ISC Daily News Summary

The Independent reports on findings from the 2022 ISC Census, which show there are now a record number of pupils attending independent schools. The report shows there are 544,316 pupils at 1,388 schools in membership of the Independent Schools Council – a two per cent rise on the 2020 figures. By Catherine Lough. The article quotes Barnaby Lenon, chairman of the ISC.

The Department for Education (DfE) has encouraged school leaders to complete as many tutoring packages as possible before the end of August by adopting more flexible ways of using the National Tutoring Programme (NTP). By Matilda Martin, Tes.

Schools Week outlines the proposed changes to school funding revealed in the latest DfE consultation on plans for a hard “national funding formula”. By Freddie Whittaker.

Gareth Stockdale, CEO at Micro:bit Educational Foundation, writes in Independent Education Today suggesting that primary schools are key to bridging the digital skills gap in the UK workforce.

Jeffrey Boakye, an author and English teacher, writes in The Guardian discussing the current English curriculum and how it can be updated to "improve racial literacy".

Cressida Cowell, an author and children’s laureate, has renewed a call for the Government to invest £100m in primary school libraries, adding that libraries are "not only where you get books into the hands of children whose parents can’t afford them, but a space where parents can get involved in reading to their children". By Sarah Shaffi, The Guardian.

Independent School Management Plus interviews Will Goldsmith, head at Bedales School, on his headship and the future of examinations.

According to a new Scottish government survey, 68 per cent of employers who recruited a school leaver said they were very well or well prepared for work, compared to 58 per cent in 2019. By Emma Seith, Tes.