Writing in Schools Week, Julie Prentice, director of primary at Swale Academies Trust, outlines five key lessons she and her team learned having spent the past four years developing a trust-wide SEND training model. Her advice includes a focus on leadership rather than compliance, and embedding SEND expertise across the workforce. When inclusion becomes part of school culture rather than a standalone initiative, Ms Prentice says "outcomes improve for all learners". 

In a separate article for Schools Week, Matthew Thompson, principal of Launceston College, explains how the school's successful on-site alternative resource base (ARB) helps students with SEND gain qualifications and independence. On the success of the school's model, which includes overnight stays and a range of activities such as swimming and horse riding, he says: "The ARB has a proven track record of improving outcomes, illustrated by a student who arrived with attendance below 50 per cent, who now attends 98 per cent of the time."

Councils are spending up to four times as much per child on independent special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) schools as state special schools, with the cost of independent placements growing twice as fast over four years, according to a Schools Week investigation. The paper analysed freedom of information data from 41 councils and found the average cost per pupil of places in local independent and non-maintained special schools is forecast to be 37 per cent higher this year than in 2022-23. Over the same period, the cost of state special school places is due to rise by 17 per cent. Schools Week notes that accusations of profiteering have been strongly denied by the National Association of Special Schools, which represents many independent specialist settings. By Chaminda Jayanetti.

In a written question in the House of Commons, Conservative MP Dr Neil Shastri-Hurst asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer how much revenue was raised from the introduction of the government's VAT on fees policy between 1 January and 31 December 2025. In response, Exchequer Secretary to the Treasury Dan Tomlinson said: "At Autumn Budget 2024, the revenue from applying the standard rate of VAT to education and boarding services provided by private schools from 1 January 2025 was estimated at £460 million in 2024-25 and £1,505 million in 2025-26, rising to £1,725 million in 2029-30. In their November 2025 Economic and Fiscal Outlook, the Office for Budget Responsibility revised the yield from this measure up by an average of £40 million per year, with outturn data providing initial support for the original assumption on pupil movements."

In a separate question, Opposition Assistant Whip David Reed asked how ministers record and retain information on applications by independent schools for approval of material changes. Responding, Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State Olivia Bailey said that such information is recorded and retained on the Independent Education and School Safeguarding Division's customer relationship management system, against the school’s individual record. "Once a material change application is approved, the department's publicly available register of schools in England, the 'Get Information About Schools' service, is amended to reflect the change to the school's registered details," she added. Hansard.

Antibiotics are being given to thousands of students in a race to stop the spread of deadly meningitis nationwide, with unprecedented emergency measures being taken across Kent to contain the infection before young people return home for Easter. Some of the cases have been confirmed as meningitis B, the UK Health Security Agency said yesterday. The majority of youngsters are not protected against this strain because routine vaccination has only been available on the NHS since 2015. By Laura Donnelly, Michael Searles, Fiona Parker and Tom McArdle, The Telegraph. 

In an article looking at the impact of the pandemic on meningitis vaccination rates among young Britons, The Telegraph reports that the school closures of 2020 led to a drop in the uptake of the MenACWY vaccine to 58.3 per cent, leaving many teenagers unprotected. That cohort is now of university age, so the paper says it is perhaps unsurprising that there has been an uptick in outbreaks over the past couple of years. The article is accompanied by a map displaying the percentage of Year 9 pupils vaccinated against meningitis in 2024-25. By Sarah Knapton.

From the early signs to look out for to what to do if you have missed a vaccine, The Telegraph provides the answers to some common questions about meningitis. By Sarah Rodrigues.

The English hubs programme will be expanded to secondary schools across the country from September following a "successful" pilot, the Department for Education (DfE) has confirmed. Launched in 2018, the programme aims to boost phonics teaching, early language and reading for pleasure in primary schools, especially among children who are struggling. A recent DfE report found the scheme, which cost £100 million, has helped improve pupil outcomes and "broader literacy". From the autumn, secondaries will have access to specialist support in addition to "evidence-based assessments" to provide targeted interventions for pupils requiring extra support. By Lydia Chantler-Hicks, Schools Week.

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