ISC Daily News Summary

Writing in Independent Schools Magazine, Edward Goodwill explores the rise in cyber threats against independent schools and offers advice on how schools can protect themselves. He says: "An ever-growing number of sophisticated hackers are targeting eminent UK schools, so prudent action now is required to reduce their likelihood of success." Edward Goodwill is a trustee of the UK Cyber Security Council.

The FDA union for public service professionals and civil servants has announced that its executive has approved a national strike ballot on pay for the first time in over 40 years, meaning senior Department for Education (DfE) staff and Ofsted inspectors will vote on the government’s civil service pay offer. By Freddie Whittaker, Schools Week.

Speaking to The Times ahead of the launch of a report for Ucas, Mike Nicholson, head of admissions at Cambridge University, said school leavers need to consider another option in light of intense competition for university places. Many students have been using their five Ucas choices to pick a limited range of universities, courses or grade expectations, Mr Nicholson explained. By Nicola Woolcock.

The Office of the Independent Adjudicator (OIA) received 2,850 complaints about university courses in England and Wales in 2022, three per cent more than the previous year and a record high for a fourth year running. Just under a quarter of the 2022 complaints related to the pandemic, while Universities UK said "the vast majority of students leave their degrees with highly positive experiences". By Hazel Shearing, BBC News.

Matthew Goodwin, professor of politics and international relations at the University of Kent, has said universities have become “ideological monocultures” that do not tolerate different opinions. Mr Goodwin's comments were made during a discussion on Planet Normal, a weekly Telegraph podcast featuring news and views on topical issues. By Gabriella Swerling, The Telegraph.

Dame Christine Lenehan, director of the Council for Disabled Children, has told iNews that some of the nation’s most vulnerable children are being “failed” by being placed into understaffed and potentially abusive residential homes and schools without effective protections. In her new official review, Dame Christine added that children, many of whom are non-verbal, are sometimes being placed in the care of staff who lack proper training. By Rob Hastings.