Education Legislation
Laws governing educational institutions, curriculum standards, student finance, higher education, and educational quality assessment.
The Childcare (Free of Charge for Working Parents) (England) (Amendment) Regulations 2025
These Regulations, made by the Secretary of State under the Childcare Act 2016, amend the Childcare (Miscellaneous Amendments) (Inspection Outcomes) (England) Regulations 2025 to correct a specific drafting error concerning free childcare provisions for working parents.
The instrument specifically modifies Regulation 5(4) of the principal Regulations, which in turn amends Regulation 44 of the 2022 Regulations, by omitting only redundant transitional sub-paragraphs from paragraph (3), rather than omitting the whole paragraph as previously intended.
They come into force on December 31, 2025, and extend to England and Wales.
The Power to Award Degrees etc. (LTE Group Limited) (Revocation) Order 2025
The Office for Students issues this Order under the authority granted by the Higher Education and Research Act 2017 to revoke The Power to Award Degrees etc. (LTE Group Limited) Order 2025; this revocation is necessary because the original 2025 Order contained a drafting error that incorrectly named the entity, and a new, corrected Order has since been made to grant the appropriate powers.
The Childcare (Miscellaneous Amendments) (Inspection Outcomes) (England) Regulations 2025
These Regulations, enacted by the Secretary of State using powers under the Childcare Acts 2006 and 2016, amend four existing statutory instruments governing early years childcare in England, effective from January 1st, 2026.
The primary purpose is to update various regulations—including those concerning welfare requirements, local authorities' duty to secure free childcare, and requirements for information, advice, and training—to reflect recent changes in inspection grades implemented by Ofsted and to incorporate inspection outcomes from independent inspectorates approved under the Education and Skills Act 2008.
The changes specify which inspection grades trigger requirements for intervention, continuous improvement, or withdrawal of public funding obligations for early years providers.
This Order, made by the Office for Students under powers granted by the Higher Education and Research Act 2017, formally amends the Power to Award Degrees etc. (ESCP Europe Business School) Order 2024 by substituting Article 3 to extend the fixed term authorization for ESCP Europe Business School to award degrees.
Specifically, the Order changes the expiry date of this authorization for ESCP Europe Business School (UKPRN: 10002313) from December 2, 2027, to December 2, 2030.
The Family Procedure (Amendment) Rules 2025, made by the Family Procedure Rule Committee under the Courts Act 2003, amend the existing Family Procedure Rules 2010 with changes taking effect across three dates in 2026; key amendments include removing an outdated cross-reference related to children’s guardians, clarifying the scope of confidentiality for personal details to the court, broadening who can have their details protected, and establishing a requirement that permission to appeal decisions made by lay justices or specified types of decisions must be sought directly from the appeal court.
The Power to Award Degrees etc. (Blackpool and The Fylde College) Order 2025
The Office for Students, acting under powers derived from the Higher Education and Research Act 2017, issues this Order to formally authorize Blackpool and The Fylde College to grant taught awards up to and including bachelor’s level, based on having considered relevant quality and standards advice, with this authorization being effective for a fixed term commencing on 12th December 2025 and concluding on 11th December 2028, and permitting the college to subsequently authorize other institutions to grant these awards on its behalf.
The Office for Students issues this Order to modify the existing 2023 authorisation granting S P Jain London School of Management Limited the power to award degrees, specifically by fixing the term of this authorization to run from September 1st, 2023, until the end of August 30th, 2027, confirming that statutory procedures regarding quality advice and notification have been followed.
The Charities Act 2022 (Commencement No. 4 and Saving Provision) Regulations 2025
The Secretary of State makes these Regulations under the Charities Act 2022 to bring specific provisions of the Act into force across England and Wales on 27th November 2025.
This commencement primarily enacts technical improvements to charity law concerning the power of charity trustees to make small ex gratia payments without seeking prior authorization if conditions are met, and codifies the existing authorization powers held by the Charity Commission and the courts.
The Regulations also list specific property belonging to designated national museums and galleries that remains subject to existing prohibitions, preventing immediate commencement of the new rules for those assets, and include provisions to save the prior procedures for applications already submitted before the new rules take effect.