An investigation by The Telegraph has revealed that 22 local authorities are expected to have no vacancies in at least one year group next September, raising concerns that taxpayers could face significant transport costs if pupils displaced from independent schools are forced to travel long distances to state schools with available places. The paper speaks to Sarah Lambert, who explains how she could no longer afford her daughter's independent school after the fees increased by £3,720 following the imposition of VAT. Since the only state school with available spots on such short notice was located 25 miles away, Sarah initially had to give up her position as a nurse practitioner to take her daughter to and from school. Alicia Kearns, who is Ms Lambert's local MP, said: "Sarah’s is just one of potentially thousands of families who have had to move their children because £3,270 extra was too much, and now we face hundreds of thousands in bills nationally." By Pieter Snepvangers. Also covered by Claire Duffin for the Daily Mail. 

In an interview with Nick Abbot on LBC on the impact of Labour's VAT on fees policy, chief executive of the Independent Schools Council (ISC) Julie Robinson warned that independent education should not be seen as a "luxury". She emphasised that many independent schools serve children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) or specific learning requirements, stating: "A ​fifth ​of ​children ​in ​independent ​schools ​have ​additional ​needs ​and ​maybe ​their ​parents ​have ​felt ​they ​need ​to ​move ​them ​there ​because ​they ​can't ​get ​what ​they ​need ​in ​the ​state ​system." Urging the government to reconsider its tax policy, Ms Robinson noted the significant saving of £4.2 billion a year from independent parents not sending their children to state schools. "If ​independent ​schools ​didn't ​exist ​there ​would ​be ​more ​competition ​for ​places ​at ​the ​best ​state ​schools. ​And ​that's ​what ​we're ​starting ​to ​see," Ms Robinson warned. Listen from 02:03:13. 

Bedstone College in Shropshire is to close at the end of the summer term, with the VAT on fees policy and national insurance (NI) increases listed as the “final challenge” in its financial struggles. Toby Mullins, the school's headteacher, said that while the additional costs were not the “root cause” of the closure they had “added further pressure”. News of the closure has raised concerns about the impact on the local community and particularly pupils with SEND. Speaking to The Telegraph, Robert Tasker, the chairman of the school’s committee of governors, estimated that around two thirds of the school's pupils have additional needs, with many parents working numerous jobs to pay the fees. By Fran Ivens. 

Writing in The Telegraph, Michael Mosbacher criticises the VAT on fees policy, arguing that it is based on the misconception that affluent parents can easily absorb the increased costs. He states that, in reality, the policy is "disrupting lives and needlessly uprooting children for little or no public benefit". Mr Mosbacher also highlights the policy's potential damage to bursary programmes, with far-reaching consequences, and concludes: "The right thing for Labour to do would be to admit they have got things wrong and U-turn. But, of course, they won’t."

The number of independent schools withdrawing their staff from the Teachers’ Pension Scheme (TPS) doubled in 2024 amid financial pressures including the government's VAT on fees policy. Last year, 177 schools withdrew or partly withdrew from the TPS, a pension scheme that gives staff a guaranteed annual income in retirement. It is the greatest number of withdrawals from the scheme since records began and is nearly double the 90 that pulled out in 2023. Speaking to iNews, ISC CEO Julie Robinson said the sector is contending with an array of financial challenges, including increases to TPS employer contributions, VAT on school fees, the loss of business rates relief, and national insurance (NI) rises. Ms Robinson continued: “In these circumstances, schools are having to look at every level of their cost base and make difficult decisions. While the first preference for schools would be to remain in the TPS, for an increasing number of schools, this is simply unaffordable. Like all responsible employers, schools will be considering alternative schemes available to them. Teachers are schools’ most valuable resource, and schools will be doing all they can to ensure their staff have fair pay and conditions.” By Callum Mason. 

Dr Millan Sachania, a former independent school headmaster, has a letter published in today's Times in light of the news that Cardiff University plans to close its music courses. Reflecting on his own experience of teaching music, Dr Sachania calls for it to be a core curriculum subject because "such education can have hugely successful outcomes if it starts early enough". The letter appears towards the end of the page.

Bridget Phillipson will maintain rigorous primary school testing for children as young as five, despite union calls for their removal. An independent review of the national curriculum and assessments, commissioned last September, is set to release initial findings praising statutory tests such as the Year 1 phonics test and the Year 4 multiplication tables assessment. Based on evidence in the interim report, the education secretary is expected to say the compulsory tests provide crucial information to schools. By Louise Eccles, The Sunday Times. 

A number of charities have called for ministers to tackle the school attendance “crisis” in the North of England, with findings suggesting that this part of the country is worse affected by unauthorised absence. According to an analysis of recent Department for Education (DfE) attendance data, nine out of the 10 areas with the highest rates of unauthorised absence are in the North. A coalition of northern-based charities and organisations is calling on the government to restore pupil premium funding to its 2014-15 real-term value, in an effort to ensure that schools serving the most disadvantaged pupils "receive the funding necessary to deliver quality education to those in most need and take measures to support children who are missing school to attend". By Cerys Turner, Tes.

BBC News talks to Sophie, 25, who has been diagnosed with auditory processing disorder (APD) and struggles to process sounds, especially in noisy environments, despite having had normal results in hearing tests. Sophie's audiologist and others in England are now calling for more research into whether the condition is linked to overuse of noise-cancelling headphones, which may impact the brain’s ability to process sound. By Hannah Karpel.

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.

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