Up to 40,000 children will be forced to move out of UK independent schools if Labour brings in its policy of taxing school fees, a new report from the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) has warned. The report, which examines Labour’s proposals to remove tax exemptions from independent schools, suggests the extra tax burden is likely to hit independent schools' ability to offer bursaries and scholarships. Julie Robinson, chief executive of the Independent Schools Council, is quoted in The Telegraph (and across today's coverage), saying: “The IFS itself admits its calculations on pupil movement are uncertain and based on limited evidence – we believe the number moving from independent schools will be much higher in practice.” By James Fitzgerald.

The IFS estimates that removing tax breaks from independent schools - including exemptions from VAT and relief on business rates - would raise around £1.6 billion a year in extra tax revenue. Tes also reports that today’s analysis suggests average independent school fees were around 90 per cent higher than state school spending per pupil in 2022-23, as opposed to 2009-2010 when the gap was roughly 40 per cent.

There is further coverage in The Independent, The Guardian, Schools Week, The Financial Times and FE News.

Computer programs that are used to identify work generated by artificial intelligence (AI), such as essays and job applications, can discriminate against individuals who are non-native English speakers, according to researchers at Stanford University. Tests on seven popular AI text detectors found that articles written by those who did not speak English as a first language were often wrongly flagged as AI-generated, a bias that could have a significant impact on students, academics and people applying for jobs. By Ian Sample, The Guardian.

Schools can boost teacher wellbeing by running social or community projects for children, according to a report published today by the Royal Society for the Arts (RSA). Despite the benefits, around half of the teachers who responded (47 per cent) said they had never taken part in this sort of project through school, and when asked about the barriers preventing more social action work, 66 per cent of respondents said schools do not have the time or resources. By John Roberts, Tes.

University lecturer Megan Dixon suggests "harnessing the voice of the peer group could be a powerful way to encourage leisure reading" in a bid to address the dip in reading as children move into Year 7. Tes.

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