Speaking at the Labour Party Conference in Liverpool yesterday, shadow chancellor Rachel Reeves reiterated Labour's plan to add VAT to independent school fees, adding: “If Rishi Sunak wants a fight on this – wants a fight about who has the most aspiration for our children – then I say bring it on.” The Telegraph speaks to a number of parents for whom Labour's tax plans would have a negative impact. A spokesperson from the ISC is quoted saying the policy's impact would be most greatly felt by the “strivers and savers” who work hardest to pay the fees. By Tom Haynes.

Shadow home secretary Yvette Cooper is to reveal plans to establish a £100 million “tough love” youth programme to help tackle knife crime and mental health issues among young people in the UK. Addressing delegates at the conference later today, Ms Cooper will say the “young futures” programme will target 92 communities, with sources suggesting Labour will pay £91.7 million from funds it plans to raise by adding VAT to independent school fees. By Rajeev Syal and Pippa Crerar, The Guardian.

On the issue of teacher shortages, shadow education secretary Bridget Phillipson said "resetting the relationship" between the government and education sector will be key to delivering the party's pledge of recruiting 6,500 more teachers. By John Dickens, Schools Week. Reforming Ofsted will be another of Labour's priorities should it come to power, but with “the greatest engagement possible” with schools, new shadow schools minister Catherine McKinnell said in response to a question from Schools Week. By Freddie Whittaker. 

In today's video diary from the Labour Party Conference, ISC chief executive Julie Robinson expresses her thanks to all those who joined the team at the organisation's fringe event yesterday. Three independent school headteachers are interviewed, explaining what they would like to put across to Labour regarding the party's policy of taxing independent school fees. Philip Britton, head of foundation at Bolton School, warns that the tax plans are a "clumsy way of raising money for state schools" and says VAT is not a "reliable, steady or planned way" to fund the state sector. Clare Macro, headmistress at Edgbaston High School for Girls, urges Labour officials to talk to individuals working in independent schools to "understand the impact [the tax plans will have] in the community". James Lockwood, headmaster at Woodhouse Grove School, concludes the video by sharing his concerns, warning that the policy will "really hit" schools like his, "in an area where there is already a huge amount of pressure on the maintained sector".

Dr Rebecca Ashcroft, head at Red House School, was interviewed in an item on BBC Politics North as part of a wider discussion about Labour’s plans to tax independent school fees and the policy’s potential impact on parents. Dr Ashcroft highlighted the contributions of independent schools to the economy and urged Labour to evaluate the consequences of the policy, adding: “In terms of impact, it really is a tax on children’s education.” The segment includes an interview with a parent from Red House School who dispels some of the myths about families opting to send their children to independent schools: “Parents are prioritising education over holidays, changing cars, all luxury things they might want to indulge in, but they will sacrifice those to give their children the opportunity to come to a school such as this.” As part of the same programme, shadow education secretary Bridget Phillipson took part in a studio discussion about Eton College's plans to co-sponsor a new, selective sixth form college in Middlesbrough. Tom Arbuthnott, deputy head (partnerships) at Eton, highlighted the opportunities the project will bring to children in Teeside. The programme concluded with a debate between Ms Phillipson and Darlington Conservative councillor Jonathan Dulston on Labour's tax policy. (The segment begins at 16:12). 

Labour’s pledge to add VAT to independent school fees if the party wins the next general election could have an adverse effect on the number of Chinese families choosing to send their children to study in Britain, according to the findings of a survey by the Boarding Schools' Association (BSA) and Connexcel. The poll of almost 1000 parents found that introducing VAT on school fees would have a negative impact on 60 per cent of Chinese families' decisions regarding UK independent schools, with nine per cent saying it would make them choose another country for their children’s education. Caroline Nixon, international and membership director at the BSA, is quoted and reference is made to the ISC's latest annual census. By Irena Barker, Independent School Management Plus. 

The Department for Education (DfE) is to spend £196 million this academic year to attract more teachers into the profession. Additional funding for scholarships, bursaries and salary grants will assist thousands of candidates through their Initial Teacher Training (ITT), ministers have suggested. Tes.

In a blog marking World Mental Health Day 2023, director of marketing at Felsted School Jack Dougherty explains how two sixth formers undertook a 24-hour fell running challenge to raise money for a charity supporting Armed Forces personnel with their wellbeing.

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