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Spending review could affect teaching jobs and pupils with SEND, unions warn
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Funding
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Pupils could miss out on teaching assistants, pastoral support, and school trips due to chancellor Rachel Reeves's "tight" education funding package, a headteachers’ union has warned. Julia Harnden, a funding expert at the Association of School and College Leaders, said that vulnerable pupils, including those with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND), would be "disproportionately" affected by the government’s latest spending decisions. The National Education Union said the settlement "may not be enough to fix some of the fundamental problems facing schools". By Connie Dimsdale, iNews.
Writing in The Independent, Bridget Phillipson says she is "deeply proud" of the Treasury's spending review. The education secretary shares her belief that its focus on investment in schools gives Britain’s children the chance of the best possible start in life, with more information to follow. "In the autumn, we will publish a schools white paper that maps out the future of our school system in detail," she concludes.
Schools Week summarises the review documents and notes that Labour's teacher recruitment pledge is only mentioned once, saying the settlement "supports the government’s commitment to recruit 6,500 more teachers over the course of this Parliament across secondary schools, further education settings and specialist schools". By Freddie Whittaker.
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Harrogate Ladies’ College to go co-ed and change name to Duchy College
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ISC schools
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Harrogate Ladies’ College will begin admitting boys from September next year and rebrand as Duchy College, bringing to an end over 130 years as a girls-only school. Principal Joanna Fox is quoted in The Times, saying: "Our ethos is the reason many parents choose our school for their children, and it is the reason we are regularly asked by parents of boys about joining our senior school. We are excited about being able to extend our provision to all children and parents in the future." The paper reports that the school's boarding numbers have declined, reflecting the national picture, and that the move to co-education will boost the school's future finances. The new name of Duchy College was chosen because the school is in the area of Harrogate belonging to the Duchy of Lancaster. Several other schools in membership of the ISC's constituent associations are mentioned. By Nicola Woolcock.
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Growing height of car bonnets poses 'serious danger' to children, report warns
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Safety
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The height of car bonnets in new vehicles across the UK and Europe is steadily increasing, according to a report by the advocacy group Transport & Environment. It found that the average bonnet height of new cars sold in Europe rose from 77cm in 2010 to 84cm last year, presenting a "clear and growing threat to public safety, especially for children". In crashes, high-bonneted sports utility vehicles (SUVs) are more likely to hit the vital organs in the core of adults’ bodies and the heads of children. The study also revealed that drivers of the tallest cars were unable to see children as old as nine when they stood directly in front of the vehicle. By Damian Carrington, The Guardian.
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Ofsted criticised for delay to report card plan
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Inspection
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Union leaders have criticised a "reckless" move by Ofsted to delay revealing its report card plan until the autumn, which they say will leave schools facing a "nonsensical" timeline for the roll-out of new inspections. The inspectorate had planned to publish its response to the consultation to reform inspections in the summer, before introducing the new inspections in November. But it announced yesterday that the response will not be ready for publication until "early September". In a letter to Ofsted chief inspector Sir Martyn Oliver, Bridget Phillipson said the delay was "disappointing". By Lydia Chantler-Hicks, Schools Week.
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Kent music teacher selected to represent GB in underwater hockey
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Sport
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Rona Wignall, a music teacher at Radnor House Sevenoaks, has been selected to represent Great Britain in the Underwater Hockey World Championship Qualifiers in the Netherlands this summer. She is now fundraising to cover the cost of taking part, with her expenses for the event expected to surpass £2,000. Speaking to BBC News, Ms Wignall said: "My school are great about it – it can be tricky but sometimes I can go and train and release all my stress." She added: "It's a privilege to be able to train and play for your country." By Patrick Barlow.
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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.
Sign-up to the email service is available on our website.
Members can contact the ISC if they know in advance of news, letters or opinions that are likely to feature in the media, or are aware of existing coverage which they would like to see featured in the DNS.
Headlines and first-line summaries are written by the ISC with the link directing to the source material. You should read and comply with the terms and conditions of the websites to which we link.
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