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Daily News Summary
13 January 2025

VAT on fees policy: 'We are now seeing the reality', warns ISC CEO
SEND: 'We had no alternative but to seek private schooling'
Letter: Schools bill and cross-sector partnerships
Let children use ChatGPT to help with homework, says science secretary
State school pupils may be forced to drop GCSE Latin after funding pulled
IB plans move to open-book exams

VAT on fees policy: 'We are now seeing the reality', warns ISC CEO

 

The third independent school in a week has announced its plans to close amid the government's VAT on fees policy. Godolphin Prep in Salisbury advised parents on Wednesday that it would close at the end of the school year, citing declining pupil numbers. Children at the closing school will transfer to the nearby Chafyn Grove School, and are to be automatically be offered senior places at Godolphin School. Speaking to The Telegraph, chief executive of the Independent Schools Council (ISC) Julie Robinson warned of further school closures, leading to redundancies for staff and disrupted education for pupils. She said: "Many people warned the government that VAT would prove a bridge too far for schools already under financial pressure – we are now seeing the reality: school closures, dedicated staff losing their jobs and children having their education disrupted." Ms Robinson added: "This is something that we will unfortunately see again over the coming months and years – with more communities losing an employer, a partner and an educational hub for local children. We urge the government to think again and work with us to mitigate the effects of this damaging policy." By Madeleine Ross and Pieter Snepvangers.  

Parents of a child at Loughborough Amherst School have spoken to BBC News about the uncertainty they face over its proposed closure. Plans to permanently close at the end of this academic year were announced last week, with the school citing "financial challenges", including the VAT on fees policy. Loughborough Schools Foundation, which runs the school, says more than 80 per cent of pupils would be offered a place at one of the other schools in the foundation, but parents Darren and Jennifer said their daughter had not yet been offered an alternative. Describing her concerns, Jennifer said: "Many of [the] children struggle with additional needs [...] and parents make enormous sacrifices to send their children to that school." By Helen Astle and Matt Taylor. 

According to the National Education Union (NEU), independent school teachers are facing pay freezes and pension cuts as a result of the government's VAT on fees policy, and teachers of less popular subjects such as Latin are losing their jobs as curriculums are scaled back to save money. Defending the interests of his union's members, NEU general secretary Daniel Kebede said: "We have had some reports from members that the VAT increase is impacting upon jobs, pensions and pay increases. The NEU continues to talk to the government about mitigating the unintended consequences on staff." Speaking to The Telegraph, an ISC spokesperson said: "Schools have been dealing with a range of financial challenges in recent years, including increases to teacher pension contributions and energy bills. Now they face a triple tax whammy of VAT on fees, the loss of business rates relief, and national insurance rises. In such circumstances, difficult decisions have had to be made – and school leaders will continue to face unpalatable choices over the coming months and years." By Noah Eastwood.

Hundreds of independent school teachers at United Learning, the UK’s largest academy chain, are planning to strike because their pay rise of two to three per cent falls below the 6.5 per cent awarded to state school teachers at the same trust. The NEU has accused the chain of treating independent sector teachers like "second class teachers". Speaking to the Mail on Sunday, a spokesperson for United Learning said staff in its schools are "well aware of the financial challenges facing the sector at the moment", adding: "We do not expect there to be strike action in our independent schools." By Elizabeth Ivens. 

Writing in The Telegraph, William Sitwell argues that the closure of Maidwell Hall, like that of other independent schools, reflects financial pressures made worse by government policies such as VAT on school fees and rising national insurance contributions. Mr Sitwell says the school, which he attended and has been described by one parent as “a sanctuary”, represents a vanishing vision of rural education cherished by hard-working families. On the VAT on fees policy, he writes: "This is a deliberate, malevolent attack on free enterprise, a specific assault on those who endeavour to educate kids privately, and the institutions that cater for those needs." William Sitwell is an editor, writer and broadcaster.

Several schools in membership of the ISC's constituent associations are mentioned across this weekend's coverage.

 

SEND: 'We had no alternative but to seek private schooling'

 

An article in The Telegraph explores the special needs "catastrophe" unfolding in schools, with families across the country struggling to access specialist provision for their children. Speaking to the paper, several parents share their experiences of turning to independent schools because the state sector was unable to meet their children's needs. Referencing the pupils with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) who are leaving school without qualifications, Michelle Catterson, executive headteacher at Moon Hall School, Reigate, warns: "The number of children who just stop going to school is going to rise because they don’t feel supported and they are not going to achieve. That raises further problems around their employability and their ability to make an effective contribution to society." By George Chesterton. 

In an article for Schools Week, legal expert Laura Thompson says recent data from the Department for Education has highlighted a rise in exclusions, with pupils with SEND disproportionately affected, accounting for nearly half of all exclusions and up to 90 per cent in primary schools. School leaders cited insufficient funding, inconsistent approaches across regions, and inadequate guidance on managing SEND needs as major issues, prompting a call for the creation of a national set of SEND standards. Laura Thompson is a senior associate education solicitor with Browne Jacobson.

Writing in Tes, Humber Education Trust leader Rachel Wilkes shares her advice for schools arranging SEND provision. In response to the question of how to ensure the curriculum for children with complex SEND is still ambitious and enables them to thrive and excel, she suggests: "The curriculum offer should be of a high quality, carefully sequenced and effectively delivered. Progress needs to be tracked carefully and celebrated." 

 

Letter: Schools bill and cross-sector partnerships

 

In a letter to The Times, head of Exeter School Louise Simpson says the Children's Wellbeing and Schools Bill poses a risk to the "freedom and autonomy" of maintained schools. She argues the bill "seems destined to reinforce to the public the value of independent schools like my own, by driving the two sectors further apart," adding: "This is a shame because the independent schools sector works for all pupils, in so many ways, through our partnership and community work." The letter appears a quarter of the way down the page.

 
The Times

Let children use ChatGPT to help with homework, says science secretary

 

Peter Kyle, the science secretary, has said that it is okay for children to use ChatGPT to help with their homework, provided they have supervision and use it in "the right way". He likened concerns around the use of artificial intelligence in the classroom to fears around the introduction of electronic calculators, adding: "We need to make sure that kids and young people are learning how to use this technology and integrate it into their learning development." By Ben Riley-Smith, The Telegraph.   

 
The Telegraph

State school pupils may be forced to drop GCSE Latin after funding pulled

 

State school pupils taking GCSE Latin may have to drop the subject, or teach themselves, following the government's decision to end funding for the Latin Excellence Programme. Shortly before Christmas, the Department for Education announced that it would end funding in February for the programme, which supports Latin lessons for more than 8,000 pupils at 40 non-selective state schools. As a result, the programme will no longer be able to fund Latin teachers in schools from the end of next month, leaving some without qualified staff. A group of school leaders has written to education secretary Bridget Phillipson requesting funding until August, to enable students to complete their courses and allow schools time to find additional support. By Richard Adams, The Guardian

In an article for The Spectator, Leah Pennisi-Glaser, a chess teacher and tutor, reflects on her experience of studying Latin while at state school. She writes: "It was a great introduction to a period of history I'd never formally learnt about before or since; it challenged my brain to think in new ways." Describing the decision to scrap funding for the Latin Excellence Programme halfway through the academic year as "particularly spiteful", she warns: "Putting imaginary rings around certain areas of knowledge is always a slippery slope."

 

IB plans move to open-book exams

 

Pupils in some schools could be allowed to use open textbooks in exams in all subjects and take them online as soon as 2030, iNews reports. The International Baccalaureate (IB) is planning the change, which is being backed by the Association of School and College Leaders, for its diploma courses aimed at 16 to 18-year-olds. Matt Glanville, the IB's director of assessment, said open-book exams are "exactly where the direction of travel should be going", and that he wants to bring them to UK students "as quickly as possible". By Connie Dimsdale. 

 
iNews

 

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