In a written question in the House of Commons, Reform UK MP James McMurdock asked what assessment the education secretary has made of the potential impact of VAT increases on privately run children's day nurseries. Schools minister Stephen Morgan replied: "Local authority-maintained schools provide education for no charge, so are outside the scope of VAT. Additionally, some other providers are exempt from VAT. The provision of nursery services by a provider registered with Ofsted, as a supply of welfare rather than of education services, is also exempt. Local authority-run schools and nurseries can recover some of their VAT through the Section 33 scheme, which aims to ensure that VAT does not divert locally-collected taxes away from their intended use. Private nurseries, like private schools, cannot recover their VAT. Any change to this approach would come at a cost to the exchequer and any reduction in tax paid is a reduction in the money available to support important public services, including the NHS and policing. The government therefore has no plans to change the VAT treatment of nurseries. However, all taxes are kept under constant review."

Conservative MP Dr Luke Evans submitted a question in the House of Commons, asking when the education secretary last visited an independent school. Responding, Mr Morgan said: "The Secretary of State for Education prioritises visits to state schools, which serve 93 per cent of pupils in England. The Secretary of State for Education and the wider ministerial team visit a wide variety of education settings, including private schools." Hansard.

In a letter to The Times, senior deputy head at Wimbledon High School GDST Ben Turner outlines his belief that teenagers at secondary school are not bored because school is too hard, but because it is "too narrow" and lacking in challenges that reflect reality. Mr Turner supports the concept of "playful scholarship", where pupils are free to explore ideas and take risks. "Adolescence is the most motivated, meaning-seeking phase of life. Our job is to meet it with imagination, not endurance," he concludes. The letter appears below halfway.

Tens of thousands of GCSE students will receive their results via an app on their phones this summer. Ministers are piloting the new Education Record app with 95,000 students in Manchester and the West Midlands, ahead of a potential nationwide rollout. The government hopes it will save money for college admissions teams, and its plan is to bring each student's exam results and certificates into one online set of digital education records. By Hayley Clarke, BBC News.

An LBC investigation has revealed that young people are increasingly facing blackmail and sexual extortion after being targeted by online modelling scams. According to the charity National Centre for Missing and Exploited Children, there has been a 300 per cent increase in cases of predators enticing children to send explicit photos of themselves online with the promise of giving them a route into modelling and a coveted influencer lifestyle over the last three years - from 44,155 in 2021 to 186,819 in 2023. Speaking to LBC, Adam Glover, from internet safety charity Nominet, said: "There’s often a perception that scams are mainly a problem of the elderly, and this isn’t the case, it’s a misnomer, and it risks obscuring the reality which is that fraud and financial exploitation of young people is a real problem which we need to recognise and respond to as a society." By Chris Chambers. 

Artificial intelligence (AI) should not be used in early years and should be handled cautiously in primaries, a digital learning expert has told independent school leaders. Addressing delegates at the recent annual conference of the Scottish Council of Independent Schools (SCIS), Professor Judy Robertson, chair in digital learning at the University of Edinburgh, said: "In the early years, for me, learning is about play and it’s about exploration. And I don’t think that AI particularly has a place in that." Professor Robertson also discussed a joint project with the Scottish Qualifications Authority, where eight students from state and independent schools, including George Watson’s College, were trained as researchers to gather peers' views on AI and its place in homework. Professor Robertson warned against the use of generative AI for maths tasks, saying that pupils should be encouraged to use a calculator or spreadsheet instead. By Henry Hepburn, Tes. 

In the ISC's latest blog, Lisa Crook, deputy head at Banstead Preparatory School, explains how encouraging pupils to evaluate their thinking processes can boost their confidence, enhance academic performance, and support the development of key life skills.

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.