The Evening Standard covers the highlights from the debate on the government's plan to add VAT to independent school fees, held yesterday in the House of Lords. Lord Lexden, president of the Independent Schools Association (ISA), warned the policy would have “serious and far-reaching consequences” for the sector and that it was being imposed with “extraordinary haste”. Labour peer Lord Winston described the amount of money the policy would raise as "trivial" in comparison to the sum needed to fix the "crisis in our schools". In response, education minister Baroness Smith of Malvern said: "We are determined in Government to drive up standards in those schools for the overwhelming majority of the children in this country so that they may receive the opportunities which too often… have been the preserve of the rich and of the lucky." By Nick Lester.

The Telegraph reports the government has opened the door to exempting military families from its plan to tax independent school fees. Military families currently receive taxpayer-funded support that covers up to 90 per cent of boarding school fees under the Continuity of Education Allowance (CEA), but often pay significantly more than the remaining 10 per cent. Speaking to The Telegraph, some service members have said they would have no choice but to quit the Armed Forces if the policy were to come into effect. A government spokesman said: “We will monitor closely the impact of these policy changes on affected military and diplomatic families and the upcoming Spending Review is the right time to consider any changes to this scheme.” By Pieter Snepvangers.

Northern Ireland's education minister, Paul Givan, has said the country's fee-paying schools are different from those in England, and should not be subject to VAT. While education is devolved to the Northern Ireland Assembly at Stormont, taxation policies are decided at Westminster. Speaking to BBC News NI, Mr Givan said: "This is ultimately HMRC, it's the Treasury and I'm making the representation on behalf of schools in Northern Ireland and parents as to why they shouldn't be included." By Robbie Meredith.

A new expert council has been formed to help prevent children from "losing learning", after a study by the Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR) and charity The Difference found that 32 million school days were lost due to unauthorised absences and exclusions last year. Chaired by ASCL general secretary Pepe Di'Iasio, the council features experts including Sir Dan Moynihan, chief executive of Harris Federation, and Liz Robinson, CEO of the Big Education academy trust. Over the next six months, the group will gather evidence from school leaders, parents, and organisations to identify "promising work" with potential to become national policy solutions. By Samantha Booth, Schools Week.

The Independent also reports on the IPPR's findings, which suggest students from some ethnic minority backgrounds are "disproportionately" more likely to be excluded from mainstream schools. Romani/Gypsy, Roma and Irish Traveller pupils are four times as likely to be moved to an alternative provision, while black Caribbean students and pupils of dual black and white heritage are twice as likely to experience these outcomes. By Nadine White.

The North East will continue to have the highest rate of school exclusions and suspensions in England, according to the IPPR's findings. The report points to a direct correlation between high suspension and exclusion figures and deprivation in the region. Redcar and Cleveland, Middlesbrough, Hartlepool and Newcastle are among the worst places for children missing out on education, according to the study. By Richard Moss, BBC.

Pupil absence will remain high and may take “seven years to erode”, researchers at the London School of Economics have warned. Their report estimates that a 10 per cent increase in absence in 2020, caused by pandemic policies, continued as a 6.5 per cent rise in absence the following year. By Matilda Martin, Tes.

Half of children are being kept awake at night by their worries, according to research commissioned by PGL Beyond. Anthony Jones, chief executive officer of the educational travel group, warned: "Children are losing precious hours of sleep due to mounting worries, and the effects are often showing up in the classroom." The study of 1,000 children aged between six and 16 found one in five are getting less than eight hours of sleep a night on average. Seven in 10 children (69 per cent) are concerned about school, 54 per cent are anxious about how they look, and 56 per cent are uneasy about their future. By Rom Preston-Ellis and Oliver Lewis, The Mirror.

In an exclusive interview with Tes, education secretary Bridget Phillipson outlines her vision for the sector and her views on areas including behaviour, SEND provision, multi-academy trusts and the funding of Labour's education policies. Looking to the future, she says: "In order to secure long-term reform, we need buy-in to that change and we need to work through what the options are...the last thing parents or teachers would want to see is for the system to become even more difficult than is the case right now. We are spending a lot of money as a country on what sometimes amounts to very poor outcomes for vulnerable children." By Jon Severs. 

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