ISC Daily News Summary

Sir Anthony Seldon, author, historian, former headteacher, and founding director of Wellington College Education, was interviewed alongside Daisy Christodoulou, director of education at online educational platform No More Marking, on BBC Radio 4's Today programme yesterday morning in light of the publication of last week's Pisa rankings, which have sparked a fresh debate about the way children are taught. The interview opened with a discussion of England's approach to the curriculum, which has emphasised content as opposed to Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland's focus on skills. Sir Anthony told presenter Jonny Diamond that England has performed "pretty well" in Pisa, but on the question of whether it has done well enough he said the answer is "categorically no". Referencing some of the "necessary" teaching methods used to drive up results in the three schools he has led, which include "knowledge-rich [teaching], expectations and rigour", Sir Anthony then warned that these alone are not sufficient. "Culture has gone down", he said, adding that "the arts have shrunk because of the focus on meeting the Pisa test", while noting that persistent absence has also become an alarming issue "in this totally different age of artificial intelligence (AI)". Listen from 2:43:28.

During a debate in the House of Commons on special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) and cross-government work, Reform MP Danny Kruger asked if the education secretary plans to publish research showing whether the introduction of VAT on fees has led to an increase in the number of in-year moves, particularly among service families. Responding, Lucy Powell, the new Secretary of State for Education, said Mr Kruger had "rightly identified an issue", and ministers are bringing in new individual support plans "which will be national and digital so that they can move around with children". She said the government was keen to minimise disruption to children's schooling, adding: "I do not believe that there has been a particular issue for children in armed forces families in relation to the VAT on private schools, but I am happy to look into that." Hansard.

Ms Powell's first education questions, which covered a range of topics, have also been covered by Schools Week's live blog. By Freddie Whittaker.

Writing in The Spectator, Thomas Casemore, a writer and teacher, reflects on the closure of Thetford Grammar School, one of England's oldest schools. Mr Casemore notes that its loss represents more than the closure of an individual school and raises questions about the value we place on historic educational institutions. He also points to the financial pressures facing small independent schools, and says: "The sad reality of the VAT increase is that, for the big-name private schools, fee raises have made little difference. Instead, it is the small schools, often the ones working with large percentages of special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) pupils, that can't absorb the rise." On the importance of preserving the UK's independent sector, he concludes: "With the closure of Thetford Grammar and other small independent schools, our country moves ever further away from the roots that once made it great."

The NSPCC was forced yesterday to clarify its position after removing advice that male teachers should not supervise girls in changing rooms. The charity was accused of having "introduced new ambiguity" by removing the line 'Adults who are supervising children getting changed should be of the same gender as them' from its safeguarding briefing for schools. The Times understands the line was removed because of confusion over the word "gender" following a Supreme Court ruling on biological sex and subsequent guidance from Britain's rights watchdog. The NSPCC said government guidance was "currently unclear on this issue" and that it was "very supportive" of ministers providing clarity "as soon as possible". By Georgia Lambert.

In an article for School Management Plus, Dr Simon Hyde, CEO of HMC (The Heads’ Conference), reflects on the purpose and value of prizes in schools, from recognising pupils' achievement, effort and progress to the growing emphasis on behaviours and values. He also questions the expansion of awards for schools themselves, warning that the line between meaningful recognition and marketing or revenue generation can become blurred. "It's probably best to follow Romans and 'rejoice with those who rejoice'," he concludes.