Mark Taylor has been appointed interim chair of the Independent Schools Council (ISC), succeeding Barnaby Lenon, who had held the position since 2011. Mr Taylor, a former British army major and tank commander, will be the first bursar to have chaired three of the representative bodies for independent schools. He had already been vice chair of the ISC since 2021 and is currently bursar at The King's School, Canterbury. Independent School Management Plus. The ISC's media statement on Mr Taylor's appointment can be read here.

Peers in the House of Lords yesterday overwhelmingly opposed ministers' plans to end tax relief for independent schools, voting by a majority of 91 to remove the key provision from the Non-Domestic Rates (Multipliers and Private Schools) Bill. Central to the dispute is the government's aim to remove business rates relief eligibility from independent schools in England that are registered as charities. Leading the charge against the government's proposal, shadow education minister Baroness Barran warned that education should not be taxed. She also expressed concerns about potential "political overreach" affecting charities, adding that the government's actions could create a "two-tiered system, punishing charities that don’t conform to its views". On the need to consider pupils with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND), Conservative peer Lord Shinkwin accused ministers of treating children with SEND as "expendable", adding that removing the part of the bill set to end tax relief for independent schools is the "only way to protect all pupils with SEND that attend independent schools, like those that I attended, where the proportion with SEND is much less than 50 per cent". By Abbie Llewelyn, The Independent. 

During the debate, Lord Lexden, president of the Independent Schools Association (ISA), urged ministers to recognise the important contribution that independent schools make towards the provision of education for children with SEND. On the need for Amendment 25, he explained: "The continued success of these schools needs to be safeguarded at a time when SEND provision in the state sector is in crisis - a crisis which will not be relieved for some time through the plans for significant improvement that the government are quite rightly making. Everyone hopes that the government’s plans will eventually succeed, but arrangements are needed of the kind for which this amendment provides." Lord Lexden added: "Under this amendment, an independent school that has 50 per cent or more pupils with a registered SEND need would retain its charitable rate relief. The government say that such relief must be confined to schools with some 50 per cent of pupils with education, health and care plans (EHCPs). That is the wrong dividing line." Lord Lexden concluded by saying: "It is wrong to neglect or diminish the crucial extent to which independent schools supplement the state’s provision, working in the spirit of partnership which is the predominant characteristic of the independent education sector today. Without this amendment, invaluable SEND schools can be expected to find themselves in grave difficulty or will be forced to close." 

Lord Black of Brentwood, president of the Boarding Schools' Association (BSA), commended the ISC for its "exceptional job in championing the sector" and supported Lord Lexden in calling for ministers’ plans to be "rigorously scrutinised". He said: "Heartbreakingly, [this policy] will impact on the way in which our society cares for vulnerable children, those with special needs and disabilities, and their carers and families. It will impact on local communities that currently benefit from thriving and imaginative partnerships with state schools, on faith communities and on military families. It will impact on gifted children who benefit from bursaries, something that many independent schools are cruelly being forced now to review, and of course it will impact on jobs at independent schools, especially when closures of schools inevitably and tragically happen." Hansard.

Governors at S. Anselm's School have written to parents to say the prep school is to close at the end of the summer term, having been left with "no alternative" amid the government's tax changes. Addressing the planned closure, chair of governors Paul Houghton cited falling pupil numbers and said the school has been operating at a "financial loss". He told parents: "Added to this, the substantial recent government taxation pressures on all independent schools - the addition of VAT on school fees, having to pay increased National Insurance contributions, and the removal of business rates relief for independent schools - it is now unsustainable to keep the school open." By Rebecca Sherdley, BBC News.

Writing to The Times, head of Sevenoaks School Jesse Elzinga agrees with those proposing a smartphone ban for schools, saying: "For the sake of children’s future, smartphone-free schools must become the norm; this requires a change in the law and the unwavering support of parents." Mr Elzinga explains that his own school has already implemented a phone ban and the benefits have been clear to see. He concludes: "This is a call to action. We must take the next step in creating a world in which children can truly flourish — one that extends beyond the school gates into their homes and into the very fabric of society." The letter appears near the end of the page. 

Sex education for 17 and 18-year-olds could help young people identify abusive partners and be "lifesaving", Zarah Sultana, the independent MP for Coventry South, has said. She has proposed an amendment to the government's Children's Wellbeing and Schools Bill, which, if agreed to, would make sex education mandatory for young people receiving post-16 education. Addressing MPs in the House of Commons, Ms Sultana told ministers there is a "dangerous gap" in provision which could be filled with "harmful voices". By Will Durrant, The Independent. 

Robin Street, director of innovation at North London Collegiate School (NLCS), explains the origins of the school's innovative AI Driving Licence, which is helping pupils to understand the challenges and applications of this emerging technology.

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