In a written question in the House of Commons, Liberal Democrat MP John Milne asked whether the chancellor plans to publish the outturn VAT receipts from independent school fees for 2024-25 and 2025-26 at the forthcoming Autumn Budget. Responding, James Murray, Financial Secretary to the Treasury and Paymaster General, said the VAT on fees policy was estimated to raise £460 million in 2024-25 and £1,505 million in 2025-26, and HMRC does not publish such information on specific policy changes. "The modelling of the Exchequer impact has, however, been updated in the light of further data. The Office for Budget Responsibility revised up the estimate of the revenue by an average of £40 million per year for their Autumn 2025 Economic and Fiscal Outlook, and stated that they will continue to monitor trends in the data. Any further updates will be published in the usual way", he added. 

Max Wilkinson, Liberal Democrat spokesperson for home affairs, submitted two questions to the Treasury, in which he asked what assessment the chancellor has made of the potential merits of a VAT exemption on installing solar panels for schools, and whether ministers plan to introduce such a measure. In response to both questions, James Murray said: "VAT is a broad-based tax on consumption, and the 20 per cent standard rate applies to most goods and services, including solar panels purchased by schools. However, the government operates VAT refund schemes which allow schools maintained by local authorities and academies to recover VAT paid on goods and services purchased in the course of providing free education. Private schools that charge VAT on their fees may recover their VAT costs through the normal input tax rules." Hansard. 

Writing in School Management Plus, David Morton, chair of the Choir Schools Association (CSA), considers the financial pressures facing Britain's choir schools, including the VAT on fees policy, but points to their long history, strong partnership work and ongoing efforts to widen access through bursaries as reasons to be confident about their future. "We are all having to work hard to protect our great British choral tradition, but we can do so safe in the knowledge that 'this too shall pass'," he writes. 

Speaking and communication skills are to be given equal status with reading and writing in the national curriculum as part of a reform of teaching in England being drawn up by the government. Lucy Powell, the education secretary, will announce today that the ability to speak fluently and clearly will be "hardwired" into a revised national curriculum and assessed as part of GCSE examinations. Ministers are also keen to reduce the amount of academic coursework and assessment in subjects such as drama, PE and music, shifting towards more practical forms of assessment that they say are better aligned with real-world skills. Ms Powell will also say that, with the rise of AI, the ability of young people to communicate in person will become ever more important. By Nicola Woolcock and Oliver Wright, The Times. 

Writing in Tes ahead of the Confederation of School Trust's (CST) annual conference, CEO Leora Cruddas explores the history of the comprehensive school movement and the case for expanding technical education. She says the government's proposals for technical qualifications "present an important opportunity to reconsider what a genuinely comprehensive education should offer every young person", later adding: "The test of reform must be whether it strengthens educational entitlement, rather than merely reorganising qualifications."

Schools Week is reporting live from the conference in Birmingham where Lucy Powell is addressing delegates today and Sir Martyn Oliver, chief inspector of Ofsted, will do so tomorrow. By Jack Dyson and Freddie Whittaker. 

In a letter to The Times, Mark Steed, former chair of the Independent Schools Digital Strategy Group, argues that the debate over screens in the classroom has become "unhelpfully polarised". He says schools must prepare pupils for a world in which technology and artificial intelligence (AI) play a significant role, and warns against conflating the impact of educational technology "with the addictive ills of social media on the teenage brain". The letter appears halfway down the page.

One in three school leaders is considering reducing staff numbers or restructuring, a survey by the NAHT has revealed. More than 5,300 NAHT members in England (74 per cent of whom were primary school leaders) were surveyed, with 35 per cent of respondents saying they are aware of consultations or discussions about possible redundancies or restructures. The union has warned that funding shortfalls risk causing "enormous damage" to children's education if they are not addressed in ministers' upcoming Budget. By Cerys Turner, Tes. 

Writing in Tes, school leader and author Dr Sarah Mullin says that, as the 31 October teacher resignation deadline approaches, schools should take proactive steps to retain staff through earlier conversations and greater flexibility. Highlighting some of the pressures driving teachers to consider leaving, she explains: "Teachers don't always leave because they've stopped loving teaching. Sometimes they leave because teaching no longer leaves enough room for the people they love."

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