It’s really been a wild ride this time, hasn’t it?
Especially if you’re in education. From September 2024 through to the coming end of term, teachers and families have navigated a landscape that’s felt at times dominated by policy shifts, challenges and changes. From expanding funding pressures, an ongoing SEN support crisis and a shift toward a wellbeing focus, it’s been somewhat of a mixed bag – and from the scale of things, it looks like these changes are going to shape teaching lives for years to come.
So here’s a look back at some of the key moments and milestones that have happened across what we can only describe as a ‘bit of a year’ for folks working in and around the education sector.
What happened in education in 2025?
➡️ School budget pressures are at a critical high
School budgets have been under significant pressure throughout the year: the cost-of-living crisis has rapidly become a cost-of-learning crisis, with many schools reporting struggling to pay staff salaries, afford basic lesson supplies, and keep up with their site’s utility bills.
There is, however, a reprieve in play. On a policy level, the government announced a 3.7% increase in average per-pupil funding for 2025-26, raising the figure to £8,210. But after accounting for inflation, this only amounts to a 1.2% real-terms rise, so there’s a disjuncture on the horizon between money in the coffers and that money’s ongoing purchase power. And that’s not all: thanks to a 4% salary increase that’s only been government funded up to 3%, 75% of primary schools and 94% of secondary schools reported to the STRB that they’d have to make cuts next year.
This marks the fourth year that schools have had their spending power cut, and it takes their real-terms funding to its lowest level since 2010. And in December, 2024, the government published the accounts of local authority-maintained schools for the financial year 2023-4 which revealed that a staggering 1 in 7 schools are in a deficit.
Whatever the new school year brings, it’s unlikely to be financial freedom for schools trying to balance the books – meaning that teachers are going to have to get even smarter with their resourcing, especially when it comes to student support.
➡️ Policy shifts on curriculum, plus training changes
The Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill was a major policy development this year, aiming to position pupil wellbeing at the centre of education and shift provision to further support disadvantaged children and young people. So we’re set to see...
🌱 Stronger safeguarding frameworks: Tougher rules and oversight for children’s social care and protection.
🌱 More family support: extended help for families to keep children out of care, including family-led care plans.
🌱 Broader education standards adoption: All state schools, including academies, must follow the national curriculum.
🌱 A focus on school attendance: Stricter rules on attendance and admissions, with new powers for local authorities.
🌱 Higher regulatory powers: Extended powers for Ofsted to oversee and fine care and education providers.
🌱 And it also seeks to strengthen support for children with complex needs (including many with SEN) by improving multi-agency cooperation and care safeguards, especially for those in treatment or care accommodation.
SEN support also received attention outside of the Bill: the government have replaced the long-standing NASENCo qualification with a new National Professional Qualification (NPQ) for SENCOs, aiming to boost expertise in mainstream settings and deliver improved outcomes for children and young people.
➡️ But unfortunately, teaching workload and recruitment challenges persist.
Teacher workload has remained one of the most pressing issues across the last school year. Even under new guidelines, administrative burden is at an all-time high, and pupil behaviour appears to be becoming more challenging. Staff resourcing, too, is becoming increasingly problematic: many schools report having to make redundancies due to the inability to make ends meet, driving the workload even higher for remaining staff.
The government’s pledge to recruit 6,500 new teachers and review bursaries and early career support has been welcomed. But the sector is still waiting for these changes to be fully implemented, and there are raised eyebrows across the sector regarding how realistic a target 6,500 is when there are more working-age teachers leaving the profession than retirement-age ones, and many schools are struggling to fulfil vacancies.
➡️ A curriculum under review
The government’s curriculum review, launched this year, is set to reshape in-school learning for years to come. Most educators agree it’s needed: the socio-economic gap for educational attainment remains stubbornly large, and young people with SEN tend to make less progress than their peers – and an evidence-informed approach to restructure is likely to lead to better outcomes further down the road. There’s also a large focus on the fundamentals of reading, writing and maths, and how to hone stronger skill sets that prepare students for post-16 education and work.
Another change off the back of the Review is that all state schools, including academies (who have previously been exempt), will soon be required to follow the national curriculum up to age 16.
➡️ And there are murky waters ahead for literacy…
Literacy is still a central concern. In 2025, the percentage of children and young people reading for pleasure is at its lowest in 20 years: just 1 in 3 (32.7%) children and young people aged 8 to 18 said that they enjoyed reading in their free time in 2025.
This marks a 36% decrease in reading enjoyment levels since records began. Why? The reasons are myriad, and increasingly complex: a dip in reading skills across the broader pandemic era can likely shoulder some of the blame, as can an increasing cost of books and magazines, but the profound impact of social media on children and young people’s leisure time is likely to a more key cause.
As to its impact, we don’t know yet… but last year, English pass grades were down, leaving well over a million students looking at a resit.
➡️ The battle over VAT on private school fees continues
From January 2025, private schools in the UK are required to add 20% VAT to their fees, ending their previous tax-exempt status. This move has been met with resistance from many in the independent sector, especially those who support learners with SEN or other additional needs that a mainstream setting may find challenging to adequately address.
While independent schools can still reclaim VAT on some of their own purchases, they cannot do so for their largest expense – staff salaries – so most school fees have risen by around 10-15%. This change increases costs for families and puts a large financial pressure on many private schools: it's intended to direct more resources towards state education, but sector sources fear that many SEN students may end up losing access to the inclusive education that their private settings provide.
Around 11,000 students left private settings since January 2025 – and whilst it’s a significant amount, there’s a small positive in that it appears to be following established patterns, and numbers are currently smaller than the ‘exodus’ predicted.
➡️ SEN challenges remain, and EHCPs appear under threat too
Special Educational Needs funding in the UK continues to face severe pressures in 2025, and it’s England’s 1.7 million SEN learners who are paying the price. Despite the government allocating an additional £1 billion in high-needs funding for 2024–25 and a £740 million capital investment for new specialist places, local authorities are struggling.
Half of the councils in England would be declared insolvent without the statutory override function (although, as of June 2025, it has been extended for another 24 months). And with a slew of newly Reform-controlled councils in play, amidst claims that under them, SEN funding may soon fall under the axe – parents and schools are incredibly worried.
Meanwhile, despite the amount of EHCPs increasing by almost 11% on 2024, per-pupil funding for those with EHCPs has dropped by nearly a third in real terms since 2015–16. And EHCPs themselves appear to be under threat too: although agreed by most educators to be an imperfect system, the concept of removing EHCPs for pupils not in specialist settings has now been floated at multiple levels of policy and governance, which is likely cause for alarm for SEN parents whose children are in mainstream schools.
➡️ So prepare for September with C-Pen Reader 3.
And here we are. It’s been a bit of a chaotic one, but we’re ending Summer term knowing five things:
1: Literacy skills are compromised
2. English grades are down
3: Funding is in short supply
4: We’re losing teachers over workloads
5: And SEN support is in crisis.
And there aren’t enough resources – financial, human, technological – within most schools’ reach to fix the problems they’re being faced with.
But that’s why we’re so proud of C-Pen Reader 3: created by the reading pen experts at C-Pen and inspired by the educators who stand at the front of the class every day, Reader 3 is a time-saving, bandwidth-preserving text-to-speech (TTS) tool that really delivers student reading results.
✅Reach for reading independence
Students who use TTS become stronger readers overall. Watch reading and confidence soar as students tackle texts independently with the support of Reader 3’s clear text-to-speech voice.
✅Instant dictionary definitions
Expand student vocabularies and boost understanding by checking any word’s definition with built-in dictionaries.
✅Save text and audio
Students can save everything scanned, and record voice notes for revision in C-Pen Reader 3’s internal memory.
✅Practise to perfection
Improve confidence and gamify literacy skill growth with word exercises, spelling assistance, pronunciation training, and more!
✅Reclaim your bandwidth
Supporting students with reading needs can compromise your bandwidth, as well as leave them feeling like they can’t read without help. Reader 3 unlocks the door to literacy, leaving more time for teaching, and learners with the confidence to self-support.
✅Read in other languages
Scan offline for reading and pronunciation support, read in 5 embedded languages, or connect online for translation support in 40+ more!
✅Navigate with ease
C-Pen Reader 3’s app-based, touchscreen menu makes it as easy to navigate as a smartphone or tablet, even for young learners or those with limited English proficiency.
✅Read wherever, whenever!
One charge means enough power for an uninterrupted day of scanning, and learners can benefit from Wi-Fi-free text-to-speech support wherever the need to read arises.
And when a classroom full of pens comes in at significantly cheaper than a single human reader, schools have more scope to ensure that every student who needs reading support has access the work in front of them, and the grades they deserve.
You can find out more about
C-Pen Reader 3 at
Scanning Pens.
Or claim your FREE educator trial today!
And we’re a chatty bunch. If you want to speak to one of our reading support experts about supporting the reading needs in your Trust, school or classroom, we’re always happy to explore in-depth solutions for your setting.
📧 Drop us a line: ukinfo@scanningpens.com
☎️ Give us a call: +44 (0) 207 976 4910
