The Telegraph takes a look at how Labour's VAT on fees policy is impacting independent girls' schools. The article notes that girls' schools have historically promoted social mobility and gender equality, with many successful women having attended them. Speaking last year, chief executive of the Girls' Schools Association (GSA) Donna Stevens said the tax plan was a “step backwards for equality” as the choice for a girls-only education would be “eroded”. Alex Hutchinson, the GSA’s president and head of James Allen’s Girls’ School, added that the “rushed” policy could have a “seismic impact on girls’ life chances”. Several schools in membership of the ISC's constituent associations are mentioned and reference is made to data from the Independent Schools Council (ISC). By Pieter Snepvangers.

Parents at Fairfield School have been told the 90-year-old independent prep school near Bristol will shut down later this year due to the "prevailing economic environment". A statement confirming the school's closure in August 2025 stated: "Increases to the national living wage, higher national insurance contributions and the introduction of VAT on school fees have combined to leave the school in a financially unsustainable position." Speaking to BBC News, parent Caroline Turner-Inskip said "it's a wonderful school", adding that a lot of people are "feeling pretty heartbroken". By Carys Nally.

The Confederation of School Trusts (CST) is calling for a "reset" of special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) funding to ensure mainstream schools have the resources, guidance, and flexibility to meet local needs, allowing “less reliance on the statutory system for children to receive the support they need”. The CST's framework highlights flaws in the current approach, and says better collaboration between mainstream and specialist schools is needed. By Cerys Turner, Tes. 

Ministers will require schools, hospitals and prisons to buy more British food amid an attempt to prioritise domestic produce over cheaper imports. The public sector will be set the target of sourcing at least half of all food from the highest-welfare farms, which are typically in the UK, under new rules that have been drawn up with the help of Pat McFadden, the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster. The move is expected to deliver a major financial boost for farmers affected by changes to inheritance tax. By Nick Gutteridge, The Telegraph.

Almost a third of children in the UK declined to go to school at least once in the past year, according to a poll commissioned by the charity Parentkind and shared exclusively with The Times. The poll found that 31 per cent of children, an estimated 3.3 million, had refused to go to school on more than one occasion in the last 12 months, with 10 per cent of those, equivalent to 330,000 children, having missed two or more weeks of school. By Nicola Woolcock and Georgia Lambert.

A “no ball games” culture and increasing smartphone use mean play is being “squeezed out” of children’s lives, research by the Raising the Nation Play Commission in partnership with The Centre for Young Lives has found. Calling for government intervention to help boost children’s access to play, the research said restrictions on outdoor recreation have resulted in young people spending less time on traditional play activities while the growing dominance of smartphones, social media and gaming have been “filling the void left by the time children used to spend playing outdoors”. By Poppy Wood, The Telegraph.

According to a survey of 6,950 Teacher Tapp users, three per cent of UK teachers have experienced a real lockdown since the start of the school year due to security concerns. American-style terror drills, including exercises where pupils are instructed to hide under desks and remain silent with the blinds lowered, are becoming more common in British primary and secondary schools as they face rising threats from students and intruders carrying knives. A recent change in anti-terrorism law means these drills will be conducted more frequently. By Louise Eccles and Dominic Hauschild, The Sunday Times.

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