ISC Daily News Summary

New research from accountancy firm Azets suggests one in five independent schools could shut within three years owing to the government's VAT policy. Lesser-known independent schools, especially those outside London and the South East, are expected to be hit hardest by the tax changes. Duncan Swift, partner and restructuring expert at Azets, said: "There is not enough time for schools to adjust, it will be a mess, it could cause significant disruption for pupils in both private and state school sectors." By John-Paul Ford Rojas, Daily Mail.

Speaking to The Independent, several parents share their experience of trying to secure state school places for their children before VAT is added to independent school fees. Dean Piper, of the parental campaign group Education Not Taxation, said: "There's a lot of upset, especially from people who've already paid for the September term and don't want to lose a term's fees. There is pressure on parents to act quickly and local authority and school admission processes aren't set up to support it." By Lucy Denyer.

Three in five schools rated "Requires Improvement" last year had two or more "Good" or better sub-grades, suggesting some parents will see a more positive overall picture of their child's school now that Ofsted's headline grades have been scrapped. Analysis from FFT Education Datalab found that nearly all "Outstanding" schools had the same grade in the four sub-judgements, compared to 70 per cent for "Good" schools, 20 per cent for "Requires Improvement" and 25 per cent for "Inadequate". By Samantha Booth, Schools Week. 

Tes outlines six questions that remain for schools about the incoming changes to Ofsted's inspection system. By John Roberts and Cerys Turner. A separate Tes article considers whether the new report card system might mirror accountability models seen in other parts of the public sector, specifically the police and fire services. By Ellen Peirson-Hagger.

A new report from OCR is calling for a "rebalancing" of assessment "away from a sole reliance on exams at 16", an updated curriculum, and the creation of an independent body responsible for keeping it relevant. The exam board has also warned that the volume and intensity of GCSE exams in England is "too high", with students spending around 31.5 hours sitting exams. By George Lithgow, The Independent. 

An article in The Telegraph features an interactive tool enabling readers to compare the GCSE performance of independent schools across the country. The piece references a quote from ISC chairman Barnaby Lenon, who said the results showed "children in independent schools did especially well", adding: "It is a great pity that the application of VAT is going to make these very good independent schools less accessible." By Ben Butcher and Poppy Wood.  

The Sutton Trust has called for urgent action to ensure that school intakes reflect their local communities, with many comprehensive schools admitting far lower proportions of disadvantaged pupils than live in their catchment area. The social mobility charity has warned that this trend can result in high levels of socioeconomic segregation, which in turn is associated with bigger attainment gaps. By Matilda Martin, Tes.