In a written question tabled on 2 March, Baroness Benjamin asked what steps are being taken by the Government to address the discrepancy in the scale and investment of arts education in state and independent schools. In response yesterday, Baroness Barran, parliamentary under secretary of state at the Department for Education (DfE), said: "The department does not collect information on spending in arts education at independent schools. The department does publish information on entries in arts qualifications at Key Stage 4 by type of school, including in GCSEs. In the 2021/22 academic year, the proportion of Key Stage 4 pupils taking at least one arts qualification in state-funded schools was 52.4 per cent, while the equivalent proportion for independent schools was 42.3 per cent." Hansard.

The National Education Union (NEU) and the Government have agreed to begin pay "intensive" talks, after a joint statement released today stated that the union would “create a period of calm” for two weeks, during which no more strike dates will be announced. By John Dickens, Schools Week. According to Tes, the formal discussions will start today and continue into the weekend. By Matilda Martin.

Data from the Government suggests more than 50 per cent of schools in England closed or restricted attendance as a result of industrial action by teachers this week. Figures released by the DfE suggest secondary schools were worst affected, with 79 per cent restricting attendance and 5 per cent fully shutting on 15 March and 80 per cent restricting attendance and six per cent closing entirely on 16 March. By Nathan Standley, BBC News.

DfE research, which includes only state schools, has found more than 120,000 pupils were absent for half or more school sessions in 2021-22, double that of 2018-19 when the comparative figure was just over 60,000. Education leaders have warned that prolonged school closures during the pandemic have led to disengagement with schooling and a change in attitudes regarding attendance. By Louisa Clarence-Smith and Ben Butcher, The Telegraph.

Writing in The Telegraph, personal finance reporter Rachel Mortimer asks when the childcare reforms will start and who will be eligible, while economics reporter Melissa Lawford argues high-earning parents "would be better off if they took a £34,000 pay cut" due to a "tax trap" resulting from the planned changes. The Telegraph.

Leaders from the NASUWT union in England have raised concerns that the Government is reducing spending on school building refurbishment and repairs despite the recent disclosure by the DfE that there was a “critical – very likely” risk of buildings falling down. By Richard Adams, The Guardian.

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