This article is part of our series of briefings on The Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Act.

Part 2 of the Children's Wellbeing and Schools Act 2026 - the part that directly concerns schools - allows us to piece together what had previously been an elusive government policy position on school structures and academies.

What does the Act mean for academies and maintained schools?

The Act seeks to put maintained schools and academies on the same legal footing. Some provisions codify existing practice. Others represent a more contentious erosion of core academy freedoms, moving the education landscape away from a preference for academy status.

Our briefings on the sections of the Act covering admissions, new schools, attendance and teacher pay and conditions all reflect this theme. The academies section of the Act is particularly notable in this respect: it reverses one of the core freedoms originally granted to academies - the freedom to design their own curriculum.

This part of the Act also introduces important changes to the Secretary of State's intervention powers for both academies and maintained schools.

Key changes at a glance

• Academies must teach the National Curriculum from September 2028.
• Off-site direction powers extended to academies on a statutory footing.
• New power for the Secretary of State to issue directions to academy trusts.
• Trust-level Ofsted inspection placed on a statutory footing.
• Mandatory directive academy orders for failing maintained schools removed.

For maintained schools, the Act represents a further significant shift in the government’s approach to structural intervention, building on recent policy changes.

National Curriculum requirement for academies

The Act introduces a statutory requirement for academies to teach the National Curriculum, bringing them into line with maintained schools and removing one of the flagship freedoms of the academies programme.

The Academies Act 2010 already requires academies to offer a "balanced and broadly based curriculum", which under the terms of the funding agreement must include English, mathematics, science and (subject to the academy's specific characteristics) religious education. However, it did not previously require academies to teach the National Curriculum.

The Act amends the Academies Act 2010 so that, as well as being "balanced and broadly based", an academy's curriculum must also include the National Curriculum. The amendments will also disapply any provision of a funding agreement that conflicts with this statutory requirement, removing any scope for academy trusts to negotiate alternative arrangements.

When will the requirement take effect?

The requirement will not have immediate effect: it is intended to apply to the revised National Curriculum, due to be implemented for teaching from September 2028.

What should academy trusts do now?

To plan ahead, academy trusts should review the government’s response to the recommendations contained the final report from the Curriculum and Assessment Review, and pay close attention to forthcoming developments, including the planned consultation on improvements to Progress 8 and Attainment 8.

Off-site direction powers for academies

The governing body of a maintained school currently has a statutory power under s.29A of the Education Act 2002 to require a pupil to attend another educational setting to improve their behaviour.

This legislation did not previously apply to academies, although it was accepted that academies could arrange off-site provision for such purposes under their general powers.

The Act places academies on the same statutory footing as maintained schools when it comes to directing pupils off-site.

What does this mean in practice?

The clarity that comes with an express statutory power is likely to be welcomed. However, academies will now be required to comply with the Education (Educational Provision for Improving Behaviour) Regulations 2010 and to have regard to the DfE's statutory guidance on alternative provision. Both set out the procedure that must be followed when directing a pupil off-site, along with obligations relating to the management and review of placements.

Compliance with these obligations was previously encouraged under the DfE suspensions and exclusions guidance, so for many academies this is unlikely to result in any significant change to current practice. We do, though, recommend that trusts review their current processes against the guidance to identify any areas of non-compliance.

Transitional rules apply where an academy arranged an off-site direction before 26 July 2026, as set out in the DfE's updated statutory suspensions and exclusions guidance (July 2026). Where academies already have off-site directions in place, those arrangements should be reviewed to confirm compliance.

Power for the Secretary of State to give directions to an academy trust

Section 56 of the Act grants the Secretary of State a significant new power to give directions to an academy trust, similar to the powers it has to direct maintained schools and local authorities under the Education Act 1996.

The power arises where the Secretary of State considers that a trust has breached a duty imposed by its academy arrangements - which in most cases means the duties under its academy funding agreements.

The Act amends the Education Act 1996 to incorporate the new power, which will sit alongside the existing power to issue a Termination Warning Notice (TWN) to an academy that has breached its funding agreement.

When might directions be issued?

The new power could see directions issued for failures to comply with provisions in the Act, as well as with other duties - such as a failure to follow its complaints process when dealing with a parental complaint. The measure appears designed to level the playing field between academies and maintained schools, and offers the Secretary of State a more straightforward route to intervene where a TWN is not considered proportionate.

What is the process?

The Department for Education has made clear that trusts will be notified first that the Secretary of State is minded to make a direction, and will be given the opportunity to make representations.

What are the consequences of non-compliance?

Non-compliance with a direction may still result in a TWN, which could ultimately lead to the termination of the academy funding agreement. A mandatory order could also be sought via the courts.

The legal obligations involved are those that trusts should be meeting in any case. Provided trusts have clear policies and robust systems to ensure compliance with their legal duties, the risk of intervention is likely to be relatively low.

Trust-level inspection and intervention

The Act places the inspection of academy trusts on a statutory footing, delivering on the government's commitment to trust-level inspection.

It amends the Education and Inspections Act 2006 to establish a legal foundation for the routine inspection of trusts by Ofsted, with a power to inspect outside this cycle where concerns arise - similar to the existing framework for school inspections.

New intervention powers for underperforming trusts

The Act includes a statutory power allowing the Secretary of State to terminate a trust's funding agreements (via the established TWN process) where Ofsted has determined that a trust is "failing to lead, manage or govern an academy of which it is the proprietor to an acceptable standard".

This represents a significant expansion of the DfE's existing trust-level intervention powers, which are currently limited to issuing a Notice to Improve following the identification of governance or financial management weaknesses.

This new power sits alongside the existing power to issue a TWN in relation to an individual academy. The DfE has previously clarified that it is intended to complement existing academy-level intervention powers, and will be used where the systematic underperformance of a trust is affecting more than one of its academies.

What remains to be determined?

The Act sets out only the core principles of trust inspection, leaving much of the detail still to be determined through further regulations, policy and an inspection framework.

The DfE states that the intention behind trust inspection is to improve standards by identifying both the strongest trusts and those where intervention is needed - but questions remain as to exactly how trust-level inspection will fit into the existing regime of school inspection and DfE regulation, and what the impact of an additional layer of regulation will be in practice.

Next steps for the sector

Further consultation with the sector is expected in the coming months as the framework is developed.

Changes to mandatory academy orders

The Act amends the Academies Act 2010, removing the Secretary of State's statutory duty to issue a directive academy order for a maintained school judged by Ofsted to be in special measures or requiring significant improvement. Schools placed in a category of concern will therefore no longer automatically be required to convert to academy status.

This follows previous policy changes - including the withdrawal of the Secretary of State's intervention powers for coasting schools and the removal of the academy conversion grant - and signals a clear shift in the government's approach away from academisation and structural intervention.

What does "eligible for intervention" mean?

Maintained schools in a category of concern will still be "eligible for intervention" under the Academies Act, so the Secretary of State retains a discretionary power to issue a directive academy order to such schools.

The discretionary element will in theory make any such decision more open to challenge. The government has indicated that the worst-performing schools can still expect to be required to academise, but no policy guidance is yet available on how those decisions will be made. 

What to expect next

The government has made clear that structural intervention will remain the default approach for schools judged by Ofsted to require special measures, while schools judged to require significant improvement will receive support from the new RISE teams from September 2026.

We expect detailed policy guidance on decision-making to follow in due course. 

Find out more about The Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Act