Parent Ben Smithwell talks to iNews about how the forthcoming closure of Loughborough Amherst School is impacting his family and the wider school community. Describing his shock at hearing the news, which has resulted from the government's VAT on fees policy and other costs, the father of two says: "We knew this was going to happen to small independent schools – we just didn’t think it was going to happen to ours. It came out of the blue." On the impact it has had on his children, he adds: "My son, eight, and daughter, 12, have been at the school for five years. This has been hard for both of them but my poor daughter is just distraught. All those friendships." Mr Smithwell explains why his family chose an independent education, saying: "Amherst School is perfect.. It’s a beautiful Venn Diagram of being a non-selective school, with a small community, and an amazing provision for SEND children." Mr Smithwell says he is one of the "lucky ones" since his children will now move to another local independent school, but shares his concerns over the lack of available places for other children who are being forced to move schools amid Labour's policy. "I’ve spoken to several parents this week whose children have been churned out of the private sector who now have literally nowhere to go. I spoke to two parents yesterday who have already approached all of the state schools in their catchment area had already been turned down. The schools are full," he says. By Eleanor Peake.

In an exclusive interview with The Telegraph during a visit to a south London academy yesterday, Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch said Labour's education plans suggest Britain is "back under union control". On her concerns over the Children's Wellbeing and Schools Bill, the Conservative Party leader said: "This is not good for schools, and what it is showing is that Labour are just doing what the unions want them to do." Ms Badenoch was referring to policy changes that would mean top-performing schools including the Harris Girls’ Academy, which Mrs Badenoch was visiting, would no longer be able to offer teacher salaries above national pay scales or recruit experts who lack official qualifications. By Poppy Wood. 

Dame Siobhain McDonagh has spoken against the government's attempts to change the school system, saying ministers are prioritising political wrangling over the welfare of children. The Labour MP for Mitcham and Morden opposes the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill, which had its second reading on Wednesday. She said she did not agree with Michael Gove that the bill was a premeditated attempt to abolish academies, but expressed concern that it would limit their freedoms and weaken standards. By Nicola Woolcock, The Times. 

In an article for Tes, headteacher Andrew O'Neill welcomes the schools bill, saying it aims to create a fairer and more cooperative education system by tackling some of the systemic inequities resulting from the academy model. Mr O'Neill highlights the importance of the harmony between academies and maintained schools, saying this benefits all students, especially those who are vulnerable. He writes: "Their [academies and maintained schools] coexistence should be celebrated and leveraged to complement one another." Andrew O'Neill is headteacher at All Saints Catholic College.

Writing in Schools Week, Rebecca Leek criticises the "frustrating" bill as "not good legislation". She warns: "All schools – academies or otherwise – will now be bound by the national pay and conditions framework and required to follow the national curriculum. These are retrograde steps." Rebecca Leek is interim headteacher at Kelsale CEVC Primary and executive director of the Suffolk Primary Headteachers' Association.

The National Education Union (NEU) is voting on whether to accept or reject the government's pay offer of 2.8 per cent. If the offer is rejected, members will debate at its conference in April whether to vote for industrial action, which could include strikes. NEU general secretary Daniel Kebede said the 2.8 per cent proposal "is not sufficient to even start to address the crisis in recruitment and retention". By Vanessa Clarke, BBC News.

The number of children missing school without permission increased ahead of the Christmas holidays, according to new figures from the Department for Education (DfE). The unauthorised absence rate across state schools in England rose to 3.4 per cent by 20 December, up from 1.9 per cent in mid-September. The rise comes as parents in England face higher fines for taking their children out of school without permission this academic year as part of a government drive to boost attendance after the pandemic. By Eleanor Busby, The Independent. 

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