ISC Daily News Summary

The briefs of the new ministers at the Department for Education (DfE) have been confirmed following the reshuffle almost two weeks ago. The appointments include Gillian Keegan (education secretary), Nick Gibb (schools minister), Baroness Barran (academies minister), Robert Halfon (skills minister) and Claire Coutinho (junior minister for children, families and wellbeing). By Freddie Whittaker, Schools Week.

A voluntary exit pay-out scheme for DfE employees without the “skills the department needs for the future” has been created, as the Government looks to reduce around 10 per cent of its workforce. Eligible staff will be offered three weeks’ salary per year of service to leave in May 2023. By Samantha Booth, Schools Week.

A long-running dispute over pay, working conditions and pensions will see over 70,000 lecturers and other staff at 150 universities striking on 24, 25 and 30 November. The Telegraph.

The University and College Union (UCU) has said the strikes will be "on a scale never seen before" and could impact 2.5 million students, but that action 'could be avoided if employers make improved offers'. By Andy Gregory, The Independent.

Writing in Independent School Management Plus, Irfan H Latif, principal at DLD College London, outlines his hope that the appointment of Rishi Sunak as the new prime minister will 'spark more diversity at the top of independent schools'. Mr Latif references the work of the Independent School Council's (ISC) Inclusion and Diversity Group, which he co-founded, saying: "This is a unique group bringing together a diverse range of opinions and thoughts to make a difference in the sector."

Analysis has suggested that more than half of academy trusts in England could fall into deficit within two years if they do not receive additional financial support. Increasing class sizes, reducing curriculums and closing facilities in specialist and alternative provision (AP) schools are measures that trusts are already considering in order to make savings. By Amy Walker, Schools Week.

Schools Week reports that former education secretary Nicky Morgan is to chair the Careers and Enterprise Company, an organisation she established in 2014 while in government that aims to boost careers guidance in schools. By Freddie Whittaker.

A tribunal has heard that an attempt by Mermaids, the trans children's charity, to remove the charitable status of the LGB Alliance is “profoundly homophobic”. Mermaids has claimed that the organisation is 'merely a front for transphobia'. By Hayley Dixon, The Telegraph.