this process, and that the central role of governance in schools and trusts is not forgotten.

The Case for Governance

The highlight of the last half-term was our Case for Governance report, launched at a reception in London at the end of January. Making the case for governance is fundamental to everything we do. By showing that those who govern are a foundational pillar of our education system, we strengthen your voice on the issues that matter most.

That’s why we didn’t simply publish the report and move on. Instead, we brought colleagues from across the sector together for a well-attended event in London and have continued to promote the report in the education media, including an opinion piece in Schools Week last week.

You already know the value that you bring, but there are still policymakers and partners we need to convince. The Case for Governance, and the communications around it, were designed to do exactly that.

"Taken together, these changes will amount to the most substantial shift in our education system since the Gove reforms of the early 2010s."

The Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill

After more than a year in Parliament, the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill has nearly completed its journey and will soon become law. The Bill was debated in the House of Lords in recent weeks, and we were pleased to hear several mentions of NGA. These focused on our concerns about excessive executive pay in some trusts, and our collaboration with the DfE on school food. We were also delighted to hear the Minister emphasising the “essential role” played by boards in reviewing exclusions.

The bill’s headline measures have emerged from the Lords largely unscathed, which we welcome. As we said in December 2024, we support strengthened child protection measures; clearer rules on academy orders and the opening of schools, and the move towards greater system alignment (with trusts being brought under national pay and curriculum frameworks).

MAT inspections, social media and mobile phones

Nonetheless, the Commons will debate a series of proposed amendments to the bill. Most notably, the government has made two additions: one introducing the legal framework for trust inspections and the other allowing them to implement the outcome of their consultation on social media use for under-16s.

We welcome the introduction of trust inspections and will be setting out our detailed position in a paper over the coming weeks.

We also recognise the concerns over children’s use of social media and are pleased the government is taking the issue seriously. We hope any changes are developed with a pragmatic, collaborative and evidence-based approach. Both amendments are government backed and are likely to become law.

One opposition amendment likely to attract attention is a proposal to ban smartphones during the school day. The Department updated guidance in January to make it clear that mobile phones should be banned in schools by default, but some voices continue to argue for a legislative block. At NGA, we want leaders and boards to feel supported to make the right decisions in their own context and we have heard clearly about the disruption phones can cause. However, as technology evolves rapidly, we are concerned that legislation could be harder to adapt than the guidance route taken so far.

We’d love to know what you think. Does the current guidance give your school or trust what it needs, or are further measures needed? I can be contacted on this or any other topic at michael.barton@nga.org.uk.

"We’re always keen that the governance perspective is in every education story, and your views were reported in recent stories on executive pay, exclusions, MAT investment income and RISE."

Gender questioning children

Proposed government guidance on how schools and trusts should approach gender questioning children was published at the end of last week, with a consultation to follow over the next two months. We think the government is right to include these issues in the wider Keeping Children Safe guidance, rather than creating yet another separate resource for schools and trusts to follow.

We are also pleased that the government is grasping this difficult and controversial issue. Our survey of governors and trustees last autumn showed that many boards are unsure how to support gender questioning pupils whilst complying with their legal obligations, so greater clarity is needed. As ever, the devil is in the details, so we will be reviewing the content carefully before submitting our consultation response. Like every consultation we submit, it will be published online for our members.

And much more…

These are just the half-term’s highlights. We have also been meeting with the DfE on issues including complaints, SEND and AI, ensuring governance isn’t forgotten in conversations around reform. We’ve also spoken on a series of panels at BETT Conference and attended events, including the Secretary of State for Education’s Winter Reception.

We’re always keen that the governance perspective is in every education story, and your views were reported in recent stories on executive pay, exclusions, MAT investment income and RISE. And speaking of RISE, it’s important to say that our representation role doesn’t end once new frameworks are implemented. We continue to engage with the DfE on Ofsted and RISE – reporting back from our members so approaches can be refined. Fariha, our Senior Policy and Impact Officer, is very keen to hear from members who have experienced an Ofsted inspection or RISE support – fariha.choudhury@nga.org.uk.

We anticipate the second half-term of 2026 will be dominated by the publication of the schools white paper, and we will ensure that the voices of the governance community are heard. Watch out for our snap survey and leadership forum, where you can share your personal perspectives.

Thank you for all you do for our young people.

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Michael Barton

Head of Policy and Impact

Michael spearheads NGA's policy work, through which we represent our members; champion governance; and advocate for change in line with our policy positions. This includes engagement with external partners such as government, parliamentarians, trade unions and other colleagues.

View Michael's full profile