Shaun Fenton, chair of the Headmasters’ and Headmistresses’ Conference, writes in The Times that attacks on the independent sector are unfair. He states independent schools' savings to the taxpayer, their boost to local and national economies and the global export they provide is "beyond doubt".

Alex Rentoul of the House Schools Group also writes to The Times arguing "the imposition of VAT on school fees proposed by Labour would pose a major threat to the survival of schools in the independent sector".

Letters just above halfway.

Yvonne Williams, a head of English and drama at a school in the south of England, writes in Tes that attacking independent schools will not solve the inequality that exists in the education system. Instead, she writes, there should be "an immediate move to make state-school funding more equal", which would include building and repair works, the demolition of league tables and raising standards through collaboration.

Schools Week details the key points discussed during yesterday's education committee, when academies minister Lord Agnew faced MPs to discuss issues facing the education sector. Lord Agnew commented that the independent sector should be 'more innovative in how it can help the state sector'. By Freddie Whittaker.

To increase diversity, the Office for Students (OfS) has said Oxbridge should consider accepting pupils from deprived areas who achieve one B and two Cs at A-level. By Jack Hardy, The Telegraph.

An analysis of Department for Education (DfE) figures has revealed the number of permanently excluded children from secondary schools due to drugs or alcohol is at a record high. By Camilla Turner, The Telegraph.

Teachers Matt Pinkett and Mark Roberts discuss the underperformance of boys in exams and discuss what schools could be doing differently to boost their learning. By Jamie Thom, Tes.

In a paper for the American Economic Journal, economists have provided new evidence on the positive effects of vocational education. By Gabriel Heller-Sahlgren, Tes.

MPs have warned the funding levels for children's services in England are unsustainable and need a £3.1bn minimum funding boost by 2025. By Hannah Richardson, BBC News.

The Independent Schools Council (ISC) monitors the national and educational press in order to keep independent schools up-to-date with relevant education news. The DNS is a service primarily for schools in membership of ISC associations, although other interested parties can choose to sign-up. We endeavour to include relevant news and commentary and, wherever possible, notable public letters. Where capacity allows, we may include links to ISC blogs, press statements and information about school or association events. News stories are selected based on their relevance to the independent sector as a whole. Editorial control of the DNS remains solely with the ISC.

Sign-up to the email service is available on our website.

Members can contact the ISC if they know in advance of news, letters or opinions that are likely to feature in the media, or are aware of existing coverage which they would like to see featured in the DNS.

Headlines and first-line summaries are written by the ISC with the link directing to the source material. You should read and comply with the terms and conditions of the websites to which we link.