ISC Daily News Summary

Moorlands School in West Yorkshire is to close at the end of the autumn term, citing the introduction of VAT on fees and rising costs for its "unsustainable position". The school, which first opened in 1898, said the decision to close was made "in the face of increasingly difficult economic conditions that are impacting many independent schools and show little sign of abating". By Grace Wood, BBC News. 

Parents with children at Bishop Challoner School in Bromley have launched a fundraising campaign in a bid to save the school from closure. Two weeks ago, the school announced it would close at the end of the academic year, with the VAT policy and rising living costs listed as contributing factors. Over a third of the pupil body have special educational needs, and there are concerns about how so many children will fit into alternative provision within the borough. By Cameron Blackshaw, Kent Online.

School leaders' unions are considering the "unprecedented step" of asking their members to quit as Ofsted inspectors in the autumn term unless the watchdog delays its roll-out of new inspections and makes changes to plans for a five-point grading scale. In a letter to Sir Martyn Oliver and education secretary Bridget Phillipson, ASCL and the NAHT said the proposed action "underlines the strength of feeling" about the reforms, which they warn will add "intolerable pressure" to schools and inspectors. Pepe Di'Iasio, general secretary of ASCL, said despite "voicing concerns repeatedly" the "timetable for implementation has actually got worse rather than better, and there has been no indication so far of likely movement on the five-point grading scale". He added: "It feels as though we have exhausted the potential for compromise through discussion, and that we have little option other than to consider this more direct form of action." Schools Week. 

An article in The Guardian explores the government's defence plans, which include a 30 per cent expansion of school- and community-based cadet forces by 2030. Alistair Carns, the Minister for Veterans and People, said the cadets are a "critical component" to increasing public understanding of defence. He added that the Ministry of Defence will be mapping out areas across the UK where the cadets can be expanded, with a view to increasing numbers from 140,000 to 180,000. By Ben Quinn. 

Two million parents are set to take their children out of the classroom for holidays this term amid the rising cost of trips during school breaks, new research suggests. According to a survey of 2,000 British adults, nearly a fifth of parents can no longer afford to take trips during the school holidays, while almost a quarter are willing to incur fines for cheaper term-time breaks. Since 2022, parents have paid a total of £41 million in fines for unauthorised term-time holidays. By Georgia Lambert, The Times. 

University graduates in the UK are facing the worst job market in seven years as employers pause hiring and use artificial intelligence (AI) to cut costs, figures suggest. According to the job search site Indeed, the number of roles advertised for recent graduates has dropped by 33 per cent since last year, and is at its lowest level since 2018. Jack Kennedy, a senior economist at Indeed, said: "Despite the UK labour market holding out overall, new entrants like graduates face a challenging time in securing a first rung on the ladder. This signals a wider landscape of employers holding on to existing staff, while some observers contend that entry-level roles in professional occupations are particularly exposed to AI displacement." By Lauren Almeida, The Guardian. 

Writing in Tes, Margaret Mulholland, the special educational needs and inclusion specialist at ASCL, argues schools should be encouraging young people to develop healthy habits in their digital consumption. Calling for "a more measured approach" to tackling issues associated with children's use of technology, Ms Mulholland puts forward the concept of "digital nutrition". She writes: "Just as we teach young people to make healthy food choices, digital nutrition encourages balanced engagement with technology and social platforms." The idea behind digital nutrition, she explains, is to encourage young people to think more critically about the content they consume, helping them learn to recognise and question the origins of what they see on their screens.