The Daily News Summary will be taking a break over the festive period, with today's DNS being the last of 2025. Normal service will resume in January. From everyone at the Independent Schools Council, we would like to thank school leaders, teachers and support staff for your valuable work and dedication throughout the year. We wish you all a very merry Christmas and a happy New Year.

Samantha Niblett, Labour MP for South Derbyshire, submitted a written question in the House of Commons in which she asked whether the education secretary plans to include education on suicide and suicide prevention as a mandatory topic within the national curriculum.

Responding, schools minister Georgia Gould said the government's relationships, sex and health education (RSHE) statutory guidance already applies to all schools, including those that are independent. Ms Gould explained that the updated guidance, published in July, will be implemented in schools from September 2026. "The guidance strengthens content on mental health and wellbeing, and requires that all secondary schools should consider how to safely teach about suicide prevention," she added. Hansard.

Ministers are to invest £3 billion in creating bespoke places for pupils with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) within mainstream schools, in response to rising levels of social and mental health needs among young people. Announcing the plans, education secretary Bridget Phillipson said up to 60,000 specialist places will be created within local state schools. The move will be partly funded by suspending a group of planned free schools, with the remaining investment drawing on Department for Education (DfE) spending outlined in last month's Budget. The DfE said its forthcoming white paper will detail how schools will be funded to support the specialist provision. By Richard Adams, The Guardian. 

The Telegraph reports that a free school in Middlesbrough backed by Eton College is among those earmarked for cancellation. Eton Star, a sixth form college set to teach 480 students in the local area, had been approved by the Conservative government in 2023. Criticising the plans, shadow education secretary Laura Trott said: "In Labour’s latest act of education vandalism they are taking away new schools which parents want. Free schools raise standards and outperform other state schools. No wonder they are trying to bury this announcement, it fails children up and down the country." By Poppy Wood.

While headteachers' unions have welcomed the plans for more SEND places, the school leaders' union NAHT says investment in buildings is only one aspect, and that there would need to be sufficient teachers and leaders "with the right level of specialist training". The Liberal Democrats have welcomed the funding for increased SEND provision, but said it needed to "be matched by ambitious reforms to diagnosis and support". BBC News also reports on Eton Star free school, but adds that plans by Eton College to open selective sixth form centres in Dudley and Oldham have been approved. By Vanessa Clarke, with additional reporting from Kate McGough and Hazel Shearing.

A "generation of lost children" is being created in the UK because toddlers with SEND are not being given vital early years support, experts have warned. Analysis by The Times shows that over the last decade at least 20 councils have underspent their SEND budgets for pre-schools and nurseries, often redirecting the funds to other schools. The findings also reveal that the number of early years settings requesting additional funding to support pupils with SEND has doubled since 2018. Commenting on the findings, Katie Ghose, chief executive of the charity Kids and the vice-chair of the Disabled Children’s Partnership, said: "It’s outrageous that money for disabled children is not being spent on disabled children. It has a devastating impact." The paper talks to Jade Swindle, a mother from Surrey who believes that with proper early intervention her son would have "absolutely, unequivocally" made further progress in his development. By Georgia Lambert and George Willoughby.

Helen Hayes, chair of the Commons Education Select Committee, has criticised ministers for not directly addressing recommendations set out in its SEND report, calling on the government to provide a "much more detailed response" in the new year. By Ruth Lucas, Schools Week. 

Half of secondary pupils have avoided school due to anxiety in the past year, a study by market research company Censuswide has found. Commissioned by Minerva Virtual Academy, an online school, the survey of 2,000 pupils reavealed that girls were 1.6 times more likely than boys to miss school due to anxiety, with leading causes including being asked to speak in front of the class, fear of falling behind, and difficulty sitting still for long periods. Anxiety-related school avoidance was particularly prevalent in Scotland, with the gap widening for pupils from poorer families. By Nicola Woolcock, The Times.

In an interview with School Management Plus, Donna Stevens, the outgoing CEO of the Girls' Schools Association (GSA), said the government's VAT on fees policy has been a "huge challenge" for schools, but there is now a "real desire to move on and talk about different things". Ms Stevens, who leaves the GSA today after five years to take up a boardroom role with community interest company AA Educates, said independent school heads were now keen to "get back to what they were there to do in the first place" after a time of upheaval. By Irena Barker. 

Ministers have delayed publishing their full plan for how the government will achieve its pledge to recruit 6,500 more teachers. Officials have confirmed to Tes that the DfE "plans to publish the 6,500 delivery plan alongside the Schools White Paper, in the new year". Unions have criticised the delay as "incredible" and are warning that more teachers are "desperately needed". By Cerys Turner.

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