The Meadows Montessori School in Ipswich has announced it will permanently close next month, attributing the decision to "significant financial challenges" resulting from falling pupil numbers. Speaking to BBC News, Samantha Sims, the school's headteacher, cited the government's VAT on fees policy as one of the reasons parents have been less able to afford to independent education. "Despite every effort to adapt and plan, wider financial pressures in the economy and targeted measures towards independent schools has meant The Meadows has become unsustainable", she said, before adding: "We have had to take the incredibly sad decision to close the school." By George King.

During a House of Commons debate on Budget resolutions yesterday, Conservative MP Andrew Rosindell expressed concern over Labour's VAT on fees policy, saying: "The government’s social engineering taxes are without doubt what Winston Churchill described as the philosophy of envy. VAT on private schools has added additional pressure to the state sector and has been the cause of the closure of large numbers of private schools. It has been so harmful to children and to the standing and success of our education system at home and abroad." 

In a written question in the House of Lords, Lord Black of Brentwood, honorary president of the Boarding Schools' Association (BSA), asked whether the revised International Education Strategy will include an assessment of the overall contribution of overseas pupils studying at independent schools, and if it will aim to increase the number of pupils studying at independent schools in the UK. Responding, education minister Baroness Smith of Malvern said ministers are reviewing the strategy to "ensure it continues to reflect the priorities of the entire education sector, including schools". She added: "The International Education Strategy will continue to support the growth of exports across the education sector, including schools. The strategy will be published in the coming months." 

Lord Black submitted a further question, which asked what assessment the government has made of the economic impact of overseas pupils studying at independent schools in the UK. Baroness Smith said ministers estimate that overseas pupils at UK independent schools contributed approximately £0.98 billion to the UK economy in 2022. Hansard.

The history of art is available as an A-level in only two schools north of Nottingham, a "sobering" study highlighting the UK’s cultural divide has found. Carried out by the Association for Art History and commissioned by the London-based Courtauld Institute of Art, the research shows that although the A-level is offered at schools in London, Kent, Dorset and Berkshire, north of Nottingham it is only an option at St Peter's School, York and Didsbury High School, a state-funded school in Manchester. The findings have prompted the Courtauld Institute to lobby government to widen access. By David Sanderson, The Times. 

Ministers are facing calls to explain how a £6 billion special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) funding gap would be paid for. Rachel Reeves, the chancellor, and Bridget Phillipson, the education secretary, have said that SEND reforms, which are expected to be announced in the new year, are designed to benefit children and parents, rather than to save money. However, senior government sources have warned that changes to the system would substantially bring down the growth of the SEND budget as a side-effect. The Guardian reports that Treasury ministers have so far declined to clarify where the money for SEND will come from, with changes to the system unlikely to cover the whole deficit. By Rowena Mason and Richard Adams.

Labour's backbenchers are understood to be concerned about what the SEND reforms will entail and some are poised to vote against changes that involve cuts to services. By Connie Dimsdale and Will Hazell, iNews.

Writing in Schools Week, Wayne Norrie, CEO of Greenwood Academies Trust, warns that while SEND funding pressures are real, the bleakest interpretations of the Budget and Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) projections overstate the threat to mainstream schools and fail to reflect government efforts to address historic deficits and invest in inclusive education. He says: "The OBR is doing its job by highlighting the risks. Our job is to read what it actually says, alongside the budget, and then argue hard for a SEND system that is fair to children, fair to families and fair to the schools that serve them."

School staffing shortages are harming children’s education and safety, according to research by Unison. The survey, which questioned almost 3,000 support staff including teaching assistants, caterers and cleaners, found that three in five reported having fewer colleagues than a year ago, with just six per cent saying numbers have increased. Over three-quarters of respondents reported insufficient staff to meet pupils’ needs, with many warning that cuts jeopardise pupil safety. The main cause cited was schools failing to replace staff when they leave. By Alan Jones, The Independent. 

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