Sir Keir Starmer has announced rules aimed at making it impossible for children to use technology to take, share or view nude images. In a move that will also help to prevent them accessing pornography, the prime minister said "standing by was not an option", insisting that technology "should adapt to the needs of society, not the other way round". While it is already illegal for under-18s to access pornography, many can view it on social media platforms. Ministers said Sir Keir's announcement would close this loophole. By Matt Dathan, The Times. 

The White House has advised the UK government not to ban social media for under-16s, with the Trump administration arguing that Australian-style age restrictions could harm freedom of speech and parents should, on the whole, be responsible for regulating their children’s social media use. A submission to the government's consultation, published by the US embassy in London, warned against "prescribed one-size-fits-all government restrictions" and "blunt regulatory instruments" to address online harms. By Max Kendix, Stefan Boscia and Mark Sellman, The Times. A live poll asks readers to vote on whether social media should be banned for under-16s. 

Writing to The Times, Sir Anthony Seldon, founding director of Wellington College Education, warns that social media bans for under-16s will have little impact unless schools also confront the rise of artificial intelligence (AI), which "necessitates the rethinking of every aspect of schools, from homework and coursework to exams, where micro AI devices are allowing students to cheat". Sir Anthony says the government's move to ban social media for under-16s "will not make an iota of difference to their use of AI, which, for all its benefits, remains bandit territory", before warning: "We are sleepwalking into the biggest crisis for young people and for education in history." The letter appears above halfway.

During a debate in the House of Lords on school admissions and selective inclusion, Conservative peer Lord Young of Acton, a member of the Knowledge Schools Trust, referenced a recent Sutton Trust report and asked: "Does the minister share my misgivings about the government’s decision to impose VAT on independent school fees? The 30,000 pupils who have now left the independent sector will be beating a path to the doors of these 500 high-performing comprehensives, which will mean even fewer places for children from disadvantaged backgrounds." Responding, Labour peer Baroness Smith of Malvern claimed that more independent schools opened than closed last year, which, she said, "reflects demographic change across the whole school system". 

In a written question in the House of Lords on special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) provision, Labour peer Lord Touhig asked what plans the government has "to ensure that national price bands for independent school placements distinguish between profiteering and the legitimate costs of high-cost provision, including provision delivered by non-profit specialist schools". In response, Baroness Smith said ministers will develop a national cost framework for SEND provision packages, with the expectation that local authorities will commission provision based on that framework, "whether that is within a specialist base in a mainstream school, or a special school, including those in the independent sector". She added that the government would review evidence and consult stakeholders to ensure quality provision is maintained while tackling excessive costs and profiteering. Hansard. 

Writing to The Telegraph, Fred Deeks from Hampshire highlights the benefits of cross-sector school partnerships. He recalls how Charterhouse provided physics and language teaching to a state school in special measures where he was a governor in the late 1990s, and says the support continued until the school had built up its own science department. The letter appears last.

One in 20 white working-class children in England are missing at least half of their schooling, according to analysis by UCL forming part of an independent inquiry into white working-class educational outcomes. The figures show that white working-class children are more than twice as likely as the average pupil to be severely absent from school, compared with one in 50 children overall. The analysis also reveals that almost 40 per cent of pupils in that demographic are persistently absent, missing at least 10 per cent of lessons, which is roughly one day every fortnight. The national average is 20 per cent. Sir Hamid Patel, co-chairman of the inquiry and chief executive of Star Academies, which is partnering with Eton College to open selective sixth forms in disadvantaged areas, said persistent absence was creating a burden for schools. "This is not just an attendance issue – this is about how we rebuild that connection," he warned. By Georgia Lambert, The Times.

Writing in School Management Plus, Melvyn Roffe, head of Haberdashers' Monmouth School, reflects on the recently published interim report of the Milburn Review, and argues that an excessive focus on grades, university entry and future job titles is failing to prepare young people for the workplace. Outlining his school's response, he says: "As a result, in September, we will start delivering a new curriculum which features a reduction in the minimum diet of GCSEs and an increase in the opportunities for personalisation of curriculum pathways, including structured opportunities to undertake project work."

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