ISC Daily News Summary

Headteachers and volunteers are among those featured in the 2026 New Year Honours list. John Towers, head of Barrow Hills School, and Kathryn Anne Crewe-Read, former headteacher of Bishop’s Stortford College, have been appointed Members of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) for services to education. John Melvyn, a volunteer at Wolverhampton Grammar School, has been awarded a British Empire Medal (BEM), also for services to education. The full list is available at gov.uk. By Freddie Whittaker, Schools Week. 

The decline in reading is a threat to British national security as it leaves pupils more vulnerable to Russian disinformation, Bridget Phillipson has warned. In an article for The Telegraph, the education secretary expressed alarm over the stark fall in the number of younger people picking up books for pleasure. According to the National Literacy Trust, just 33 per cent of children aged over eight say they enjoy reading in their free time, down from 51 per cent two decades ago. The Department for Education has joined with the trust to declare 2026 a "national year of reading", with events being arranged in a concerted campaign to reverse the trend. Ms Phillipson's article, 'We need a generation of readers', appears directly after the news story, which is by Ben Riley-Smith.

Proposals to curb special needs rights could have "catastrophic implications for children and families", campaigners have warned. Under plans to transfer responsibility to schools, parents’ legal rights over their children’s special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) support are set to be removed for all but the most severe and complex cases. The changes being considered would raise the evidence threshold for gaining an education, health and care plan (EHCP) to exclude more moderate conditions, and would mean hundreds of thousands of children who would previously have been granted the plans would be placed under a different system of support. In a message to its members on social media, parents' campaign group Send Action wrote: "Get ready to fight back." By Max Kendix, The Times. 

Children are to be vaccinated against chickenpox for the first time to reduce hospital admissions. From today, GP practices will offer a combined MMRV jab at 12 and 18 months of age, adding protection against chickenpox to existing measles, mumps and rubella vaccines. While usually mild, chickenpox can cause serious complications requiring hospital treatment, and around 20 children die from the condition each year. By Sarah Knapton, The Telegraph.