Writing in Independent School Management Plus, head of Hereford Cathedral School Michael Gray explores Labour's plans to impose VAT on fees and the ways in which schools are responding to the proposals. Mr Gray considers whether schools have the option not to pass the tax onto parents and, if they do, what this means in practice. Noting that Labour's plans "contain exceptionally little detail and the drafting of the legislation has obviously not yet begun", Mr Gray outlines several areas where schools could look at making cost savings, which include the provision of extra-curricular activities and staff expenditure. He continues: "Being at the vanguard of fee announcements with the threat of VAT looming is a courageous – or perhaps foolhardy – place to be. It provides an opportunity to grab the headlines but seems out of sync with the rest of the sector." On his own school's position, Mr Gray explains:" As anyone can see from our publicly-available accounts, we are in a strong financial position but not so strong that we can simply absorb all of VAT. We are working assiduously to be as efficient as we can be, to diversify income and to keep our educational offering as affordable as possible."

The practice of one-word Ofsted judgements for schools in England should remain, the Department for Education (DfE) has said. Ministers will “continue to listen to views and look at alternative systems” but there are “significant benefits” to headline grades awarded by the schools watchdog, it added. By Hazel Shearing, BBC News. 

General secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders Pepe Di’Iasio has said the government’s response to the call for an alternative to single-phrase inspection judgements is "deeply disappointing". Daniel Kebede, general secretary of the National Education Union, also expressed dismay at the news, saying the DfE's response “misses the opportunity to take significant steps towards meaningful change”. By Cerys Turner, Tes.

Professor Julia Waters, the sister of headteacher Ruth Perry, has described the DfE's position as “woefully inadequate”, adding that the small tweaks to the “current, dangerous system” offered so far fail to go far enough. By Sally Weale, The Guardian.

Gillian Keegan has said it will be “hard to guarantee” that ministers would fully fund a teacher pay rise, even though schools continue to face budget pressures. During a webinar yesterday where the education secretary answered questions on pay and school funding, Ms Keegan said it will be "difficult" for the government but that she will "take on the challenge". By Freddie Whittaker, Schools Week.

Children in England are more likely to drink alcohol than their peers across the globe since middle-class parents have “normalised” harmful underage drinking, according to a study by the World Health Organisation (WHO). One in three 11-year-olds and half of 13-year-olds in England have consumed alcohol — the highest rate of childhood drinking out of 44 countries examined by the WHO, which also found vaping to be more common among children in the UK than most other nations. By Eleanor Hayward, The Times. 

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