ISC Daily News Summary

Grammar schools are preparing for an influx of independent school children as parents try to avoid the Labour Party’s plans to tax education, The Telegraph reports. Mark Francois, Conservative MP for Rayleigh and Wickford, said: “In reality, all this would do is make such schools unaffordable for all but the wealthiest parents, with the others then likely to swamp local, already heavily oversubscribed grammar schools with applications."  By Madeleine Ross, Ollie Corfe, and Genevieve Holl-Allen. 

The sex education curriculum is “failing young people”, MPs have warned. The Women and Equalities Committee said: “In the absence of authoritative advice, young people are learning about sex and sexual health from online sources, social media and pornography. This exposes children to an unacceptable risk of harm.” Caroline Nokes MP, chair of the Women and Equalities Committee, said there is “compelling evidence that RSE in schools is inadequate, including in relation to contraception and STIs, with nearly half of children saying education in this area is so poor they rely on finding information for themselves online”. By Tes reporter.

A call for the creation of “a cohesion and conflict unit” to support teachers facing harassment has been cautiously welcomed by school leaders. The proposal was made in a review by Dame Sara Khan, the government’s independent adviser for social cohesion and resilience, which also includes a call for 150-metre “buffer zones” around schools to prevent “intimidatory” protests. Geoff Barton, the general secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders, said the idea of a specialist unit sounded “helpful”, but added that the plans would “require further thought”. By Sally Weale, The Guardian.

Gemma Buley, interim principal at Thames Valley School, writes in Schools Week on seven tried-and-tested learning approaches to help autistic students achieve their potential and have the best possible experience of exam season.

"There are fears AI could kill off language learning for good, but technology could actually be its saviour", writes Dr Stephen Burley, head master of King's High School in Warwick, in School Management Plus. He continues: "There will still be an important place for traditional language teaching and learning, though this will inevitably sit alongside a more immersive, technologically-driven form of language learning co-ordinated by an expert."