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Letters: 'The focus should be on helping struggling state schools'
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Letters
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Peter Green, head of Rugby School, writes to The Times arguing independent schools provide "thousands of educational, sporting and arts opportunities" to their state counterparts. He adds that Rugby School hosts an annual arts festival which enables over a thousand local pupils to participate in "professionally run workshops that their own schools are unable to offer". The letter can be found halfway down the page.
Writing in the New Statesman, Andrew Halls, head of King's College School in Wimbledon, responds to an article by Francis Green and David Kynaston, "The 7 per cent problem: how to reform private schools". He argues their focus should instead be "on the struggling academic performance of too many schools catering for the statistically rather more important 93 per cent". This is the second letter on the page.
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'Britain's institutions are becoming more meritocratic'
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Social mobility
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Writing in The Spectator, Toby Young challenges some of the claims made in the Sutton Trust and the Social Mobility Commission's report published earlier this week, arguing Britain is in fact becoming a more merit-based society. The article references the Independent Schools Council.
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DfE 'most concerning' department, according to watchdog report
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State sector
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The chair of the Government's public accounts committee, Meg Hillier, referenced ongoing financial strain, a "lack of grip" over academies, and an apparent inability to improve children's social care as important issues facing the Department for Education (DfE). Schools Week.
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Landmark High Court challenge over SEND support
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SEND
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Lawyers representing three families are challenging the Government's funding of support for children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND), arguing they are being denied school places as a result of financial cuts. By Hannah Richardson, BBC News.
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Parents should not be able to withdraw children from religious education, survey finds
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Teaching and learning
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Research published in the British Journal of Religious Education has found that 71% of teachers believe a law allowing selective removal from RE is no longer needed. The study also revealed that Islam is the "dominant focus" of parental withdrawal requests. By Eleanor Busby, The Independent.
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New research reveals disparity in UK graduate earnings
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Higher education
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The recent publication of the Government's longitudinal educational outcomes (LEO) data revealed significant variations in incomes and sustained employment five years after graduation. In response to the findings, education secretary Damian Hinds said: "All students should feel they are getting value for money and the stark disparities between some degrees show there are universities that need to improve and maximise the potential of their courses." By Andrew Jack, Financial Times.
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The Independent Schools Council (ISC) monitors the national and educational press in order to keep independent schools up-to-date with relevant education news. The DNS is a service primarily for schools in membership of ISC associations, although other interested parties can choose to sign-up. We endeavour to include relevant news and commentary and, wherever possible, notable public letters. Where capacity allows, we may include links to ISC blogs, press statements and information about school or association events. News stories are selected based on their relevance to the independent sector as a whole. Editorial control of the DNS remains solely with the ISC.
Sign-up to the email service is available on our website.
Members can contact the ISC if they know in advance of news, letters or opinions that are likely to feature in the media, or are aware of existing coverage which they would like to see featured in the DNS.
Headlines and first-line summaries are written by the ISC with the link directing to the source material. You should read and comply with the terms and conditions of the websites to which we link.
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