Consultation Hub

This site hosts consultations run by the Department for Education. Public participation is important to the development of our policies and guidance so please have your say.

Open Consultations

  • Space requirements in early years childcare settings in England

    We are seeking views on options for amending the indoor space requirements in the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) statutory frameworks.

    Closes 11 July 2025

  • Setting up the School Support Staff Negotiating Body (SSSNB)

    This consultation is for anyone with an interest in the set up of the School Support Staff Negotiating Body (SSSNB), which will have a remit for pay, conditions, training and career progression for school support staff in England.

    Closes 18 July 2025

  • Out-of-School Settings Safeguarding: Call for evidence

    The Department for Education is calling for evidence to help shape future safeguarding policy for the Out-of-School Settings (OOSS) sector. This diverse sector includes providers such as tuition centres, sports and arts clubs, youth groups (e.g. Scouts and Brownies), holiday camps/activity centres,...

    Closes 21 August 2025

Closed Consultations

  • Children’s social work post-qualifying standards and induction

    The Department for Education is consulting on a new set of post-qualifying standards (PQS) for child and family social workers and setting out proposals to enhance early career support to help the transition from initial education and support social workers to stay in practice. Through...

    Closed 28 May 2025

  • Narrowing the digital divide in schools and colleges

    This consultation sets out the Department for Education’s long-term vision for narrowing the digital divide in schools and colleges, focusing on proposals for the future of the digital and technology standards . The document is split into three sections, outlining proposals and gathering...

    Closed 23 May 2025

  • National Professional Qualifications (NPQs): call for evidence

    We are seeking recent, relevant and high-quality research that may inform updates to the evidence-base underpinning 3 NPQ frameworks. This call for evidence is seeking research that may inform changes to the following frameworks only: Headship (NPQH), Senior Leadership (NPQSL) and Executive...

    Closed 16 May 2025

  • Revised use of reasonable force and other restrictive interventions in schools guidance

    We're seeking views on the revised ‘Use of reasonable force and other restrictive interventions in schools’ guidance.

    Closed 29 April 2025

  • School accountability reform

    We would like your views on: The approach to, and the principles of, school accountability; The introduction of a new digital service – school profiles, which will be a one-stop shop with information on schools for parents; and The approach to improvement and support, with a...

    Closed 28 April 2025

We Asked, You Said, We Did

Here are some of the issues we have consulted on and their outcomes. See all outcomes

We asked

The Department for Education published a consultation asking for views on the proposed draft regulations to make changes to the Teachers’ Pension Scheme (TPS) member contribution rates, Fair deal provisions and a few minor miscellaneous amendments to ensure the TPS regulations remain up to date.

You said

A total of 187 responses were received from individuals and organisations.

We did

The Department has looked closely at all the comments raised and the draft regulations will now form the basis of the final regulations. The draft regulations have been laid in Parliament and will be implemented on 1 April 2025.

We asked

This consultation invited views on two proposals:  

Part one: to remove the 50% cap on faith admissions for new and existing free schools, helping to encourage all faith groups and trusts to apply to open new faith free schools within the tenets of their faith. 

Part two: to allow new special academies and existing special academies registered with the Department for Education as having a faith ethos to apply to be designated as having a religious character.  

You said

A total of 3668 responses were received. Most respondents (66%) disagreed or strongly disagreed with both proposals.  

We did

We would like to thank all those who responded to the consultation. The government will not be moving forward with these proposals at this time and will continue to keep these policy areas under review.

The government has committed to remove barriers to opportunity and raise school standards. We believe work underway in other areas to this consultation will better support our mission, and we look forward to working in partnership with all types of school, including the important contribution of faith schools, in achieving our mission.

We asked

The Department for Education consulted on proposals to strengthen safeguarding requirements in the statutory EYFS framework. Proposals covered: safer recruitment, child absences, safeguarding training, paediatric first aid training, safer eating, toileting and privacy.

You said

The consultation received 1470 responses. There was strong support from respondents for all the consultation proposals, with clear consensus that the safeguarding reforms will improve children’s safety and align with current best practice in early years settings.

We did

Based on consultation responses Government will proceed with implementing:

  • All of the safeguarding changes that were consulted on, with minor changes to the wording for additional clarity.
  • 2 new changes on whistleblowing and providing employment references.

We intend to proceed with statutory national implementation of the EYFS safeguarding reforms from 1st September 2025. You can read the Government’s response to the consultation in full on the Early years foundation stage (EYFS) safeguarding - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk) webpage.