ISC Daily News Summary

COVID cases have fallen among almost every age group except school children and their parents. Professor Christina Pagel, director of Clinical Operational Research at University College London (UCL), said “we essentially have two epidemics going on right now, one is in school children and their parents’ generation, and those are the only age groups which are going up". By Thomas Saunders, iNews.

Suffolk County Council is believed to have become the first council to introduce different rules for vaccinated and unvaccinated children. The move was met with criticism from some parents, with Arabella Skinner, a director of the parent campaign group UsForThem, saying the decision introduced “clear discrimination” against unvaccinated children. By Camilla Turner, The Telegraph.

Some headteachers and parents have described the COVID vaccination programme for teenagers as "haphazard" and "incredibly slow", after Nadhim Zahawi admitted that he does not know how many 12 to 15-year-olds have received their jabs. By Sally Weale and Nicola Davis, The Guardian.

Headteachers' unions have warned Nadhim Zahawi of concerns that the tracing of COVID contacts is not happening among school pupils when cases arise. By John Roberts, Tes.

Paul Whiteman, general secretary of the National Association of Head Teachers (NAHT), has urged the education secretary to listen to teachers on education recovery to avoid further "mistakes and U-turns". By John Roberts, Tes.

Cambridgeshire schools have been asked to reintroduce face masks after a surge in COVID cases. BBC News.

ISS, one of the largest canteen suppliers in the UK, has written to schools telling them to stock up on frozen and tinned food to ensure that children are properly fed over the winter. By Eleanor Sly, The Independent.

Nearly 500 primary schools in Lancashire have offered pupils a cut-back lunch menu as a result of food driver shortages. By Samantha Booth, Schools Week.

Data from the Institute for Fiscal Studies reveals that the gap between independent school fees and state school spending per pupil in England has more than doubled over the past decade. BBC News.

Rudi Eliott Lockhart, chief executive of the Independent Schools Association, spoke to Jenny Kleeman on Times Radio Breakfast this morning discussing the new data on the gap between independent school fees and state school spending. His interview can be found at 01:14:57.

The Independent Schools Magazine features a review of Labour’s plan to remove independent schools’ charitable status. The article quotes Julie Robinson, chief executive of the Independent Schools Council, Dr Simon Hyde, general secretary of the Headmasters’ and Headmistresses’ Conference (HMC), and Richard Backhouse, HMC chair for 2021-22 and head of Berkhamsted School.

Headteachers have urged the education secretary to end the teacher pay freeze after Nadhim Zahawi revealed he was in negotiations with the Treasury over a pay award. By Will Hazell, iNews.

The NAHT has called on the Government to act on the worsening wellbeing of headteachers caused by heavy workloads. Tim Bowen, the union’s president, has warned that teachers “cannot keep pouring from an empty cup”. Schools Week.

Peter Green, executive headmaster of the Rugby School Group, writes in Independent School Management Plus arguing that “all students should have an equal chance of admission” into Oxbridge universities, regardless of where they went to school.

Duolingo founder and chief executive Luis von Ahn plans to launch a new mathematics version of the language-learning app aimed at children. His goal is to compete with other popular apps among young people such as TikTok and Instagram. By Dougal Shaw, BBC News.