The National Association of Head Teachers (NAHT) is demanding that teachers receive a “double digit” pay rise next year amid a "recruitment crisis". Teachers in England received an average 6.5 per cent pay rise in 2023, but education secretary Gillian Keegan has indicated that next year's uplift will be lower. By Louisa Clarence-Smith, The Telegraph.

The Times reports that a “massive surge” in teachers from overseas is being used to plug classroom vacancies as schools find it difficult to attract qualified British applicants. International applications for teacher training have doubled this year in an “unprecedented” increase after the government initiated a recruitment drive in countries such as Nigeria and India and offered £10,000 payments as an incentive. By Chris Smyth and Nicola Woolcock.

As the chancellor's Spring Budget approaches, Tes considers the funding that schools are likely to need. Areas including pupil and staff mental health support, special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) provision and building maintenance are explored. By Jasmine Norden.

An investigation by Schools Week of 350 upheld SEND complaints to the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman (LGSCO) between July 2023 and January 2024 has revealed widespread distress and trauma felt by families over council failures. In one case, a whole family required counselling as a “direct result” of the council’s delay to assess their daughter for an education, health and care plan. By Samantha Booth.

Writing in Schools Week, safeguarding consultant and SEND lead at Judicium Education Rik Chilvers looks at how Sendcos are managing in light of increasing pressures. Mr Chilvers states that recent analysis by Judicium found two thirds of Sendcos feel current regulations "leave them vulnerable". 

Writing in Tes, Leyla Gambell explains how creating a group of children who meet regularly to discuss neurodiversity can help to give pupils with SEND a voice. Having formed such a collaboration at her own school, Ms Gambell says: "It became a support group, a safe space, a place to learn, a place to belong." Leyla Gambell is a Sendco based in Kent.

Teachers and campaign groups such as Tender have warned that patchy relationships, sex and health education (RSHE) lessons put children at risk of picking up damaging habits. Recent analysis of school inspection data by Ofsted found that mentions of the terms sexism, misogyny, sexual harassment, sexual abuse, and safeguarding incident had grown by more than 400 per cent between 2019 and 2022.  By Rachael Venables, Sky News.

Research by the Education Policy Institute think tank and software firm Renaissance Learning suggests children from low-income families in England are further behind their peers than they were before the pandemic. The attainment gap for poorer primary school pupils in maths has grown from an average of 6.9 months to 8.7 months, while outcomes in maths are down on average for pupils overall. By Emily Dugan, The Guardian.

Staying at school until the age of 18 "slows down ageing" more than if an individual leaves at 16, scientists from Columbia University in New York have found. Commenting on the report, first author Gloria Graf said: “Our findings support the hypothesis that interventions to promote educational attainment will slow the pace of biological ageing and promote longevity." By Sarah Knapton, The Telegraph.

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.

Sign-up to the email service is available on our website.

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.