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Labour's school fee tax policy 'motivated by jealousy', one in four voters say
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Independent sector
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One in four adults believes that the Labour Party’s plans to impose VAT on school fees is being introduced "out of jealousy" and to punish parents opting to pay for their children's education, an Ipsos poll has found. Speaking to The Telegraph, director of the Boarding Schools’ Association (BSA) David Walker warned that adding 20 per cent VAT to fees “could threaten the viability of hundreds of schools” and “have a negative knock-on effect to the number of bursaries each school can offer to low-income families”. Head of foundation at Bolton School Philip Britton is also quoted, having recently said “no parent should be made to feel guilty about wanting to afford an independent education for their child”. By Louisa Clarence-Smith.
The Independent also reports on the poll findings. David Woodgate, chief executive of the Independent Schools' Bursars Association (ISBA), says: “Schools will be doing everything they can to plan for Labour’s tax on children’s education. Without policy detail, it is difficult for them to do so fully – and impossible to know the full implications for their budgets.” Helen Pike, master of Magdalen College School, adds: "This [policy] is going to hit the people who can afford it least the hardest – the majority of schools don’t have the capacity to absorb the increase.” By Archie Mitchell.
Writing in CapX, Frank Young considers the reasons behind Labour's plans to tax independent school fees, suggesting it "might have more to do with geography and electoral calculations than high principles". Highlighting the variety of schools within the independent sector, Mr Young says: "Listen to the media narrative and it is easy to imagine that every independent school is like Eton College, but that is a little bit like saying Fortnum & Mason is a typical supermarket." He adds: "Adding to the tax burden of the majority of independent schools who educate a few hundred pupils could lead to serious and very urgent difficulties when they run out of fee income." Frank Young works for a Westminster think tank.
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ISC CEO: 'Increasing TPS contributions simply may not be an option'
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Pensions
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Chief executive of the Independent Schools Council (ISC) Julie Robinson writes in Tes on the financial pressures facing the education sector and, in particular, the recent rise in employer contributions to the Teachers' Pension Scheme (TPS). While the rise (to 28.6 per cent) is funded for state schools, independent schools will have to fund it themselves. Acknowledging that the majority of independent schools are "very small, community schools" already running on tight budgets, Ms Robinson warns: "The fact remains that many - if not most - of our schools will have to start looking at what they value and making difficult decisions about what they can afford to keep, including TPS contributions." She concludes: "The hard fact is a school that does not exist can contribute precisely zero to anyone’s pension."
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Fewer children walking to school, MPs' investigation reveals
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Education policy
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A smaller proportion of children walk to school than before, despite some £2.3 billion having been spent on green travel schemes, an investigation by ministers has revealed. A report by the Commons Public Accounts Committee has suggested funds spent on “active travel” schemes such as low traffic neighbourhoods may have been wasted. By Nick Gutteridge, The Telegraph.
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Amnesty International calls for Prevent programme to be scrapped
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Security
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Amnesty International is calling for Prevent, the UK government's anti-terror scheme, to be abolished after an 11-year-old boy was referred to it for making a joke during a fire drill. In a damning report, the human rights charity said the scheme was ”fundamentally incompatible with human rights”. By Maira Butt, The Independent.
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Strip-searching children 'unpleasant but necessary' says Britain's most senior police officer
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Safeguarding
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Strip-searching children is “unpleasant but necessary” to protect them and others from drugs and weapons, Sir Mark Rowley has said. Britain’s most senior police officer acknowledged how “tragic” it was that children were being drawn into serious crime, but that he supports his officers to use the power in the interest of public safety. By David Woode, The Times.
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A closer look at the popularity of India as a destination for overseas schools
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International education
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Tes talks to current and prospective leaders in India about why the country has become the leading destination for new schools abroad, replacing China. Colin Bell, CEO of the Council of British International Schools (COBIS), says “the growth of British-orientated international schools across India is an exciting prospect". Gavin Horgan, headmaster of Millfield School, explains why Mumbai has become the destination for one of the school's first overseas campuses as part of an international expansion. Iain Henderson, deputy head of educational developments and partnerships at Wellington College, adds that the "strong cultural connection" between Britain and India has fostered educational links between the two. By Kimberley Cheung and Dan Worth.
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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.
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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.
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