Gillian Keegan, the education secretary, has said that the Schools Bill that was designed to "raise education standards" in England has been dropped, although parts of the Government's plan would still be implemented. Addressing MPs at the Education Select Committee yesterday, Ms Keegan said that "parliamentary time has definitely been reprioritised" to focus on tackling the rising cost of living, "because of the pandemic aftershocks but also the war in Ukraine". By Hazel Shearing, BBC News.

According to Tes, the Department for Education (DfE) still intends to tighten rules in areas including unregistered schools and teacher misconduct, despite the Schools Bill no longer going ahead, however it is not yet clear what impact any new legislation will have in this regard. The article references how the Schools Bill set out to create new powers to be able to suspend the registration of independent schools where serious safeguarding failings could pose a risk of harm to pupils. By John Roberts and Rhodri Morgan.

Schools Week summarises some of the key topics covered at Ms Keegan's first appearance before the Education Select Committee, including grammar schools and SEND. By Freddie Whittaker.

Removing the charitable status of Eton College 'would pay for hundreds of teachers in areas where pupils are falling behind', according to analysis by the Labour Party. The Daily Mirror refers to Labour's plans to add VAT to school fees. By Lizzy Buchan.

Figures have shown that at least nine children in England, Wales and Northern Ireland have died of iGas, a severe form of Strep A infection caused when the bacterium gets into the bloodstream. Eight young people died following a COVID infection in the whole of 2020, leading to concerns that more children could die as a result of the 'immunity debt' from pandemic restrictions than from coronavirus itself. By Sarah Knapton and Joe Pinkstone, The Telegraph.

Professor Jim McManus, president of the UK Association of Directors of Public Health, has advised parents in Scotland that it is safe to send their children to school and they should not be 'unduly concerned' by the fatalities caused by Strep A this year. He said keeping children home from school was “overly cautious”. By Mark McLaughlin, The Times.

Gillian Keegan has called for a “big dose of transparency” when teaching contested political issues in schools, urging teachers to use “common sense” when it comes to sharing classroom materials. She also emphasised that parents should be fully informed of what their children are being taught. By Amy Gibbons, The Independent.

Rishi Sunak, the prime minister, has told ministers he is working on "new tough laws" to protect people from strike disruption. Speaking across the dispatch box at Prime Minister's Questions yesterday, the Labour leader, Sir Keir Starmer, argued that new laws would not help with the present situation surrounding industrial action. An accompanying graphic displays who is taking strike action and when, with teachers in Scotland highlighted as striking yesterday and today. By Becky Morton, BBC News.

Research by the London School of Economics and the University of Surrey for the Sutton Trust has revealed that young people from low-income backgrounds are under-represented in degree level apprenticeships compared to university. Five per cent of those starting a degree apprenticeship in 2020-21 were from lower income homes, compared with 6.7 per cent of those going to university. By Nicola Woolcock, The Times.

Professor Dame Lesley Regan, former president of the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists, has called for teenagers to be taught that they will not be fertile forever so they can "take charge of their fertility". Research has shown that, on average, female fertility begins to decline after the age of 30 and male fertility also declines, particularly after the age of 45. By Rosie Taylor and Kat Lay, The Times.

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.