School website compliance is one of those things that tends to get reviewed once a year and then quietly forgotten until something prompts a closer look.
The DfE updates its requirements more regularly than most schools realise, and the changes do not always come with much fanfare.
A missing policy, an outdated governor list or an incomplete admissions page can all leave a poor impression at exactly the wrong moment. This article sets out what the DfE currently requires maintained schools to publish online, what is recommended rather than required, and where schools most commonly fall short.
One important distinction before we get into it. The DfE guidance uses “must” and “should” deliberately. “Must” means it is a legal requirement. “Should” means the DfE recommends it but it is not a statutory obligation. The two are not the same thing, and it is worth knowing which is which.
What maintained schools must publish
The following are legal requirements for maintained schools under the School Information (England) Regulations 2008 and subsequent amendments.
Contact details, including the school’s postal address, telephone number and the name of the member of staff who handles queries from parents and the public. Mainstream schools must also publish the name and contact details of their SENCO.
Admission arrangements vary depending on school type. Foundation and voluntary-aided schools must publish their full admission arrangements by 15 March each year, along with how they manage in-year applications and an annual timetable for admission appeals. Community and voluntary-controlled schools must publish a link to the local authority website where parents can find this information.
The behaviour policy, in compliance with section 89 of the Education and Inspections Act 2006.
The charging and remissions policy, setting out what activities the school charges for and when those charges may be waived.
The complaints policy, in compliance with section 29 of the Education Act 2002. This must also include the arrangements for handling complaints about SEN support, published as part of the SEN information report.
Curriculum information for every subject in every academic year, including RE even where it is taught under another name. Schools must also tell parents they have the right to withdraw their child from all or part of RE, and explain how parents can find out more about the curriculum.
Financial information, specifically the number of employees whose gross annual salary exceeds £100,000, presented in £10,000 bands, and a link to the school’s dedicated page on the schools financial benchmarking service.
The most recent Ofsted report, or a direct link to it on the Ofsted website.
PE and sport premium information for schools that receive this funding, published by 31 July each year. This must include the amount received, how it has been or will be spent, the impact on pupils’ participation and attainment, and how improvements will be sustained. Schools must also publish the percentage of year 6 pupils who met the national curriculum swimming requirements.
The public sector equality duty statement, updated annually, and the school’s equality objectives, updated at least every four years.
The pupil premium strategy statement for schools that receive this funding, published by 31 December each year using the DfE template. It must explain how the funding is being spent and what outcomes are being achieved for disadvantaged pupils.
The SEN information report, updated annually. This covers a substantial list of requirements set out in the SEND Regulations 2014 and must include information about how the school supports disabled pupils, including the school’s accessibility plan.
Secondary schools must also publish careers programme information, including the name and contact details of the careers lead, a summary of the programme, how its impact is measured and when the information will next be reviewed. Secondary schools must also publish a provider access policy statement in line with section 42B of the Education Act 1997.
Secondary schools must publish their most recent key stage 4 performance measures, including their Progress 8 score, Attainment 8 score and the percentage of pupils achieving grade 5 or above in GCSE English and maths. Note: for the 2023 to 2024 academic year, progress scores in reading, writing and maths do not need to be published at KS2, and primary schools do not need to publish KS1 to KS2 progress measures for either the 2023 to 2024 or 2024 to 2025 academic years, because there is no valid KS1 baseline following Covid disruption. All schools must also publish a link to the compare school and college performance service.
Secondary schools with sixth forms must publish their most recent 16 to 18 performance measures, including progress, attainment, retention and destination measures. Note: value added measures for 2022 to 2023 and English and maths progress measures for 2022 to 2023 and 2023 to 2024 do not need to be published, as the Secretary of State is not publishing these.
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What maintained schools should publish
The following are DfE recommendations rather than legal requirements, but they are worth taking seriously.
Governance information. Schools must publish governing body information in line with the constitution regulations, but the detailed guidance on what to publish about individual governors sits in the “should” category. This includes full names, appointment dates, terms of office, attendance records and relevant business or financial interests. The DfE also encourages schools to publish diversity data about their governing board.
The school’s ethos and values.
School opening hours, specifically the official start and end of the compulsory school day and the total time in a typical week.
The school uniform policy, if pupils are required to wear one. This should include details of optional and required items, branded versus generic items and where second-hand uniform can be purchased.
A music development plan summary, published alongside curriculum information. A DfE template is available but not mandatory.
Information about remote education provision, though schools are no longer required to publish this. The DfE says schools should consider doing so.
Gender pay gap information for schools with fewer than 250 employees. Schools at or above 250 employees are legally required to report this data. For smaller schools, the DfE says they should give serious consideration to the business benefits of publishing it voluntarily.
A note on academies, free schools and special schools
The requirements covered in this article apply specifically to maintained schools. If your school is an academy or free school, a separate set of guidance applies: What academies and further education colleges must or should publish online, last updated 24 October 2024.
The overlap is significant, but there are some important differences. Several things that maintained schools must publish are only recommended for academies, including the behaviour policy, curriculum information, Ofsted reports and careers programme details. Academies also have additional requirements that do not apply to maintained schools, including publishing audited annual accounts by 31 January each year and making their funding agreement publicly available.
For special schools, whether maintained or academy, some requirements differ from mainstream settings. The obligation to publish the name and contact details of a SENCO, for example, applies to mainstream schools only. If your school falls outside the mainstream category, both guidance pages are worth checking against your specific setting.
Where schools most commonly fall short
The areas that come up most often when school websites are reviewed tend not to be the most obvious ones.
Governor information goes out of date quickly. A governor who stepped down last year may still be listed. A term of office that ended in January may not have been updated. This part of the website needs someone with a clear responsibility for keeping it current.
Policies get reviewed internally but the version on the website does not get updated to match. A safeguarding or behaviour policy with an old review date sitting on a publicly visible page is not a good look for anyone reading it.
Curriculum information is either missing entirely or so thin that it does not meet the expectation of giving parents a genuine picture of what is taught. The requirement covers every subject in every academic year.
Admissions pages are often incomplete. Foundation and voluntary-aided schools sometimes miss the in-year admissions requirement or the annual appeals timetable.
PE and sport premium reporting is frequently late or incomplete. The 31 July deadline catches schools out, particularly at the end of a busy summer term.
Why it matters beyond a compliance check
A well-maintained website does more than satisfy a requirement. Parents read school websites before they decide where to apply. Governors use them. Prospective staff look at them. A website that is clearly up to date and easy to navigate tells people something about how the school is run.
If you are not sure where your website stands, working through the DfE checklist is the right starting point. The full guidance for maintained schools is published on GOV.UK: What maintained schools must or should publish online, last updated 24 October 2024.
You can find more on what a school website should be doing beyond compliance in Why Your School Website Is Costing You Pupils. And if you are thinking about whether your current website is the right vehicle for all of this, take a look at our school website design work.
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