Peter Hyman, an adviser to Tony Blair and free school founder, has called for a 'human-maxxing' revolution to prevent children from outsourcing critical faculties. His comments come after Sir Anthony Seldon criticised the Department for Education for not embracing artificial intelligence (AI), saying the UK's education system is trying to teach for an "AI-less world that no longer exists". In a lecture at the Royal Society of Arts, Mr Hyman said: "We cannot expect young people to be match fit for the future if we neglect the foundations of their wellbeing. Human-maxxing means giving them the support, experiences and tools to get into the right habits so they can shape their own lives." Echoing concerns around the future of AI, head of digital strategy at Wellington College Education Alice Gisborne is also quoted in The Times, saying pupils need to be taught AI literacy before the age of 13 so they learn to be ethical "users" rather than passive consumers of technology. By Nicola Woolcock and Georgia Lambert. 

In an exclusive interview with Tes, Helen Hayes, chair of the Commons Education Select Committee, said schools "urgently need" an AI framework. "What impact is AI having in our education system? What are the opportunities to be grasped through it? But also what are the risks, and how does our education system need to be recalibrated?" she asked, before adding: "I don’t think the government has got that framework in place yet." By Cerys Turner. 

A leading article in The Times provides commentary on the report co-authored by Sir Anthony Seldon and Tim Bunting warning that schools face a "crisis of relevance" if they do not adapt to the rise of AI's. The paper urges the government to listen to the report's authors, arguing that "AI threatens to make traditional education seem pointless" and risks discouraging learning.

Ministers' plans for devolved education should have funding set for 10-year periods to ensure the most significant impact, an evaluation of the Conservatives' opportunity areas programme by the University of Bath, University of Bristol and Durham University has found. The evaluation of the programme, a £108 million intervention that ran from 2017 to 2022 and sought to close regional gaps in education and skills, comes as prime minister Andy Burnham plans to "rewire the state" and give regional mayors control over local education pathways. By Ruth Lucas, Schools Week.

Children as young as 13 are taking ketamine for fun, data suggests, with girls most likely to seek help for associated health problems. Young people referred to a specialist clinic for ketamine-related bladder conditions at Alder Hey Children’s NHS Foundation Trust in Liverpool had an average age of 14, while deaths involving the drug rose from 15 in 2014 to 197 in 2024. Harriet Corbett, a consultant ­paediatric urologist at Alder Hey Children’s NHS Foundation Trust, said: "The damage caused by ketamine can be devastating", but stressed it was avoidable. "This problem is preventable. ­Understanding more about the young people who are presenting to us is an important step towards ­preventing further harm", she added. By Polly Koronka, The Times. 

In an article for Tes, education reporter Holly Korbey considers whether homework should be reconsidered in an age of teacher overwork, chronic absenteeism and changing family dynamics. She speaks to a number of experst who share their experiences and views on the issue, including Joyce Epstein, co-director of the Center on School, Family, and Community Partnerships at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Maryland, in the US, who says the key message guiding a school's approach must be: "Don’t just set homework for homework’s sake."

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.