A Principled view

Another year closes, and the festive flurry attempts to cloak the underlying tension and exhaustion that have permeated the English education system. As the clock ticks down to 2025, many of us in schools, whether we are Principals, teachers, or governors, are not merely reflecting on curriculum reviews and exam results; we are contemplating the resilience of the very foundations on which our schools and our families stand. The year has been defined less by aspirational progress and more by the compounding pressure of what I have often referred to as “Lethal Mutations” in government policy—decisions flawed in their conception and damaging in their effect.

The most acute crisis of 2025 has undoubtedly been the systemic failure to adequately support children with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND). We have witnessed the predicted exponential rise in identified need—the bell curve of educational demand has not just shifted; it has been fundamentally distorted. When 43% of a neighbouring nation’s children are now falling into the category of requiring additional support, and England’s own high-needs funding has doubled in five years, the narrative of a manageable problem collapses entirely. The reality is that austerity, disguised as efficiency, has poisoned the well. The significant real-terms decline in state school budgets since 2010—a 9% average cut—has stripped away the early, preventative support that mitigates later crisis. When local authorities are verging on bankruptcy over High Needs funding, and policy reform is promised over a glacial three-year horizon, we are simply watching the crisis deepen in the meantime. The failure to reinvest in Early Years Health Visiting, following its devastating 40% workforce cut since 2015, is not merely a statistical anomaly; it is a moral failure that ensures that children arrive at school with needs that are already acute, complex, and prohibitively expensive to address. The crisis is countrywide, as explained by Chris Coghlan MP this month in Parliament.

This financial toxicity is compounded by decisions that show a profound misunderstanding of educational ecosystems. The 20% VAT levy on independent school fees this year, imposed by the new administration, was heralded as a silver bullet to fund the state sector. Twelve months on, the consequences are predictable and severe: families, particularly those with multiple children or complex needs, are finding their choice increasingly untenable. The promise of funding 6,500 more state school teachers rings hollow when the Parliament’s own Public Accounts Committee criticises the Department for Education for lacking a “coherent plan” and “sufficient evidence” to achieve that target. This policy, designed to foster equity, risks a sharp reduction in choice, exacerbates pressure on the already overstretched state sector, and constitutes yet another textbook example of a policy whose unintended harm outweighs its idealistic aim.

Counterpoint: The Power of a Wide and Engaging Approach
Yet, even against this backdrop of national systemic strain, our community at Claires Court demonstrates that a truly focused, well-resourced school can maintain a broad, engaging, and fundamentally inclusive approach to education—an essential counterpoint to the divisive narratives and narrowed curricula elsewhere. Looking at our end-of-term successes across our media channels, the breadth of pupil endeavour is a testament to what is possible when the environment is right.

A vital part of Claires Court’s strength lies in the excellence of its Nursery and Junior Schools, where the foundations for confident, curious, and resilient learners are carefully laid. In the Nursery, children flourish in a nurturing environment that prioritises language, social development, and emotional security through purposeful play and expert care. This early investment ensures children transition into formal learning, happy, engaged, and ready to thrive—an approach that represents one of the most effective and meaningful forms of early intervention.

The Junior School builds on this foundation with a rich, balanced education that combines academic challenge with exceptional pastoral care and a wide range of creative, sporting, and community opportunities. Small classes and attentive teaching enable early identification of need, while performances, events, and shared traditions foster confidence, kindness, and belonging. At a time when early years and primary education are under increasing national strain, Claires Court’s Nursery and Juniors stand as clear evidence that when children are supported well from the very beginning, the benefits are felt throughout their entire educational journey.

This has been a term of exceptional breadth. We celebrate a “3-Peat” of County Cup victories in Rugby for our U14, U15, and U16 boys—a tremendous sporting achievement built on teamwork and commitment. Equally, we cheer for our U13, U16, and U19 Gymnasts, whose skill and dedication have earned them places in the National Finals. But education here is not just about the elite; it is about providing the spark of engagement for every child.

A defining feature of life at Claires Court, valued highly by parents, is the richness of learning beyond the classroom. Across the whole age range, pupils benefit from regular external visitors, workshops, and speakers who bring learning to life and broaden horizons, alongside a carefully planned programme of educational visits and residential experiences. From local exploratory trips in the early years to confidence-building residentials and subject-specific excursions for older pupils, these experiences deepen understanding, foster independence, and create lasting memories. They are not extras, but an integral part of a broad education that helps children grow socially, emotionally, and academically.

Our commitment to bringing learning to life was exemplified by two recent events, each demonstrating the value of depth, expertise, and real-world engagement within a broad curriculum. Studying Science is one thing, but A Lunar Rocks visit provided pupils with a rare and compelling opportunity to engage directly with authentic Moon samples collected during the Apollo 12 mission, alongside an extensive collection of meteorites and fossils from around the world. Structured, age-appropriate sessions for Year 4, 7 and 8 pupils encouraged careful observation, questioning, and intellectual curiosity, transforming abstract scientific concepts into tangible experiences that inspired awe and deepened understanding.

Our Year 10 students, across both Senior Boys and Girls, benefited from a confidence-building workshop with internationally acclaimed artist Ian Murphy, where they learned complex techniques directly applicable to their GCSE coursework. In an educational climate where investment in the Arts has too often been eroded, this level of professional engagement represents a deliberate and principled commitment to creative excellence. The energy in the room—students challenged, supported, and encouraged beyond their comfort zones—was as educationally significant as any lesson in mathematics or literacy, reinforcing the importance of a curriculum that values breadth, depth, and human creativity.

Crucially, our successes have been fundamentally inclusive. Our annual Santa Run saw a fantastic turnout from Juniors through to Sixth Form, one of many events that bring the entire school community together in seasonal good humour. The “Make a Difference” ethos was palpable, with our Sixth Form donating generously to the local Foodshare, and students from all sites continuing our tradition of decorating trees for the St. Luke’s Christmas Tree Festival in aid of Alzheimer Dementia Support. These actions, alongside the simple, beautiful spectacle of our Lower Juniors performing their Nativity, underscore that our focus is on building character, instilling empathy, and fostering a sense of ‘Service Above Self’. Even the simple act of planting a Prunus tree on the Junior grounds to celebrate the Maidenhead Rotary Club centenary—an effort I was proud to share with the pupils—stands as a living, growing symbol of our commitment to the future and to community engagement. The message is clear: when education is broad, encompassing the physical, the creative, the academic, and the moral, it becomes a force for cohesion rather than division, demonstrating that a rich school life benefits all children, regardless of their specific needs.

As the year ends, it is the small, principled shifts that offer glimmers of hope. The growing understanding that genuine learning is anchored in the physical—in the act of writing on paper, which we champion here—is a quiet rebellion against the relentless digital tide. We observe global peers, like Sweden, reversing years of screen-focused pedagogy, reintroducing textbooks and handwriting to combat declining literacy and concentration. This is a critical lesson for parents and schools: the digital environment is volatile, and our collective responsibility is to ensure that the real world remains the primary domain of our young people. Building that internal resilience, that human connection, and that ability to focus is the only true defence against the seductive, yet ultimately reductive, forces of artificial intelligence and social media’s virtual friends.

Anticipating the “Ides of March” and beyond.
If 2025 was a year of reckoning with past government errors, the Spring and Summer of 2026 will be a period of intense pressure, shaping not just the future of this academic cohort but potentially the direction of national policy.

Spring 2026 brings the crucial, often overlooked moment of institutional decision-making. Schools across the country will be finalising budgets for the 2026-27 academic year, with costs continuing to rise—whether for energy, staff salaries (driven by the recruitment crisis), or essential resources to meet students’ complex needs— headteachers in the state sector, particularly, will face another significant real-terms shortfall. The season will be defined by this silent, desperate scramble to maintain provision despite inadequate funding settlements, all while preparing students for the academic hurdles ahead.

Local authorities are on the front line of the crisis in Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) funding, with many councils facing near-bankruptcy due to the statutory requirement to meet rising High Needs deficits. As local councils determine the provision of vital services, including children’s services, youth services, and adult skills, the political outcomes of the local elections will directly influence the immediate future of local education support. Furthermore, the outcomes in Wales and Scotland will set policy direction for devolved matters such as skills and post-16 education, which England will closely monitor. The policies debated—from local authority reorganisation to the future funding formulae for social care and education—will decide whether the crisis in preventative support deepens or is finally addressed with the necessary local focus and investment.

Summer 2026 at Senior Schools is, inevitably, Exam Season. For pupils sitting GCSEs, BTECs, and A-levels, this summer will mark the conclusion of an educational journey uniquely defined by the post-COVID, post-recovery failure landscape. Despite staff commitment, these children have suffered from the government’s abandonment of Sir Kevan Collins’ comprehensive recovery plan of 2021. The attainment gap persists, and systemic overload in SEND provision means that many students enter exam halls having received interventions that are too late or too diluted to fully compensate for lost time. The profession’s focus must shift from simply securing grades to ensuring that well-being sustains them through this peak-pressure period. The pastoral care, the sensitive support for those with mental health needs, and the provision of access arrangements must be exemplary, because the safety net beneath this cohort feels historically thin.

My conclusion, as I look to the blossoming of Spring and the heat of Summer 2026, is a call for a unified, principled stance. The real success of schools like Claires Court, which deliberately invest in the width and depth of pupil experience—from triple County Rugby wins and National Gymnastics qualifications to community service and high-level Arts & STEM workshops—proves that a truly engaging and inclusive education is the only path to meaningful progress. We must champion the importance of educational choice, support initiatives like the Association for Families of Independent Schooling (AFIS) to ensure our concerns are heard at the highest level, and continuously advocate for a system that measures success not just in raw attainment data, but in the holistic health and happiness of every young person. The crisis of 2025 demands a resolute, collaborative effort in 2026 to ensure that the children we serve are equipped not just for their exams, but for life itself. The alternative, allowing the system to continue its slow, preventable collapse, is an ethical negligence we cannot afford.