A new report from the Headmasters' and Headmistresses' Conference (HMC) has called for an overhaul of GCSEs and the school curriculum, warning "our current education system is falling a long way short in offering a relevant education which promotes the breadth of knowledge, skills, attitudes and values necessary for young people to thrive in the modern world". The author of the report, Sarah Fletcher, high mistress of St Paul’s Girls’ School and chair of HMC ‘Reform of Assessment’ working group, has called on the Government to appoint an independent and impartial individual or organisation to lead a wide consultation with educators, business, universities, parents and students to help inform the design of a new model of assessment. By Camilla Turner, The Telegraph. The article also quotes Richard Backhouse, the chairman of HMC and principal of Berkhamsted School.

Health secretary Sajid Javid has confirmed that all young people aged 16 and 17 will be offered a second dose of the COVID vaccine. By Freddie Whittaker, Schools Week.

A charity representing over 1,000 schools in the North East has called for a pause to Ofsted inspections to support teachers "exhausted" by the pandemic. Tes.

BBC News reports the Government is delaying changes to further education until 2024, following criticism over its plans to cut funding for BTECs.

Geoff Barton, general secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders, and Paul Whiteman, general secretary of the National Association of Head Teachers, have warned of a "mismatch" between the action TikTok has taken to remove posts abusing teachers and members' reports of content that remains online. By Matilda Martin, Tes.

The Department for Education (DfE) has announced plans for the international qualified teacher status (iQTS) qualification to start next year. The pilot scheme is designed to gauge how effectively the qualification can be delivered on a global basis, prior to a possible complete rollout in September 2023. By Dan Worth, Tes. The article references a quote from Colin Bell, CEO of the Council of British International Schools.

The Guardian reports 15 NHS clinics are to be set up in England to provide more than 1,000 children a year specialist treatment to support weight loss. By Caroline Davies.

According to The Times, opposition parties in Scotland have stepped up calls to scrap primary school testing. This comes after Louise Hayward, an outspoken opponent of early years' assessments, was appointed to advise the Scottish Government on education reform. By Mark McLaughlin.

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.