Michael Bond, the chairman of the London Fee Assistance Consortium (LFAC), has defended the group’s purpose, stating it was established to “raise awareness that members – and many other independent schools up and down the country – offer fully-funded places to families whose children would thrive in our settings but whose financial circumstances would make paying fees impossible". This comes as schools in the LFAC, a coalition of 24 independent schools in London, were instructed to withdraw advertisements claiming they provide education with "no fees". On the threat posed by Labour's VAT on fees policy, Mr Bond, who is also head of Brentwood School, added: “Independent schools want to be [and are] part of the solution to – not the problem with – our education system and we hope the Government will respond to the sector’s efforts to engage, rather than continue down a path that will have devastating consequences for many children.” A number of schools in membership of the ISC's constituent associations are mentioned. By Poppy Wood, The Telegraph.

Louise Haigh's resignation as transport secretary last Friday leaves one Cabinet minister who attended an independent secondary school, The Telegraph reports. According to the Sutton Trust, the proportion of independently-educated MPs is at a record low across the three main political parties, with fewer than a quarter having attended independent schools, while 63 per cent went to comprehensive state schools. The report also references the government's VAT on fees policy. By Poppy Wood.

The House of Lords is set to debate the following motion on 9 December: "Baroness Fraser of Craigmaddie (Conservative) to ask His Majesty’s government what plans they have to support children with special educational needs and disabilities. Education policy is devolved and as a result this briefing focuses on special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) in England."

The House of Lords Library provides an overview of the motion, which includes a look at some of the trends and challenges in SEND provision and the current and former governments' policies on the issue. Reference is made to the Independent Schools Council's (ISC) legal challenge. A quote from Rudolf Eliott Lockhart is included in section 3.2 (Labour's SEND policy), where he expressed concern about the VAT on fees policy. Specifically on pupils with SEND, Mr Lockhart, the chief executive of the Independent Schools Association (ISA), said: "The vast majority of pupils with SEN in independent schools don’t have an EHC, these aren’t pupils whose parents choose an independent school because they are wealthy, but because an independent school best meets their child’s SEN. Yet all this nuance and detail gets flattened by the crude stereotyping of independent education. The result is that lots of pupils are going to suffer needlessly."

In a letter to The Sunday Telegraph, reader Jonathan Baker from Buckinghamshire acknowledges the paper's "wide and detailed" coverage of the government's VAT on fees policy but says "no real mention is made of the scores of private schools whose pupils are exclusively those with physical or learning difficulties". Mr Baker warns: "How is a non-verbal child with severe cerebral palsy going to cope in a regular state school when their parents can no longer afford the fees?"
The letter appears just above halfway.

The safety of young people is being put at risk by Ofsted inspection changes that are having a “chilling effect” on the organisation, according to a whistleblower. The Telegraph understands that several inspectors have raised concerns, with one senior Ofsted employee accusing the education watchdog of “bending over backwards” to make school inspections less stressful for teachers, ultimately leading to pupils being "forgotten" in the process. By Camilla Turner.

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