The final two days of planned strikes by members of the National Education Union (NEU) are going ahead in England today and tomorrow, meaning many pupils are missing school. Pay negotiations between teachers and the Government could take place as early as next week, The Guardian reports. By Richard Adams.

Gillian Keegan's “new and unusual” approach to pay talks has been criticised by NEU leaders in a letter to the education secretary, which comes in response to Ms Keegan’s letter to the NEU yesterday wherein she called on the union to enter formal talks on teachers’ pay instead of proceeding with strike action. By Matilda Martin, Tes.

It has emerged that teachers who are not part of a union are able to join colleagues walking out provided they do not belong to a group which did not meet the threshold for industrial action, The Telegraph reports. By Catherine Lough and Louisa Clarence-Smith.

Some GCSE and A-level pupils will not be taught during this week's industrial action despite Dr Mary Bousted, joint general secretary of the National Education Union (NEU), promising that they would be “unharmed” during vital learning time in advance of exams. By Louisa Clarence-Smith, The Telegraph.

Writing in The Telegraph, student Hebe Bouchier Haye shares her experience of life on a school strike day.

Tes reporter Matilda Martin is reporting live from picket lines throughout the morning as teachers in membership of the NEU take part in strike action across the country.

The chancellor, Jeremy Hunt, is expected to extend the provision of free childcare for working parents in England in the Budget to be announced later today. Currently, working parents with three and four-year-olds are eligible for 30 hours of free childcare per week but this is expected to soon cover one and two-year-olds as well. By Ione Wells, Faisal Islam and Becky Morton, BBC News.

As part of a Big Read feature in iNews, Aasma Day speaks to Charlotte Jansingh, a working mother who explains that she is "effectively going to work for no money because the cost of childcare is so high".

Nick Gibb has said the Government's review of relationships, sex and health education (RSE) guidance will consider including new requirements on teaching about suicide prevention. In a Westminster Hall debate, the schools minister added that the review will also prioritise children’s mental health. By Samantha Booth, Schools Week.

Research by Macmillan and the Centre for Literacy in Primary Education (CLPE) suggests limited books and lack of teacher support means the majority of primary pupils study or hear poetry less than once a week. The survey also reveals that nearly a quarter of schools teach poetry only once a year or less, in part due to a lack of training. By Sarah Shaffi, The Guardian.

A job advert to find Amanda Spielman's successor is now live, as Ofsted looks for a school or trust leader with “significant experience” and a “high degree of personal integrity” to become its next chief inspector. Ms Spielman will leave the role at the end of this year after seven years in post. By Amy Walker, Schools Week.

Anecdotal evidence and official data indicate an increase in the number of young people presenting with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) across the country, prompting Kate Parker to ask if cases are really going up and, if so, what the impact could be on schools. Tes.

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.