Writing in The Telegraph, Dia Chakravarty warns that the Labour Party's tax plan for independent schools "is in danger of harming the very state system it purports to benefit". Reflecting on the policy's likely impact across education, Ms Chakravarty concludes: "Targeting wealthy private school parents to raise much needed funds for the benefit of the state education sector may seem overall like a good policy to many Labour voters, despite disadvantaging a section of the society. But when the impact of the new taxes manifests itself by wreaking havoc in the state school system, the policy will have made losers of every group of parents in the country. It is, very clearly, a bad policy."

Reference is made to research by the Independent Schools Council (ISC). The article is accompanied by a Q&A on Labour's plans for independent schools and a graph displaying how much fees could rise by. 

Legal expert Adam McRae-Taylor writes in Independent Schools Magazine about the Teachers' Pension Scheme (TPS) and the recent employer rate rise. On whether Labour's tax plans are likely to affect the situation, Mr McRae-Taylor warns: "If Labour legislates in this area, then altering pensions arrangements will become considerably more challenging." 

Following home secretary James Cleverly's announcement earlier this week of plans to curb legal immigration, Tes summarises everything teachers and school leaders need to know about the new rules. The paper notes that the Home Office is still waiting for further details to be agreed on which types of teachers will be included in its final list of exemptions. By Matilda Martin. 

Kemi Badenoch, the equalities minister, has claimed that Britain is in the grip of an “epidemic” of young gay children being told they are transgender. Ms Badenoch suggested the government’s long-awaited ban on conversion therapy would not just cover those who try to turn gay children straight, but also those who attempt to turn gay children transgender. By Daniel Martin, The Telegraph. 

Speaking at the Education Select Committee, Gillian Keegan said the government's non-statutory gender-questioning guidance should be published before Christmas. By Anna Davis, The Standard. The announcement is also covered in Tes, which reports that Ms Keegan has said a broader review of RSHE will be published early next year. By Cerys Turner. 

Ucas figures have shown the gap between the number of rich and poor students going to university has widened, with the disparity in the number of successful applicants from the most and least wealthy fifths of families greater than last year. For every disadvantaged student, 2.16 advantaged students have been accepted onto a higher education course, up from 2.09 last year. By Nicola Woolcock, The Times. 

As a government consultation on measures to tackle youth vaping draws to a close, reporters from BBC South East speak to headteachers, teaching staff and pupils to find out more about the impact e-cigarettes are having in schools. By Alex Bish and Ben Moore.

In the latest part of Tes' Safeguarding Around the World series, Kausor Amin-Ali, a school leader in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), considers the risks posed by the increase in pupils’ screen time and how best to meet the safeguarding needs of children from war zones. 

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.

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