ISC Daily News Summary

A reader writes to The Telegraph arguing Labour does not appear to have undertaken any "meaningful risk assessment" of its plans to tax independent school fees. Urging the party to share details of its policy, he says: "The public needs to know what Labour thinks will be the effect of the subsequent loss of bursaries and support for lower-income groups; how many private schools will close; how many pupils will transfer to the already overloaded state system; how many teachers will lose their jobs and what the overall effect will be on educational achievement." The letter appears below halfway. 

In a House of Lords debate, Lord Lexden called for the government to "give vigorous support" to the increase and expansion of cross-sector school partnership schemes. Lord Lexden, president of the Independent Schools Association (ISA), asked: "My Lords, should we not note and comment the existence of nearly 1,700 partnership schemes through which state and independent schools are working together to develop the talents of their pupils in music and art subjects?" In response, Baroness Barran said: "I absolutely recognise the important work done by the 1,700 schemes and I hope we see many more in future." Hansard.

Laptops used in GCSE exams could leave the poorest pupils at an “unfair disadvantage”, senior associate at the Education Endowment Foundation Professor Robert Coe has warned. Responding to plans by the AQA to move towards online assessment, Professor Coe also said there was a question over whether keyboards were suitable for assessments in subjects like maths where pupils are tasked with working out fractions. By Jamie Bullen, The Telegraph. 

A YouGov poll, commissioned by the British Academy, has revealed that many adults feel ashamed for not being able to speak another language, while most believe languages should again become compulsory in school. Findings suggest numbers studying foreign languages at GCSE and A-level have significantly declined since they became optional 20 years ago, with German A-level entries down by two thirds and French A-level entries having more than halved. By Nicola Woolcock, The Times. 

Schools with the most effective headteachers see pupil progress boosted by an extra grade in two GCSE subjects, according to the findings of a landmark study by the Education Policy Institute (EPI). Researchers also found that more experienced leaders and those who stayed in the same school for several years saw a larger improvement in pupil outcomes. By Freddie Whittaker, Schools Week. 

Ministers have been told the language used in Ofsted reports needs to be “more supportive”, after union leaders said yesterday that bad rulings can be “career-shaming” for teachers and “career-ending” for leaders. By Genevieve Holl-Allen, The Telegraph. 

Tes looks at an apparent shift in parenting and a rising distrust that is impacting the relationship between parents and schools on both sides of the Atlantic. Peter Thackrey, deputy head (pastoral) at Bedales School, says the pandemic and an increased use of social media have left parents wanting the school to intervene in social matters more than it used to, prompting his team to create relevant parent workshops. Lucy Elphinstone, a former independent school headmistress, is also quoted. By Holly Korbey.