During a debate on the government's VAT on fees policy in the House of Lords yesterday, Lord Lexden, president of the Independent Schools Association (ISA), asked how much money the tax has raised. Lord Livermore, the Treasury secretary, replied saying ministers set out that VAT on fees "would raise £460 million in 2024-25 and £1.7 billion per year by 2029-30". Lord Lexden then asked if ministers are aware of the Independent School Council's (ISC) recent survey, which shows the policy "is producing an exodus from independent schools eight times larger than ministers predicted". He continued: "Does it not follow that the government will have to fund many extra places in the state sector for pupils driven from independent schools, while simultaneously the proceeds from their tax raid on those schools plummet? Is it not the case that the government stand no chance of extracting the £1.8 billion that they hoped to receive from independent schools to fund an enormous range of improvements, including, most surprisingly, the largest investment in affordable housing in a generation, according to the Prime Minister in June?" Lord Livermore responded "I think the short answer is no", before adding that his party remains "extremely confident" in the estimate that the policy is "likely to lead to around 35,000 more pupils in the state sector over the course of this Parliament".

Raising the question of special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) provision at independent schools, Liberal Democrat peer Baroness Kramer said: "My Lords, one of our greatest concerns is that pupils with SEND without an education, health and care plan (EHCP) are forced from private schools that have the capacity to support them to state schools without the resources to do the same." She asked: "Have the government been tracking how many of those SEND pupils without an EHCP have moved, and are they looking at the impact on both children and schools, including school finances?" Acknowledging that the current SEND system "is not delivering the outcomes that pupils and parents rightly expect", Lord Livermore noted that ministers will provide details of their reform proposals later in the year.

Peers continued to discuss the impact of the tax policy on independent and state schools. The debate can be read in full at Hansard and can also be viewed via Parliamentlive.tv.

Writing in Tes, Luke Ramsden, deputy head of an independent school and chair of trustees for the Schools Consent Project, takes a look at the Independent Schools Inspectorate's (ISI) Annual Review of Inspections for the 2024-25 academic year. Published last week, the review gives a unique overview of how independent schools have performed against the Independent School Standards, highlighting areas inspectors praised during visits as well as those where schools have been falling short. Mr Ramsden identifies five areas school leadership teams should focus on, which include safeguarding and attendance. 

A new school for pupils aged four to 16 with special education needs and disabilities (SEND) could open in time for the 2027-28 academic year. The £20 million school, which will welcome children with complex learning difficulties, will be built in Cheltenham and is set to be sponsored by Enable Trust, which specialises in SEND education and alternative provisions. Gloucestershire County Council has experienced high demand for SEND provision, with more spaces needed notably around Cheltenham and Gloucester. By Joe Skirkowski, BBC News. 

Magdalen College School pupil Alastair has been crowned BBC Young Chorister of the Year 2025, during a special BBC programme hosted by The Reverend Kate Bottley. His standout performance of Sir John Rutter’s Gaelic Blessing earned high praise from judges Gareth Malone, Michelle John, and Harry Bradford, with Alastair describing the piece as "music which makes one feel warm inside".

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.