ISC Daily News Summary

BBC News reports thousands of pupils across Scotland are off school, as members of the SSTA and NASUWT unions are taking strike action today and tomorrow as part of an ongoing pay dispute.

Harriet Williamson writes in The Independent in response to Labour's pledge to add VAT to independent school fees. She argues "it must be much easier to stand by your belief that all kids should go to state schools if - like Keir Starmer - you live a stone's throw from an "outstanding" one".

Tes takes a closer look at new guidance from the Department for Education (DfE) on how schools can be energy efficient. By Callum Mason.

The SafeLives charity has called for better training for teachers delivering relationship and sex education (RSE) lessons. New poll findings from the charity suggest "a notable lack of training, resources and time" means that the delivery of RSE in schools in "patchy and inconsistent". By Rhodri Morgan, Tes.

Several MPs and peers visited a school in south London to sit SATs tests taken by 11-year-olds in Year 6. The Times reports only 44 per cent of the politicians reached the expected level for a primary school child in maths, while 50 per cent were at the expected level in spelling, punctuation and grammar. The event was organised by More Than a Score, a group that is campaigning for changes to school assessment. By Nicola Woolcock.

New analysis by the Scottish Qualifications Authority (SQA) has found that the rate of appeal of this year's exam results was 20.1 per cent in the least deprived parts of Scotland, and 15.7 per cent in the most deprived areas. The analysis also found that independent schools had a higher appeal rate this year than state schools, and their appeals were more likely to be successful. By Emma Seith, Tes.

Schools Week summarises new insights from the National Foundation for Educational Research's (NFER) teacher retention and recruitment dashboard, amid reports that the school staffing crisis is set to worsen. By Amy Walker.

The DfE has said that special schools will be "guaranteed" a funding boost from April next year, adding that a "new condition" will be introduced to ensure a proportionate share of the £400 million extra high needs funding reaches special schools. By Samantha Booth, Schools Week.