In a written question in the House of Commons, shadow education minister Saqib Bhatti asked the what estimate the Department for Education (DfE) has made of the number of children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) moving from the independent to state school sector; and what proportion this represents of the overall number of pupils transferring. Responding, early education and equalities minister Olivia Bailey said: "The latest school census data from January 2025 shows private school pupil numbers remain firmly within historical patterns seen for over 20 years. The data is available here."

In a separate question, Conservative MP Blake Stephenson asked what estimate the education secretary has made of the potential impact of changes to the VAT status of independent schools on the number of children enrolled in state schools in September 2025. Ms Bailey referred to the Treasury's Tax Information and Impact Note on applying VAT to independent school fees, adding that it includes the government’s estimates of the number of pupils expected to enter the state sector as a result of the VAT on fees policy. Hansard.

Supporting pupils with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) in England will cost the government a further £3 billion a year by 2029 unless the system is reformed, the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) has warned. Ministers are already spending £12 billion on supporting individuals with SEND this year, a figure that has risen by 66 per cent in the last 10 years. Under current projections, the think tank predicts there will be an extra 220,000 children and young people with education, health and care plans (EHCP) by 2029.  A rise in the number children receiving SEND support in schools has driven what the IFS has termed a "dramatic and ongoing" increase in spending. By Kate McGough, BBC News.

More teachers support ministers' plans for a mandatory reading test in Year 8 than oppose it, but leaders are more sceptical, new polling by Teacher Tapp has revealed. It found headteachers were more likely to oppose a Year 8 reading test (39 per cent) than other senior leaders (27 per cent), middle leaders (22 per cent), and classroom teachers (23 per cent). Speaking at the Labour Party conference earlier this week, education secretary Bridget Phillipson defended the plans, saying her "number one priority is making sure that all children leave school well prepared for the world to come". By Freddie Whittaker, Schools Week. 

Writing in Independent School Management Plus, Robin Fletcher, chief executive of the Boarding Schools’ Association (BSA), highlights the new Boarding School Book of Remembrance (BOBOR), a website honouring the lives of boarding school pupils, staff, and alumni who served or were lost in conflict. Reflecting on its significance, Mr Fletcher says: "While our “book” can never make up for the heroism or sacrifice of those who names appear in it, it can bring together the names of those whose common links are conflict and boarding schools, for the first time, for eternity."

Sir Keir Starmer should apologise for the "avoidable mistakes" made by the government during the pandemic, Baroness Anne Longfield has said. Calling for the prime minister to issue a formal apology once the Covid inquiry concludes, the former children's commissioner for England described the run-up to school closures as "quite chaotic", adding that "it wasn't clear who had responsibility for planning for children". The inquiry also heard yesterday that the pandemic caused a "systemic shock" to children's mental health, according to Tamsin Newlove-Delgado, an expert in children and young people's mental health. By Vanessa Clarke, BBC News. 

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