ISC Daily News Summary

During a House of Lords debate on the issue of charities and the national minimum wage, president of the Independent Schools Association Lord Lexden warned of the impact Labour's tax policy could have on smaller independent schools. Lord Lexden said: "My Lords, independent schools are not among the very smallest charities in our country but they are pretty small, with 75 per cent of them having fewer than 500 pupils and 25 per cent having fewer than 150. The issue that this Question raises will affect them. Will not the Labour Party’s proposal to slap 20 per cent VAT on their fees do them grave harm, forcing many of those small charities educating children and families in their local communities to close?" In response, Lord Parkinson of Whitley Bay said: "My noble friend speaks with great authority as the president of the Independent Schools Association, as he mentioned. He is right to point to the valuable work that independent schools do, not just for those they educate but for the community more widely, and to dangers of the policies advanced by the party opposite." Hansard.

The Telegraph features an extensive article looking at the financial assistance, such as bursaries and scholarships, available to families considering an independent education. Speaking to the paper, Dr Joseph Spence, master of Dulwich College, said: “I want a dialogue that says: 'If you are out there, whatever class you are, independent education can still be for you'." Stonyhurst College is highlighted as one example of a school offering support through its foundation, which aims to be the largest ring-fenced independent bursary and fee assistance charity of its kind in Catholic independent education in the UK. Several other schools in membership of the ISC's constituent associations are also mentioned. By Eleanor Doughty and Fran Ivens.

More children than ever are expected to miss out on their first-choice secondary school amid a rise in applications, analysis by the University of Buckingham suggests. More than half a million 10 and 11-year-olds will find out today which state secondary school has offered them a place, with one in five children in England and Wales expected to miss out on their preferred school. By Louisa Clarence-Smith and Ben Butcher, The Telegraph. 

Nearly one in five teaching assistant (TA) positions in England is currently vacant, according to figures obtained from local authorities by the GMB union. The union, which represents more than 100,000 school support staff, said the low pay of TAs is worsening classroom shortages. By Jane Merrick, iNews.

New analysis by Imperial College London has shown that obesity rates among UK schoolchildren have nearly tripled over the past three decades, with the sharpest rise seen in boys. Commenting on the findings, senior author of the study Professor Majid Ezzati said: “It is very concerning that the epidemic of obesity that was evident among adults in much of the world in 1990 is now mirrored in school-aged children and adolescents." By Eleanor Hayward, The Times.