Deep-fried food will be banned from school meals in a move ministers are calling the biggest shake-up to school dinners in England in over a decade. Under new school food standards, fruit, vegetables and wholegrains will be increased, and breakfast clubs will have to follow nutrition rules for the first time, with schools also being monitored. The Department for Education said the reforms, which will see schools being monitored, would aim to address childhood obesity, improve nutrition, and support concentration, learning and wellbeing among pupils. By Hayley Clarke and Beth Rose, BBC News.

Writing in Tes, Prue Leith, the former Great British Bake Off host, explains why she welcomes the government's expansion of free school meal eligibility to all children from households receiving universal credit. Urging school leaders to empower kitchen staff to teach children about the importance of health eating, she says: "Of course, policies are all well and good, but it’s how they are translated into schools that really matters."

During a debate on the Creative Access Bill in the House of Lords, Liberal Democrat peer Baroness Featherstone thanked the Independent Schools Council, among other organisations, for its support of the Bill. "For far too long, creative education has been treated as an optional extra in our schools, a luxury to be squeezed in when time and budgets allow. Yet creativity is not just some sort of enrichment activity", she said, warning that access to such opportunities should not depend on family income or where a child lives. "Creative education should have a secure place in our schools, and every child should have the opportunity to discover what they can do", she concluded. Hansard.

"Anxious" families are facing a rush to secure funded support for their children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) ahead of the government's reform of the system, with iNews revealing councils have seen requests for education, health and care plans (EHCPs) rising by up to 49 per cent. The County Councils Network is warning that costs from the "surge of EHCPs that many councils have seen" could fuel council tax rises or further cuts to services unless more funding is secured. A Treasury memo seen by the paper shows that councils are continuing to face rising demand for EHCPs, with Haringey recording a 49 per cent year-on-year increase in January 2026 and Surrey receiving a record 413 requests in March, up 13 per cent on 2025. Four of the five councils included in the memo had previously received multimillion-pound government bailouts to help fund their SEND services. By Alexa Phillips.

Schoolchildren across England and Wales lost more than 15 million hours of teaching time during June's heatwave, according to new research conducted by investigative outlet DeSmog. It found at least 760,000 pupils missed lessons as soaring temperatures forced more than 1,700 schools to close completely or reduce their opening hours. Charlotte O’Regan, schools engagement lead at the Sutton Trust, warned that heat-related closures could widen educational inequality. "We saw a significant widening of the attainment gap during the pandemic, and we have to make sure that the weather doesn’t become yet another barrier holding back those worst off." she said. By Suha Kidwai, The Independent.

Fewer white British families are applying to grammar schools for fear their child would require intense tutoring to gain a place and be "hot-housed" when they are there, according to Chris Evans, head of Reading School in Berkshire. Speaking to The Sunday Times, Mr Evans said such applications to his school had "fallen spectacularly", with the proportion of white British pupils dropping from 49 per cent a decade ago to 13 per cent today, based on schools’ annual spring census data. Nationally, the proportion of white British pupils at grammar schools has fallen from 66 per cent to 44 per cent over the same period. By Louise Eccles and Yennah Smart.

In a letter to The Times on Saturday, Bonnie White from Somerset cited Wells Cathedral School, founded in 909, as "one of the oldest extant and continuously operated schools in the world". This prompted a response from a number of readers who have letters published in The Times today, including David Woodhead, national director of the Independent Schools Information Service from 1985 to 2004, who says the four oldest schools include The King's School, Canterbury founded in 597, King’s School Rochester in 604, and St Peter’s School, York in 627. Simon Tonking of Staffordshire likewise points to King’s Canterbury’s foundation in 597, while Colin Constable of Somerset also dates King’s Rochester to 604. Tricia Shuler from Chester notes that St Peter’s York, founded in 627, predates Wells Cathedral School by 282 years.
All letters appear at the bottom of the page.

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.