ISC Daily News Summary

Tory MP, Nickie Aiken, has urged independent schools to ramp up their “due diligence” of prospective Russian parents to ensure they are not accepting money from individuals linked to the Kremlin. In response, Julie Robinson, chief executive of the Independent Schools Council (ISC), said: “We work with the Home Office and other agencies to encourage vigilance against illicit wealth and ensure reporting is carried out as required under relevant laws and regulations, and the Independent Schools’ Bursars Association provides schools with guidance verified by legal experts to further support them.” By Will Hazell, iNews.

In a separate article, iNews reports that British independent schools are grappling with the impact of the crisis in Ukraine on their international pupils. The article quotes Dr Simon Hyde, general secretary of the Headmasters’ and Headmistresses’ Conference, Robin Fletcher, chief executive of the Boarding Schools’ Association, and Barnaby Lenon, ISC chairman.

iNews. features advice from experts on how to talk to young people about the crisis in Ukraine. By Kasia Delgado.

New government guidance states that schools should make their own decisions and use “reasonable judgement” when choosing whether to turn away children with COVID symptoms in cases where parents “insist” they attend. By Callum Mason, Tes.

According to a new study by the company Steer Education and the social enterprise Minds Ahead, girls are more than twice as likely to suffer mental health problems by the age of 18 than boys. The study also found that eight in 10 girls hide their distress from their family and teachers. By Emma Yeomans, The Times.

The education secretary has been told that obesity can be as much a sign of child abuse as starvation by the coroner who conducted an inquest into the death of a 13-year-old boy who was too overweight to be operated on. By George Sandeman, The Times.

Lord Baker of Dorking, a Conservative peer and former education secretary, writes for The Times on the resurgence of set numbers on pupil places in schools.

According to Schools Week, the Government has been accused of “gaming the figures” on its flagship breakfast clubs scheme after it emerged that more than half of the clubs involved so far are not new. By Freddie Whittaker.

The comic ‘The Beano’ has launched an initiative designed to encourage families to go to the library and have fun reading out loud, after a poll found evidence to suggest that reading for pleasure and access to libraries is in decline. By Nicola Woolcock, The Times.