ISC Daily News Summary

The Daily Mail reports that Labour's VAT on fees policy is in "disarray", as school staff have been unable to register for VAT on the HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) website. Those logging on have been told they must have a ‘company number’ to register, but because they are charities they do not have one. One advisor admitted to an accountant working for a school: "We don’t seem to have the systems in place to facilitate what we are requesting fee paying schools to do." After being contacted by the paper, HMRC said it had issued new training to its advisors this week on how to handle the situation, which involves registering online as a ‘charitable incorporated organisation’. Urging ministers to clarify their policy and reiterating calls for the tax to be delayed, chief executive of the Independent Schools' Bursars Association (ISBA) David Woodgate said: "It is not too late for the government to make a rational, pragmatic decision to defer implementation until next September, in the best interests both of schools and HMRC who clearly need more time to get their systems and processes up to speed and enable finance teams in schools to comply with the new regulations." By Eleanor Harding.

During Prime Minister's Questions (PMQs) in the House of Commons yesterday, Conservative MP for Solihull West and Shirley Dr Neil Shastri-Hurst said: "In the past week, there have been reports that more schools are slated for closure as a direct consequence of the Prime Minister’s ideologically driven policy to introduce VAT on school fees and increase national insurance contributions. This pattern will be seen up and down the country and will lead to staff being unemployed and pupils and parents being cast adrift. Will the Prime Minister do the decent thing, abandon this policy and apologise to those affected?"

A new report from the Girls’ Day School Trust (GDST) has called upon co-educational schools to review and improve how girls are being educated. Designing the Future of Girls’ Education, which has been created by experts, researchers, teachers, students, and campaigners, lays out how schools can unlock girls’ potential through a framework of practical steps. Commenting on the report, chief executive of the GDST Cheryl Giovannoni said: "I hope these new insights will spark action for schools to educate the next generation of girls with tried and tested principles that will enable them to achieve their full potential.” Independent School Management Plus.

Parents are living in fear of nurseries increasing their fees as a result of recent Budget measures, including rises to the minimum wage and National Insurance costs, research by Pregnant Then Screwed suggests. The campaign group surveyed 3,847 parents who currently have a child in nursery in the UK and found that nine in 10 parents feel stressed about potential childcare increases, with a quarter (24 per cent) saying they will have to leave the workforce if costs increase by 10 per cent. Speaking to iNews, parent of two pre-school children Gurpreet Virdee said: “It is getting to the point where it just isn’t sustainable and it has put us into debt.” By Aasma Day.

Women do not do as well as men in Oxbridge exams because of premenstrual syndrome (PMS), a report by the Higher Education Policy Institute (HEPI) has suggested. The think tank found that women at Oxbridge secure more upper second-class degrees while their male peers gain more firsts as well more lower second-class degrees and thirds. Researchers said exam-heavy degrees favoured by Oxbridge disadvantaged women suffering from PMS. The Telegraph.

Writing in Tes, Anne Longfield argues that schools need to be able to give children of all ages a chance to explore, create and have fun in order to improve their wellbeing. Urging schools to "reprioritise the role of play in our children's lives", Ms Longfield says playtime can have a "transformational effect" on pupils' behaviour and confidence. Anne Longfield OBE is chair of the Commission on Young Lives and a former children’s commissioner for England.