News and insights

Councils expect to spend £14.8 billion on Special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) in 2025–26, creating significant budget deficits. To help, central government has proposed an extra £4 billion of support over the next three years. With around two-thirds of special needs schools at or over capacity, access to SEND support has, effectively, become a postcode lottery. The private sector has stepped in, building safe SEND environments in as little as 12 to 15 months. Historic Braywick House, which CCLA Investment Management sold in October 2025, is one example.
 

Our latest article looks at how higher inflation and rising interest rates driven by events in the Middle East could impact treasury management.

February saw global stock markets climb - though notably, US shares prices fell. Concern over the disruptive potential of artificial intelligence (AI) and the sizeable investments by major tech companies into AI infrastructure, weighed heavily on US stocks. We also consider possible economic ramifications of the ongoing conflict in the Middle East.

Each month our investment team provide a macro outlook into global investment markets.

As part of a national programme supporting care leavers, CCLA hosted ‘Beyond the System’ conference in January. Participants noted that while national policy frameworks are often good, implementation on the ground is not always consistent. A year into the programme, we look at the lessons learned and what needs to happen now to help close this gap. 
 

Stock markets have set record highs several years in a row. At the end of 2025 a minority of companies in AI, banking and defence made up 37% of the MSCI World Index. But, share prices have struggled to hang on to these highs over the past few months, and the best and worst-performing sectors have traded places or ‘rotated’. So, how do we separate the wheat from the chaff?

Stock markets reached new highs in January, but US shares continued to lag Europe and Asia. Sentiment remained optimistic, the pound strengthened, and bond markets held steady. Prices for gold and silver reached new peaks as international tensions rose.