In a written question for the Department for Education (DfE) tabled yesterday, shadow education secretary Bridget Phillipson asked if secretary of state for education Gillian Keegan would direct the Competition and Markets Authority to investigate changes in the levels of independent school fees. The question follows a letter Ms Phillipson wrote to her opposite number earlier this month, and is due for answer tomorrow, 14 December. Hansard.

Children should be able to “have some fun” and enjoy a snow day instead of staying inside to learn online, according to Lord Lucas. Referring to the snow which fell in many parts of the country yesterday, the Conservative peer and editor of the Good Schools Guide told The Telegraph: “There's so much good to come from a snow day. Working together to build a snowman, building a sledge. It's a miserable day to be learning. If it carries on, get back to school, but if this is the only day, then enjoy it." By Louisa Clarence-Smith.

Writing in The Independent, Nadeine Asbali says that snow days are vital. "I’d hazard that children learn more about the properties of liquids versus solids by hurling snowballs at each other than they do in front of a computer screen", Ms Asbali states.

Tes reports that over 80 per cent of schools were closed in some local authorities yesterday, with teachers teaching live online classes to pupils unable to get to school. By Callum Mason and Matilda Martin.

Grant Shapps, the business secretary, is considering raising the strike ballot support threshold from 40 to 50 per cent for "important public services", according to The Telegraph. The legal change would mean that unions, including those representing teachers, would find it harder to take industrial action. By Ben Riley-Smith and Camilla Turner.

Ofsted's annual report for 2021-22 has warned of recruitment “frustrations” in schools amid teaching assistant shortages and COVID-related staff absences. The watchdog has said the workforce "crisis" facing schools is "compounding" barriers to education recovery. By Samantha Booth, Schools Week.

Commenting in The Times, Harry Hudson, a teacher and writer, argues that "a simple pass or fail" could be a better way of rating schools than Ofsted's grading system.

BBC News reports that Amanda Spielman, Ofsted's chief inspector, has said her "most acute concern" is the delays to support for children with special educational needs in England. Half of local authorities inspected in the last academic year had "significant weaknesses" in their special needs provision, according to the regulator. By Kate McGough & Elaine Dunkley.

Ofsted's annual report has also revealed that pupils are missing out on sports, drama, music and other 'enrichment activities' as schools continue to experience staff absence as a result of COVID. By Sally Weale, The Guardian.

A study by the University of Michigan has revealed that relying on a screen to calm young children can make their behaviour worse in the long run. 422 children aged three to five were monitored for six months, with those whose parents relied on screens to calm them down found to be more likely to have frequent emotional meltdowns, especially boys. By Eleanor Hayward, The Times.

Jim Thewliss, general secretary of School Leaders Scotland, will retire next year. Speaking to Henry Hepburn, Tes Scotland editor, Mr Thewliss shares his experience of leading a secondary school. “I can’t think of a reason I would not recommend a career in teaching to anybody,” he says.

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