With the Winter Olympics in full swing, Benenden School has been closely the following the progress of former student Eloise King. Competing for Team Hong Kong, China, Eloise was the flag bearer at the opening event in Italy, where she has been competing in the Women’s Slalom.

21-year-old Eloise left Benenden after sixth form in 2023 to study materials science and engineering at Imperial College London. Beyond her skiing prowess, she also captained the fencing team and won a physics prize. She is currently on a gap year from her studies to focus on her skiing but is retiring after the Olympics.

Reflecting on her journey, Eloise said: "As long as you enjoy something, you should keep trying. It’s like anything you do, it’s not going to come easy all the time but work hard, persevere and have fun and you can do whatever you set out to do."

Benenden’s headmistress, Rachel Bailey, added: "Eloise is an utter inspiration to girls everywhere and we are so proud of her. We have all been cheering her on and we look forward to her coming back to Benenden to tell us all about her wonderful experience."

The ISC's latest blog, written by Malcolm Tozer, explores the performance of independently educated athletes at the 2024 Summer Olympics. Read the article in full here. 

Labour is set to impose a profit cap on independent schools for children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND), iNews reports. The Schools White Paper – expected to be published next week – is expected to include proposals to "legislate to ensure that a reasonable price is paid for a placement". A cap would ease financial pressure on local authorities and reduce the amount of taxpayers' money funnelled to private companies. However, there are concerns that the move could force some independent schools to close, reducing options for parents and children. Julie Robinson, CEO of the Independent Schools Council (ISC), cautioned against "classifying all high-cost placements as low value". She said independent special schools "provide quality education and care, giving young people with SEND equity of opportunity in a way that would not be possible elsewhere. We will defend the right of these pupils to have an education that allows them to thrive, as well as defending the independence that makes that education possible." She added that the ISC would await the White Paper before commenting fully on the government's plans. By Connie Dimsdale and Will Hazell. 

Writing in The Telegraph, education secretary Bridget Phillipson said independent special school providers will no longer "be able to charge whatever fees they want", adding: "For the first time, there will be full cost transparency – so everyone can see exactly where public money is being spent." She said that new national price bands would "ensure the fees charged directly reflect the level of support needed, ending unjustified fee variation and giving councils the confidence to challenge poor value placements". 

Many parents of children with SEND are having to pay thousands of pounds a year out of pocket as specialist provision continues to fall short, according to new research from national disability charity Sense. Natalie, a mother-of-one from the West Midlands, said securing the right support for her seven-year-old son Azuriah has often left her struggling to pay the bills, despite having an education, health and care plan (EHCP) in place for him. "For our family, the budgeting never really ends and I still feel like I am failing Azuriah. He’s non-verbal and ideally, he would have speech therapy on top of the therapy sessions I already pay for to help his communication and social skills – but that could easily cost more than £10,000 a year and I can’t afford that," she said. By Albert Toth, The Independent.

The Liberal Democrats have called for SEND services in England to be designated as critical national infrastructure to prevent vulnerable children from being treated as "cash cows" by private investors. Currently, the status of critical national infrastructure is reserved for essential services like energy, transport and water. Under the Lib Dem plans, SEND acquisitions would also be subject to public interest tests under the Enterprise Act, giving the government greater powers of oversight. Sir Ed Davey, leader of the Lib Dems, said: "No parent wants to see their child's education suffer while private equity firms cash in on a broken system. Liberal Democrats would introduce new protections to ensure taxpayers' money is spent on front-line services for children, not lining the pockets of offshore investors." BBC News.

Tackling the SEND crisis is "much harder" in a system where not all schools are in strong multi-academy trusts, according to the government's inclusion adviser. Tom Rees, who chairs the Department for Education's expert advisory group on SEND inclusion, said he hopes the SEND reforms result in more children thriving in a mainstream school, better external support for pupils with SEND, and a less "adversarial" relationship between schools and parents. He added that this would be more achievable if schools were in trusts with the "capacity and resources" to support pupils and communities. By Charlotte Santry, Tes. 

Parents and supporters of an independent school in Wales that closed at the end of last term are to reopen it after buying out the lease. St Clare's School in Porthcawl, which will be renamed Clare House School, will reopen in September. The board, set up and run by parents and supporters, said in a statement: "Completion of the transfer of a 106-year lease for the former St Clare’s School site from previous operator Cognita will secure the future of independent education in Porthcawl. The site has an 87-year educational legacy in south Wales, and taking ownership of the lease will confirm long-term stability for the new school." By Abbie Wightwick, Wales Online. 

The Department for Education has pledged eight weeks of full maternity pay for school leaders, teachers and support staff in England. The change is due to take effect from the 2027-28 academic year, and more details will be set out in next week's Schools White Paper. Education secretary Bridget Phillipson said: "Maternity pay for teachers has been left to stagnate for too long. That’s why I am taking the first step in 25 years to improve it, backed by a new programme that will support more women returning after leave, so more pupils benefit from the experienced teachers they need at the front of classrooms." By Freddie Whittaker, Schools Week.  

New survey data from Teacher Tapp suggests 29 per cent of headteachers have not received an AI-generated attendance target that the Department for Education (DfE) said "every" school was set last term. In November, the DfE announced that every school had been set "an individual minimum attendance improvement target" powered by artificial intelligence, and that schools would receive these targets "from this month". Days later, however, the DfE suspended the targets due to "data quality issues", and it has emerged that many schools are yet to receive a target at all. Pepe Di'Iasio, general secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders, said: "This botched exercise has done nothing to instil confidence in the ability of the government to work effectively with AI in a way that is genuinely helpful for schools and colleges." By Kyle Tormey, Tes.

In a letter to The Telegraph, Sir Anthony Seldon, founding director of Wellington College Education, urges the government to launch a cross-sector body to "formulate the best possible responses" to AI, warning: "The development of AI is rapid and unstoppable, and its impact on young minds, employment and our quality of life is largely unknown." The letter can be found halfway down the page.

An article in Tes explores how the government's pledge to deliver 6,500 more teachers could hinge on recruitment into special schools and alternative provision – and the challenges associated with tackling specialist staff shortages. By John Roberts. 

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.