In a House of Lords written question, Conservative peer Baroness Goldie asked how many representations ministers have received from members of the Armed Forces expressing concern about the government's VAT on fees policy. Lord Coaker replied, saying: "At the time of writing, the Ministry of Defence had received 53 letters or emails on this issue from Members of Parliament writing on behalf of a constituent, and members of the public. It is not possible to positively identify which of these are from members of the Armed Forces. In addition, there have been other informal approaches which have not been logged centrally. We continue to support Continuity of Education Allowance (CEA) as the means of mitigating the disruption to Service children’s education caused by Service commitments involving frequent moves of the family home and recognise its importance for the Service personnel who utilise it. That is why, to protect the integrity of the allowance, the Secretary of State for Defence directed that the cap on the current rates be lifted, and CEA rates recalculated, in recognition of the likely increase in school fees that will occur in January 2025 with the introduction of VAT on private school fees. This re-rating exercise has now completed and Service personnel who claim the allowance have been informed by their respective Service of re-revised rates they can claim effective from 1 December in advance of the start of the spring term in January 2025."
In a House of Commons written question to the Department for Education, Shadow Minister for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs Priti Patel asked what funding ministers have provided to primary and secondary schools, and schools for children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND), to cover the costs of additional pupils moving from independent schools to the state sector as a result of the government's VAT policy and business rate changes. In response, Minister for Early Education Stephen Morgan said the government has announced a £2.3 billion increase to the core schools budget for 2025/26, which includes funding for mainstream schools and support for pupils with SEND, distributed based on pupil numbers and the "existing funding formula". He added that local authorities, supported by government funding and planning advisors, are tasked with ensuring sufficient school places, with intervention promised if they fail to meet their responsibilities.
In a separate question to the Treasury, Shadow Minister for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities Kevin Hollinrake asked: "Pursuant to the Answer of 9 September 2024 to Question 2820 on Private Education: Business Rates, whether a (a) sports playing field and (b) playground is a positive material consideration by the Valuation Office Agency when calculating the rateable value of an independent school for business rates." Responding, Exchequer Secretary to the Treasury James Murray said: "All intrinsic physical characteristics of the school are taken into consideration, and both sports playing fields and playgrounds are material considerations which positively impact the calculated rateable value." Hansard.
The Sunday Times features its Parent Power tables, based on the academic outcomes of state and independent schools in the UK using the latest A-level and GCSE results. Reigate Grammar School is named Independent Secondary School of the Year 2025. The title of Independent School of the Year for Academic Excellence 2025 has been awarded to St Paul's Girls' School. The paper's analysis of this year’s Parent Power league table also reveals that six of the top 10 schools in the combined rankings are girls-only schools. The highest riser in the independent rankings is Birkenhead School in the northwest of England, which climbed 118 places from 199 to 81. By Sian Griffiths, Helen Davies and Nick Rodrigues.
Julie Henry takes a look at how the government's VAT on fees policy is impacting schools in the independent sector, and some of the reasons motivating families to choose an independent education for their children, from academic success to extra-curricular provision.
A supplementary piece outlines how to access scholarships at top UK independent schools and an accompanying table details the proportion of pupils who get 100 per cent of their fees paid for at 50 independent schools. By Robert Watts.
Other articles featured in this year's Parent Power include how the best schools of 2025 were chosen (by Nick Rodrigues and Helen Davies). The paper takes a closer look at 11-plus tutoring (by Lucy Denyer) and an anonymous parent shares why the family moved 500 miles to secure a space in their chosen catchment area.
Reference is made to recent figures from the Independent Schools Council (ISC) and numerous schools in membership of the ISC's constituent associations are mentioned across the guide. The paper notes: "If a school does not appear on the Parent Power league table it is most likely to be because it did not respond to our requests for its A-level and GCSE results, and the results could not be found in the public domain."
The “alarming” level of children missing school has become a “stubborn and damaging issue”, Sir Martyn Oliver has warned. The chief inspector of Ofsted said he was also worried about a rise in "flexi-schooling", where parents educate their children at home for part of the week. Sir Martyn's comments follow publication of the inspectorate's annual report, which states that attendance issues have "deepened" since the pandemic. By Hazel Shearing and Branwen Jeffreys, BBC News.
Tes provides a summary of Ofsted's annual report, which highlights the challenges of absenteeism and special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) pressures. The report states that there has been a 140 per cent increase in the number of pupils with education, health and care plans (EHCPs) being educated in mainstream schools. By John Roberts and Cerys Turner.
In the ISC's latest blog, Fiona Read, head of Bedales Pre-prep, explores current approaches to teaching in primary schools, and joins calls for radical change to the curriculum and assessments.
