Some special schools will not be exempt from the government's plan to scrap business rates relief for independent education, it has emerged, despite a pledge to protect special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) provision. This has prompted warnings of closures, higher costs for parents and a deepening SEND crisis. Independent SEND schools where at least half of pupils have an education, health and care plan (EHCP) specifying that their special educational needs “can be met only in a private school” will remain exempt from business rates under the new legislation, James Murray told the House of Commons on Monday. But the Treasury minister went on to acknowledge that not all independent SEND schools would meet this definition, and would therefore face business rates. 

Condemning the news, chief executive of the Independent Schools Council (ISC) Julie Robinson said: “The government has conceded that some independent special schools will be affected by the choice to create a two-tier charity system. We are deeply concerned about the knock-on effect on SEND provision in the state system and on the young people whose education will be disrupted as a result of this policy. The government is levelling down in one area of SEND before it has levelled up elsewhere, with children as collateral damage. We urge the government to reconsider its approach to taxing SEND families and schools.” Reference is made to figures from the ISC. By Connie Dimsdale, iNews.

The Sun talks to mother Kym Linton, who describes the experience of struggling for three years to secure an education, health and care plan (EHCP) for her son who has ADHD, autism, pathological demand avoidance and sensory processing disorder. Ms Linton explains how the conditions have made mainstream schooling overwhelming for her child and led to a series of suspensions. On what has driven the problems, she says: "I do blame successive governments who are failing SEN children with a lack of investment and an obsession with league tables." By Alex Lloyd and Kate Skelton.

A number of mothers who have children with additional needs speak to iNews about how the SEND crisis is impacting their working lives. Dr Jen Wills Lamacq, a child psychologist working in London schools, says too little is known about the extra burden shouldered by SEND mothers. “We need to shine a light, because who else is going to?” she says. By Hannah Fearn.

Minister for Early Education Stephen Morgan has strongly defended the system of penalty notices for unauthorised pupil absence during a House of Commons debate. Responding to a petition that would “allow students to be taken out of school for two weeks a year without penalty”, one of Mr Morgan's arguments was that the national framework for penalty notices helps to ensure children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) are supported. By Mark Gould, Tes. 

A YouGov survey has revealed that 20 per cent of teachers see unauthorised mobile phone use as the most common classroom disruption. The poll of 1,000 teachers also found that only 18 per cent would list a school-wide phone ban as one of the top three measures they believe would improve behaviour in their classes. The survey revealed a split on whether mobiles can be used as a teaching tool within schools; 41 per cent of respondents somewhat agreed or strongly agreed that they could, while a similar proportion (40 per cent) either somewhat disagreed or strongly disagreed. Pepe Di’Iasio, general secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders (ASCL), said the findings suggest “views are clearly mixed about whether mobile phones can be used as learning tools in a manageable way”. Tes.

Schools inspected in 2023 were more than twice as likely to be rated as “outstanding” compared with the previous year, according to Ofsted’s annual data. In the 2023-24 academic year, 17 per cent of inspected schools received an “outstanding” rating, up from seven per cent the year before. Overall, 90 per cent of schools are now rated “good” or "outstanding".  By Cerys Turner, Tes.

Ofsted has confirmed it is retiring its "state of the nation" metric following repeated warnings that the statistic was misleading, particularly due to changes to the inspection framework over the years. The measure, first created in 2010, was "intended as a high-level comparison and should be used with caution when comparing over long periods of time", Ofsted said. Earlier this year, the watchdog's “big listen” consultation found just 13 per cent of respondents from schools agreed the metric was “truly reflective of the overall quality of the sector”. By Freddie Whittaker, Schools Week.

MPs have voted 415 to 47 to support the second reading of the Tobacco and Vapes Bill, which would ban the sale of tobacco products and cigarette papers to anyone born on or after 1 January 2009. Defending plans to establish a "smoke-free generation", health secretary Wes Streeting said the bill, which includes aligning vape advertising and sponsorship rules with tobacco restrictions, would “come down on the vaping industry like a ton of bricks.” By Kat Brown, iNews.

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.