A mother has spoken out after discovering her two profoundly deaf children are being denied educational support, simply because they attend an independent school. The unnamed parent, who lives in Edinburgh, said she was told that independent school families had "opted out" of the council-funded specialist services because of their choice of school. She was later informed that her daughters could only receive support if she paid £120 an hour for it, or if their school funded it. Speaking to the Mail on Sunday, she said: "It felt very discriminatory to direct resources to a specific subset of the overall population of children while withdrawing it entirely for the other group." Lorraine Davidson, chief executive of the Scottish Council of Independent Schools (SCIS), is also quoted, saying: "Support for deaf children should be a universal service and there should be no discrimination based on a child's school." By Elizabeth Ivens.

Analysis by The Telegraph explores how much independent school fees could rise in the upcoming academic year amid a "triple whammy" of tax increases. The article features a quote from Simon Nathan, deputy CEO and head of policy at the Independent Schools Council (ISC), stating: "Many schools took the step of reducing their fees, excluding VAT, in January to try to cushion the impact on parents. But schools’ options were limited: they were hit with a triple tax whammy of the loss of business rates relief, the rise in National Insurance employer contributions and the requirement to place 20 per cent VAT on fees. It seems clear that the government underestimated the impact their decision to tax education would have on schools, families and children." By Pieter Snepvangers.

In a separate piece on independent school fees, The Telegraph outlines several ways parents can seek to reduce costs, including tips on targeting specific bursaries and scholarships. By Eleanor Doughty and Fran Ivens.

Writing to The Times, Keith Wellings from the West Midlands suggests that ministers could have approached the VAT on fees policy as they have the recent disability benefit reforms, which reportedly will only affect new claimants. He says: "It is questionable whether the same criteria should not have been applied to the imposition of VAT on school fees, thereby preventing the enforced displacement of thousands of pupils."

The letter appears below halfway.

All teachers will be given special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) training under a reformed special needs system, Catherine McKinnell, the schools minister, has said. Ms McKinnell told iNews that SEND support would be embedded in both initial teacher training and ongoing professional development, enabling staff to meet the full range of children's needs. Some parents have shared their concerns that placing greater responsibility on mainstream teachers may be "too much" and could result in their children missing out on essential support. Hayley Harding, a parent of two boys with SEND and founder of the campaign group Let Us Learn Too, said it was unreasonable to expect all teachers to be SEND teachers, warning that it "ultimately means that our children will not be getting the level of support that they need". By Connie Dimsdale.

Councils are spending what amounts to almost £12 million each school day to transport pupils to and from school as the cost of home-to-school transport has reached the highest level on record. Any child is eligible for free travel to school if their nearest suitable school is further than the statutory walking distance, but analysis by The Times suggests that rising numbers of children with SEND, limited capacity at special schools, and demand for individual transport have contributed to the increase, which reached £2.25 billion in the 12 months to March 2025. Part of the rise can be explained by the fact that more families are approaching local authorities for SEND support owing to greater awareness and changes to legislation. By Yennah Smart and Georgia Lambert.

Ofsted will not evaluate schools' use of artificial intelligence (AI) "as a stand-alone part" of inspections, but will consider the technology’s impact on outcomes for pupils, according to guidance published on Friday. The guidance was informed by Ofsted's research into AI "early adopter" schools, which explored how these settings are integrating AI into teaching, learning and administration. By Jack Dyson, Schools Week.

The Sunday Times takes a look at schools across the UK that have secured the highest numbers of offers from Oxford and Cambridge universities. Speaking to the paper, several members of staff at the schools share their secrets to success, which include encouraging pupils to engage in "super-curricular" activities to elevate their subject-focused learning and help them stand out in their university applications. By Louise Eccles and Joey D'Urso. 

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