According to The Telegraph, some schools across England are continuing on with their own “Plan B” measures as they keep libraries closed, ban hot lunches and insist on face masks. By Camilla Turner.

Daniel Wyatt, head at Kelvinside Academy in Glasgow, has said that it is time to “bring the joy” back into the classroom by scrapping face mask rules. By Constance Kampfner, The Times.

Chef Jamie Oliver is set to meet the education secretary, Nadhim Zahawi, to urge the Government to tackle the rise in child obesity since the pandemic. By Richard Adams, The Guardian.

A cross-party alliance of regional mayors has urged Boris Johnson to devolve more power over education and stop "holding English cities back". Andy Street, Conservative mayor for the West Midlands, Andy Burnham, the Labour mayor for Greater Manchester, and Sadiq Khan, who represents London, all told The Times that local leaders should have greater control over education in their area. By Rachel Sylvester.

The Times takes a closer look at how schools across the world are creating classrooms of the future. Simon Henderson, head at Eton College, said "Eton stays the same on the outside — we have our quirky uniform, funny language and historic buildings — but we’re constantly re-inventing ourselves on the inside". By Rachel Sylvester.

In a separate article The Times explores the growing differences between the education systems in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.

In a letter to The Times, Beth Dawson, head of Sutton High School GDST, welcomes the findings of the Times Education Committee's report published yesterday. She writes: "Education is far more than examination results, and your report highlights that creativity, communication skills, curiosity and a collaborative approach to problem-solving will be vital in shaping the future for this country's children." The letter is the second featured on the page.

Members of the National Education Union (NEU) working at independent schools within the Girls' Day School Trust have voted to strike over their employers' plans to withdraw from the Teachers' Pension Scheme. By Callum Mason, Tes.

MPs were warned that schools were "in danger of preparing students for a world that's no longer going to exist" as the first student-led bill calling for climate change education to be "integrated" into the curriculum had its second reading in the House of Commons. Tes.

According to academic research by the Centre for Holocaust Education at University College London, The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas, a book and film adaptation used in many schools as part of lessons on the Nazi genocide, may "perpetuate a number of dangerous inaccuracies and fallacies" about the Holocaust. By Harriet Sherwood, The Guardian.

According to figures from the Higher Education Statistics Agency, the number of Chinese students enrolling at British universities fell for the first time last year by five per cent. Andrew Lewer, chairman of the All-Party Parliamentary Group for Independent Education, said: "It would be sensible for any educational establishment . . . not to over-base its financial security on students and support from China.” By Nicola Woolcock, 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.