In a series of written questions in the House of Lords, Lord Black of Brentwood, honorary president of the Boarding Schools' Association (BSA), asked about assessments relating to state boarding schools, including access to state boarding school facilities for the children of Armed Forces personnel. Responding, education minister Baroness Smith of Malvern said the Department for Education has oversight of the state boarding school policy used to regulate standards in boarding provisions. She added: "The Ministry of Defence oversees the Continuity of Education Allowance for eligible service personnel, which provides clearly defined financial support to ensure that the need for frequent mobility does not interfere with a child’s education. This includes supporting parents with the option of using a state boarding school." Hansard.

More children are starting Reception not "school ready", according to a survey of 1,000 primary school staff by early years charity Kindred Squared. It found 37 per cent of children were not ready for school last year, an increase from 33 per cent in 2024. Ministers are aiming for 75 per cent of children aged five to achieve a "good level of development" by 2028. For the first time, the survey asked how much time was being taken up with toileting, to which staff said helping these pupils is taking up an average of 1.4 hours of each school day. By Samantha Booth, Schools Week.

Royal High School Bath, GDST, a girls’ school founded with the help of Queen Victoria and Florence Nightingale, has announced it is closing its prep school after more than 150 years. Citing a series of government decisions that include "increasing costs with the introduction of VAT on school fees, removal of business rates relief and an increase in employer national insurance contributions", headteacher Heidi-Jayne Boyes said in a letter to parents that the prep school will close at the end of the summer term. Girls in Years 5 and 6 will be moved to the senior school. A parent told The Times the announcement was "sad but perhaps not surprising given the extra financial pressures independent schools are facing". The article reports that Palmers Green High School, a girls’ school in London, has also announced this week that it is due to close this summer because it does not have the financial capacity to continue. By Will Humphries.

Writing to The Times, Gareth Parker-Jones, head of Rugby School, argues that the government is contradicting itself by promoting the excellence of independent schools abroad while taxing them at home. Urging ministers to "admit that taxing education has been damaging for a sector it now seeks to promote overseas", he calls on them "to reverse VAT on fees and recognise independent schools as integral to a world-class UK education system". The letter appears below halfway.

School Management Plus shines a light on a large-scale partnership between Haberdashers’ Elstree Schools and five local state primaries, which sees pupils taking part in curriculum and enrichment activities each week. The award-winning programme has improved attendance by more than 10 per cent among disadvantaged pupils and has widened access to specialist facilities. Commenting on the initiative, Davinia Leggett, head at Fair Field School said: "The variety of opportunities we have available has had such an impact on each child. For some it has led to improved confidence and self-esteem, and for others helped them find new passions." Joshua Plotkin, director of partnerships at Habs, said collaboration is part of life for his students, adding: "What’s more, they absolutely love it. After one session, I overheard one Year 11 student saying to another, in tones of breathless excitement, 'That was the best thing I’ve ever done. In my life!'"

Sir Keir Starmer could be forced to introduce an immediate social media ban for teenagers after the Lords voted by 261 to 150 in favour of an amendment that will now go before the House of Commons. Most Labour MPs support a ban, so they would need to be whipped to vote against the measure to prevent it becoming law before ministers complete their consultation. Alongside a ban, the consultation includes plans for curfews on children’s social media use as well as measures to make all schools phone-free by default and restrictions on tech firms’ use of addictive features to keep young people online. By Charles Hymas, The Telegraph.

In an article in Tes, Simon Lightman, a secondary school teacher in England, explains why a social media ban would raise significant questions for schools. "If social media is restricted for under-16s, schools will not be able to opt out of that choice. The real question then will be whether they are supported to do the educational work that follows or left to manage the consequences," he says.

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