Plans by Labour to add VAT to independent school fees could raise "very little' additional money if a quarter of pupils leave the sector, according to analysis of the party's proposals by EDSK. The think tank’s report claims the calculations behind Sir Keir Starmer's £1.6 billion figure, which he says will be raised by taxing school fees, do not take into account a drop-off in demand for independent schools or the extra taxpayer money needed to teach pupils who would be moved to state schools should tax be added to fees. Julie Robinson, chief executive of the Independent Schools Council (ISC), responded to the findings, saying: “These calculations show Labour’s policy will not raise the money it claims. We would welcome the chance to work with all politicians to build on the good work already being done by our schools instead of penalising parents for making the choice of an independent school for their children.” By Nicola Woolcock, The Times.

There is also coverage of EDSK's report in The Telegraph, The Independent, Tes, Schools Week and the Daily Mail.

In the ISC's latest 'Spotlight On' blog, which also marks Volunteers' Week, partnerships manager at The Latymer Foundation Kerry Wilson explains the impact and benefits of Latymer Upper School’s long-running Service in the Community Programme.

Ministers have warned it could take a decade for the attainment gap between disadvantaged pupils and their wealthier peers to return to pre-Covid levels in England without faster and more effective intervention. The estimate was made during evidence given to Parliament’s Public Accounts Committee (PAC) as part of its inquiry into education recovery after the disruption of the pandemic. By Sally Weale, The Guardian.

A survey of more than 500 primary school teachers conducted by online subject resource Kapow Primary has found that 70 per cent believed children’s behaviour had continued to worsen since the pandemic while 84 per cent said attention span was shorter. More than half of respondents also said pupils found it harder to stay seated and were more likely to annoy each other in class. By Nicola Woolcock, The Times.

Four unions representing hundreds of thousands of leaders and teachers have written to their members today to encourage meetings to hold joint staff meetings in all schools to boost their ballots for strike action. The NAHT, NEU, ASCL and NASUWT have all warned they are “now in a battle for the very future of education”, urging members to “stand with your colleagues and join us as we strive to bring about real change.” By Freddie Whittaker, Schools Week.

The terms 'Miss' and 'Sir' have been deemed a form of cultural misogyny and will be dropped at Harris Westminster Sixth Form in London. James Handscombe, headteacher at the selective sixth form that was set up in 2014 by Westminster School and the Harris Federation of academies, told pupils in an assembly that while Sir evokes knights and respect, Miss is more suitable for little girls and Edwardian shop assistants. By Nicola Woolcock, The Times.

A study by Warwick Business School suggests nearly one in three primary schools in England do not have a male classroom teacher, with the proportion of secondary school teachers who are male remaining at a record low (35 per cent). By Eleanor Busby, The Independent.

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