ISC Daily News Summary

A letter written to Gavin Williamson, which has been signed by the NEU, the NASUWT and a coalition of nearly 20 scientists from leading universities, is urging the education secretary to avoid scrapping the requirement for older students to wear face coverings because of the risks of long COVID for staff and students. By Catherine Lough, Tes.

NHS officials are drafting a plan to begin offering secondary school pupils the Pfizer vaccine from September. By Ben Spencer, The Sunday Times. According to The Telegraph, Geoff Barton, general secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders (ASCL), has said education leaders would help facilitate a vaccine roll-out at schools around the country. By Camilla Turner.

The Times reports on comments by Sandra Leaton Gray, associate professor of education at University College London’s Institute of Education, who has claimed the youngest secondary school pupils could be kept in bubbles away from older children to protect them from stress and bullies - citing research which found that segregating pupils into year groups during the pandemic had had an unexpected benefit for those in Year 7. By Nicola Woolcock.

A group of academics and psychologists are calling for students and staff in both primary and secondary schools to receive “compassion-based training and coaching” as part of catch-up plans being drawn up by Sir Kevan Collins. By Zoe Tidman, The Independent.

The Telegraph looks at the impact the pandemic is expected to have on this year's school sports days, suggesting parents are unlikely to be able to attend events held before 21 June. By Sam Hall.

Budget pressures and funding uncertainty are pushing England's remaining state nursery schools to the brink of extinction, according to a survey by Early Education and the sector’s leading unions, including Unison and the National Education Union. By Richard Adams, The Guardian.

According to The Telegraph, a "city worker exodus" has resulted in a surge in applications to independent schools in suburban areas. By Camilla Turner. The article references several schools in membership of the ISC's constituent associations and quotes Guy Holloway, headmaster of Hampton Court House, Heather Hanbury, headmistress of Lady Eleanor Holles School, and Tyrone Howe, headmaster of Shiplake College.

Tes rounds up all of the winners at this year's Tes Independent School Awards. By Joshua Lowe. St Peter's School in York was crowned 'Independent school of the year'.

Independent Education Today talks to experts in the financial field to find out how schools should innovate to secure a sustainable future. By Nicky Adams.

The Sunday Times reports that ministers are under pressure to change the law and introduce mandatory reporting in schools to improve safeguarding and tackle sexual abuse. By Emily Dugan and Anna Hollingsworth. The article quotes the chief executive of the Boarding Schools' Association, Robin Fletcher, who wrote a letter to the paper. The letter can be read about halfway down the page.

Jane Lunnon, headteacher of Alleyn’s School, writes to The Times saying that if schools are to succeed in helping combat the problem around sexual attitudes towards women and girls, they must listen to young people and "not simply apply new codes of conduct in a 'top down' manner". The letter can be read about two thirds of the way down the page.

Schools and children’s choirs around the world are being encouraged to record their own version of a song about climate change and poverty, which was written by Sir Tim Rice and designed to be sung to G7 leaders at their annual summit in Cornwall next month. By Dipesh Gadher, The Sunday Times.

The Guardian has published its view on the education secretary's announcement that he wants all schools in England to become academies. Sarah Raffray, headteacher of St Augustine’s Priory, Ealing, has written to the paper in response to the announcement, saying: "This is a terrifying moment for individual freedom and parents’ right to choose from a range of schools." The letter can be found at the top of the page.