ISC Daily News Summary

Malvern St James School in Worcestershire is to close amid increasing financial pressures caused in part by the introduction of the VAT on fees policy. The school was taken over by The Galaxy Global Education Group in February last year. Its new owners previously said they planned to continue the school's legacy and ethos but in April announced it would be closing due to financial challenges. All proposals to take on the school were explored but none would give "sufficient certainty" to the school's long-term future, a spokesperson for Galaxy Global said. By David Lumb and Shannen Headley, BBC News. 

News of the closure of Malvern St James has also been covered by The Telegraph in the context of a wider article about foreign buyers of UK independent schools. Lucy Harris, a former Brexit Party member of the European Parliament, told BBC Politics Live last week she thinks the issue poses a security threat. "You have foreign investors buying up independent and public schools who have access to our educational institutions," she said, adding: "I'm worried about that back door for foreign investors getting into our educational systems because the Labour Party has increased taxes." By Albert Tait.

As Prince George prepares to go to Eton College this September, The Times looks at the impact of rising costs, falling international demand and changing attitudes to parenting on all-boys traditional boarding schools. Mark Broadway, owner of Moyles Court School, a coeducational day and boarding school in the New Forest that is to close this summer after 63 years, tells the paper the economics of low-fee boarding had become unsustainable under Labour’s policies. "We tried to absorb some of the cost of 20 per cent VAT, but with the increase in teachers’ pension contributions, national insurance and minimum wage, it was about a 30 per cent hit in one year. As a small school with no economies of scale, the Labour government has closed us down," he says. By Nicola Woolcock and Georgia Lambert. 

A number of schools in membership of the ISC's constituent associations are mentioned in this weekend's coverage.

Schools should not conflate bad pupil behaviour with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND), education secretary Bridget Phillipson has warned. Her comments come ahead of guidance being published tomorrow, which is expected to make it clear that pupils must never be removed from the classroom to an inclusion base as a form of punishment. In an interview with The Times, Ms Phillipson said: "Every child deserves to walk into school feeling like they belong there, and confident they will get the help they need to succeed. Inclusion bases, used properly, will be pivotal. The days of using these spaces as a sanction are over." By Nicola Woolcock.

On the issue of the government's SEND reforms, iNews looks at what Greater Manchester's former mayor, Andy Burnham, could mean for education, particularly special needs provision, should he become prime minister. Speaking to the paper earlier this month, Mr Burnham said he wants to overhaul support for SEND, warning that children "find their needs are not met and they drift away from the labour market". In December, he told PoliticsHome that the SEND system should eventually "move away from" education, health and care plans (EHCPs) since they add "much greater fragmentation to an already fragmented landscape". By Alexa Phillips.