ISC Daily News Summary

During a debate in the House of Commons yesterday on independent schools and the regulation of proprietors, MPs called for tighter regulation and greater transparency over the ownership of independent schools following the sudden closure of three independent schools (Malvern St James School, Durham High School, and Ruthin School). 

Labour MP for Durham Mary Kelly Foy raised the "hugely concerning issue" of the sudden closure of Durham High School, which was owned by Galaxy Global Education (GGE). "This is not an isolated incident; there is a clear pattern across the country," she warned. Becky Gittins, Labour MP for Clwyd East, then referred to the recent closure of Ruthin School, also owned by GGE. "As of last week, with the abrupt closure of the school... parents were left bewildered, having prepaid for the next term, and staff were left without any employment rights discussions or proper redundancy processes. Most importantly, students were left devastated, not knowing about their future," Ms Gittins said, adding: "This is a really important call for more transparency and the ability to hold any such organisations that propose to educate our young people to account." Hansard. 

"Clunky" artificial intelligence (AI) tutoring tools risk "burdening" teachers with "low-level work", MPs were warned yesterday. Professor Neil Selwyn, of Monash University in Australia, referred to AI tools already in use in the United States when he told the Commons Education Select Committee that "teachers are having to do a huge amount of behind-the-scenes work to keep the technology working". The committee is exploring how AI is reshaping the world of work and learning in light of ministers' plans to introduce AI tutors at the end of next year. By Cerys Turner, Tes. 

Some 332,000 fewer children were in school on Monday morning than a week earlier, according to initial figures, as attendance fell following England's 3-2 World Cup win over Mexico. Scaled up using Department for Education figures to match the total pupil population, the data suggests absences were higher among secondary pupils. The estimate excludes pupils in Years 11 and 13, most of whom have already left school after finishing their exams. Michael Goodier and Sally Weale, The Guardian. 

Bridget Phillipson, the education secretary, is expected to call for benefit claimants who are not working to be given free childcare when she delivers a speech at the University of Oxford's Ruskin College later today. The government's offer of 30 free nursery hours a week usually only applies to children aged between nine months and four years if both parents are working. Addressing delegates, Ms Phillipson will describe an extension to government-funded childcare for low-income families as "a big opportunity that we must be bold enough to take, to build, one day, a future of universal early years". The Telegraph.

Writing in Tes, Christian Bokhove, a maths professor at the University of Southampton, considers the benefits of cognitive load theory (CLT). Coined in 1988, the theory suggests that the mental effort required for learning affects how new information is processed and stored, and as such can help teachers plan learning tasks. On its role going forward, Professor Bokhove concludes that CLT is generally useful for teachers, but adds that it "should only ever be considered a 'rule of thumb' because the theory does not give precise pointers about the best way to teach a topic".

Liberal Democrat schools spokesperson Caroline Voaden writes in Schools Week to explain why she is calling for a curriculum and assessment review that includes outdoor learning. Highlighting the mental health crisis facing young people today, she says "there isn't a subject on the curriculum that can't be enhanced by outdoor learning", but warns that trainee teachers must be supported in incorporating it into their training.