Rishi Sunak is set to announce today that he would like all school children to study maths until the age of 18. The prime minister will say: “Just half of all 16 to 19-year-olds study any maths at all. Yet in a world where data is everywhere and statistics underpin every job, our children’s jobs will require more analytical skills than ever before." By Henry Zeffman and Nicola Woolcock, The Times.

The prime minister will acknowledge that the proposed maths reforms would not be achieved during the course of this Parliament, and that there are no plans to make maths A-level compulsory for all pupils. By Freddie Whittaker, Schools Week.

Former prime minister Liz Truss has warned Rishi Sunak not to scrap her childcare reforms amid growing frustration from Conservative ministers regarding the “unaffordable” costs facing parents. Ms Truss had fast-tracked plans to help families struggling with childcare, however her successor has subsequently removed her proposals to scrap mandatory staff-child ratios in nurseries and is also reviewing plans to extend free childcare support for pre-schoolers. By George Grylls and Henry Zeffman, The Times.

Figures from NHS England have revealed that over a million young people required treatment for serious mental health problems in the past year. Referrals for mental health treatment for under-18s increased by almost two-fifths (39 per cent) to more than a million (1,169,515) in 2021-22, in contrast to 2019-20, the year before the pandemic, when the figure was 850,741. By Lizzie Roberts, The Telegraph.

Research led by the University of Hong Kong, involving children from Britain, has found that taking part in regular school sports can help stop teenagers feeling depressed. The data, which looked at young people with an average age of 14, has revealed that those who exercised at least three days a week improved their mental health. By Eleanor Hayward, The Times.

Figures released to iNews have revealed that 35 teachers were handed prohibition orders over sexual misconduct allegations in the year to March 2022, up from six the previous year, prompting calls for tougher scrutiny of online teaching to tackle an “epidemic of unacceptable behaviour”. A third of teachers struck off across England last year were involved in sex-related misconduct, while a fifth were banned for life after being found to have breached boundaries or trust. By Poppy Wood.

Santander, the Spanish lender, is to become the first major bank in Britain to recruit graduates with a third class degree in an attempt to boost the diversity of its workforce. The move is expected to open its programme to 64,000 more people every year. By Simon Foy, The Telegraph.

Writing in Tes, Kate Parker looks at how teachers can cost-effectively design their classrooms to maximise student outcomes. Ms Parker explores research into which desk layout works best in classrooms, with rows rather than groups having been found to improve the on-task behaviour of pupils during independent work.

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.