ISC Daily News Summary

Education secretary Gillian Keegan has said schools will be required to maintain a minimum level of service during strikes, under government plans to limit disruption to children's education. Paul Whiteman, general secretary of the NAHT, has described the move as an "overtly hostile act" and "an attack on the basic democratic freedoms of school leaders and teachers". By Neil Johnston, The Telegraph. 

University of Oxford candidates were unable to sit entrance tests properly due to issues with an online assessment. Dr David James, the deputy head of Lady Eleanor Holles School, is quoted saying: "What schools experienced today was unacceptable... Until awarding bodies, and universities, can prove categorically that online exams are glitch free then pen and paper will remain the most reliable, cheapest, and secure, option." By Nicola Woolcock, The Times. 

The university has said it will not use results from the online admissions tests to award places on next year's English courses, after sixth formers experienced issues with the new system displaying incorrect questions, repeatedly crashing, and failing to record answers. By Richard Adams, The Guardian. 

According to The Observer, the Department for Education (DfE) has been monitoring the social media accounts of "dozens" of teaching staff, including teaching assistants, and is keeping files on posts that criticise education policies. In response, a number of educators have submitted subject access requests compelling the DfE to release any information it holds under their name. By Anna Fazackerley. 

Professor Alexis Jay, chairwoman of the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse (IICSA), has said she feels the government has failed to make any significant progress in the year since she published her report, and that she is "hugely disappointed" as a result. By Jeremy Ball, BBC News. 

According to a DfE survey of parents, a quarter of pupils absent from school in June were off due to anxiety or mental health problems. The findings have prompted school leaders to call on the government to "redouble" efforts to address the growing problem. By Matilda Martin, Tes. 

Magdalen College School has written to Oxfordshire County Council asking councillors to alter three low traffic neighbourhoods (LTNs) in the east of the city, warning that congestion caused by the schemes has reduced the number of sports trips pupils attend and forced some teachers to resign. By Steve Bird, The Telegraph.