In a written question in the House of Commons, Shadow Parliamentary Under Secretary (Health and Social Care) Luke Evans asked whether the impact of the government's VAT on fees policy was discussed at the meeting held on 22 July 2025 between Department of Education officials and representatives of the independent school sector. Responding, shadow education secretary Olivia Bailey said the impact was discussed. Hansard. 

Labour has declined to confirm how many teachers have been recruited into state schools using the extra funding raised through its VAT on fees policy. Last week, education minister Baroness Smith of Malvern refused to disclose how many additional teachers had been hired in the state sector, in response to a parliamentary written question from Lord Lexden, president of the Independent Schools Association. Lord Lexden had asked: "What is the total sum raised so far by the introduction of VAT on independent school fees, and how many extra teachers have been recruited as a result?" However, Baroness Smith’s answer, published on Friday, failed to address the second part of the question. Shadow education secretary Saqib Bhatti is quoted in the article, saying: "Labour’s woeful education tax has forced dozens of independent schools to close and has forced thousands of pupils into the state sector. Now revelations show that the government has no idea how many teachers they have been able to hire because of this devastating tax increase." The Telegraph reports that almost 25,000 pupils have left the independent sector since Labour came to power last year, despite ministers' projections that just 3,000 would have moved by September 2025. By Madeleine Ross.

In a video message to young people across the UK on Armistice Day today, the Prince of Wales will emphasise the significance of wearing a red poppy and remind them that "remembrance is for everyone". William will urge young people to remember veterans and serving members of the armed forces alike, saying: "When we remember, we connect with service in a personal way." By Mathilde Grandjean, The Independent.

The Prevent anti-terror scheme is "no longer keeping the country safe", a three-year report by the Independent Commission on Counter Terrorism has found. It says the government's counter-terror programme should be given a "radical overhaul", having turned away 90 per cent of individuals referred since 2015 as they had no obvious ideology. The wide-reaching review makes 112 recommendations in total, but its two key proposals focus on reforming Prevent and abolishing a "catch-all" definition of terrorism as authorities struggle to respond to a rise in threats by young people without a fixed ideology. By Rozina Sabur, The Telegraph. 

Ofsted's new report card grading system has come into effect for schools in England, bringing to an end its one or two-word judgements. The inspectorate says the updated framework will give parents better detail about schools, but critics warn that the new inspections will continue to put pressure on teachers and school leaders. BBC News takes a closer look at the new ratings and how school inspections have changed. 

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.