Joe Spence, master of Dulwich College and co-director of the Southwark Schools Learning Partnership, writes to The Times in response to Robert Verkaik's article on social mobility within the legal profession. Outlining the range of benefits arising from cross-sector partnerships, Dr Spence writes that, rather than barring access, independent school networks can be an "engine of social mobility". The letter can be found halfway down the page.

Education unions are urging the Department for Education (DfE) to “urgently” restart negotiations and publish the independent pay review recommendations for teacher pay. It comes after the School Teachers’ Review Body (STRB) recommendation that teachers should receive a 6.5 per cent pay increase for 2023-24 was leaked last weekend. By Matilda Martin, Tes.

The Association of Educational Psychologists (AEP) has said its members are going to be balloted for industrial action amid a dispute with the Local Government Association (LGA) over pay. The AEP, with the National Education Union and Prospect, had asked the LGA for a rise of nine per cent on all pay points. By Amy Walker, Schools Week.

Senior Conservative MPs have suggested separating student visa statistics from net migration data would help “bring down the numbers” without harming Britain’s university sector. By Poppy Wood, iNews.

The Guardian takes a look at why a growing number of students from India are coming to the UK to study, with around 140,000 Indians seeking educational opportunities in Britain last year. By Hannah Ellis-Petersen.

According to the government’s research into the impact of the cost of living crisis on the childcare sector, one in 10 childcare providers in England is facing closure and more than half are finding it difficult to cover their costs. The findings are likely to raise concerns about the capacity of the sector to grow to meet the government’s £4 billion expansion to its free childcare offer, which was outlined in this year's budget. By Sally Weale, The Guardian.

The prime minister has said it is "ridiculous" that vapes, illegal to be sold to under-18s, are promoted to children, as he pledges to look at ways to tighten marketing rules. Speaking to ITV's This Morning, Rishi Sunak said he didn't want his daughters to be "seduced by these things". BBC News.

Tes explores the increasing popularity of vocational qualifications (VQs) in music, following concerns from sector bodies amid years of waning interest in the subject at GCSE and A-level. A spokesperson from Pearson explains a possible reason for the rise in music VQs: “This may be because the rise of accessible music creation software and new music-making technology, for example, has attracted young people who create and perform music in new ways." By Dan Worth.

Writing in Independent Schools Magazine, James Polansky, executive headteacher at Boundary Oak School, explains why lessons in entrepreneurship have been introduced at the school and why he believes the subject needs to be given more prominence in the curriculum.

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