The Department for Education has brought into force the Designation of Schools Having a Religious Character (Independent Schools) (England) (Amendment and Revocations) Order 2026, a narrowly drawn statutory instrument made on 28 August 2026 and effective from 29 August 2026. According to S.I. 2026/942, the Order makes two operative changes. It updates the postcode recorded for Ahavas Torah Boys Academy from M7 4QX to M7 3NJ, and it removes a set of earlier religious character designations from previous instruments.
The explanatory note states that the revocations relate to schools that have closed. The named entries cover Our Lady's Convent School, Hereford Catherdral Junior School, Bedstone College, Maidwell Hall, Milbourne Lodge Junior School, Focus School - Long Eaton Campus and Trinity Christian School, alongside the revocation of article 3(1)(e) in the 2023 Order. On that reading, the instrument is a register-maintenance measure rather than a rewrite of faith school policy. No new school is designated, and no existing designation is widened or reduced on the face of the Order.
The legal power used for the instrument comes from section 69(3) of the School Standards and Framework Act 1998, as applied to independent schools by section 124B of the same Act. The preamble also records that the Secretary of State followed the procedure set out in the Religious Character of Schools (Designation Procedure) (Independent Schools) (England) Regulations 2003. The Order extends to England and Wales, but the notes attached to the instrument also record that the relevant powers are exercisable by the Secretary of State only in relation to England. In practical terms, this is an England-facing update to the statutory designation record.
The explanatory note sets out why the designation record matters. A school designated as having a religious character may take account of certain religious or denominational considerations when making specified employment decisions relating to teaching staff under sections 58 to 60 and 124AA of the 1998 Act. That means the list is more than an administrative schedule. For schools that remain open and designated, the entry helps anchor specific legal permissions in staffing matters. For schools that have closed, revocation removes obsolete entries so the published record matches the current position.
For Ahavas Torah Boys Academy, the amendment is administrative rather than substantive. The school keeps its designation, and the Order simply substitutes the postcode now attached to its entry in the 2014 Order. For the revoked entries, the effect is different. Once those earlier provisions are revoked, the schools concerned are no longer carried on the active record through those historic designation instruments. That gives advisers and proprietors a cleaner statutory trail when checking whether a school still holds a live religious character designation.
The Order was signed by Kate Dixon, a Director at the Department for Education, on behalf of the Secretary of State on 28 August 2026. It came into force the following day, with no deferred commencement period. The Department for Education says no full impact assessment has been prepared because no significant effect on the private, voluntary or public sectors is expected. Even so, the change remains legally relevant for proprietors and advisers who track designation status and review staffing policies against the current statutory record.