ISC Daily News Summary

The country's biggest union, the National Education Union (NEU), has said it is “prepared to recommend a pause” to its executive regarding forthcoming strike action as long as “substantive progress” is made in discussions this week. The education secretary, Gillian Keegan, wrote to unions yesterday inviting them to further talks on the condition that strikes next Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday are cancelled. By Freddie Whittaker, Schools Week.

The Association of Headteachers and Deputes in Scotland (AHDS), Scotland’s primary school leaders’ organisation, has said it will not take part in the national strikes planned for next week after members voted to accept the pay offer made by the Government and council leaders last week. By Emma Seith, Tes.

A revised pay offer made by the Welsh Government has been rejected by the NASUWT. The union's general secretary, Dr Patrick Roach, said the offer "represents a further real terms pay cut for teachers". BBC News.

Figures calculated by the Trades Union Congress (TUC) suggest female teachers work 81 days a year for free, with teachers and school staff in England reportedly facing the second biggest gender pay gap of any sector. According to the analysis across all sectors, today, 23 February, is the date when the average woman “stops working for free” compared with the average man. By Matilda Martin, Tes.

According to figures obtained by the Labour Party, the Government spent £10.54 million on UK independent school fees for the children of top diplomats last year. Under the longstanding Continuity of Education Allowance scheme, senior Foreign Office employees who may be posted abroad at short notice can apply to have up to 90 per cent of their children's school fees subsidised to avoid disruption to their education. By Ione Wells, BBC News.

NHS plans to deal with serious staff shortages could see the number of medical school places double and thousands of apprentice doctors being trained on the job. An NHS workforce plan, expected to be published in March, warns the health service will be short of more than half a million staff unless training is boosted and changes are made to the recruitment of frontline professionals. By Chris Smyth, The Times.

According to figures obtained by the National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children (NSPCC) charity, the number of child abuse image offences recorded by police has risen by 22 per cent in a year to a record 30,925 in 2022. Snapchat is reportedly responsible for three times as many child abuse image offences as any other social media platform. By Charles Hymas, The Telegraph.

Writing in Tes, Andrew Lewer calls for school uniform to be treated as essential clothing and for VAT to be removed from it. Mr Lewer says: "The Spring Budget is the right time to abolish VAT on school-specific uniform items and help support families in every part of the country." Andrew Lewer is MP for Northampton South, a member of the Education Select Committee and chair of the APPG on Independent Education.

Home, a short film inspired by the experiences of child refugees and produced in response to the war in Ukraine, is to be shown to primary school children across the UK to mark the one-year anniversary of the invasion. By Aine Fox, The Independent.