Summarize this content to 1000 words BBCThe headteacher at Emmanuel School, Ben Snowdon, fears parents may not be able to afford the increaseA Derby school is launching a court challenge against the government's imposition of VAT on fees. Emmanuel House and other faith schools claim the tax would unlawfully discriminate against them as it could force Christian schools to close. The government says the money raised by imposing VAT would
Summarize this content to 1000 words BBC/ Hazel ShearingThe vast majority of schools on a government rebuilding programme in England are waiting for builders, according to a Freedom of Information request.Hundreds of old and leaky school buildings in England still don’t have builders assigned to them - even though they’re on a flagship government rebuilding programme, the BBC has found.More than 500 schools are on the scheme, but by this
Summarize this content to 1000 words BBCDevin North and his mum HeatherFrom no school at age 16, to a place at university three years later - that's the journey Devin North has taken.Devin, who is autistic, had attended Cedar Lodge special school in north Belfast.In 2021 he and some other pupils faced having to leave education as Cedar Lodge could not offer post-16 provision.However after BBC News NI reported his
Summarize this content to 1000 words Getty ImagesParents are pledging to delay giving their children smartphonesParents are pledging to delay giving their children smartphones amid concerns over the impact the devices have on developing brains.Smartphone Free Childhood, a grassroots movement calling for parents to join together "to make childhood better for their children", says thousands have signed its "parent pact".It has also gained the support of schools, with one Surrey
Summarize this content to 1000 words Getty ImagesOne school told parents they hoped the situation would be short-livedSome primary school pupils in County Down will be without hot dinners for a period due to a shortage of school kitchen staff.A spokesperson for the Education Authority (EA) said there was an "industry-wide shortage" of hospitality staff.But Unite the Union's regional officer Kieran Ellison told BBC News NI that the rate of
Summarize this content to 1000 words BBCNeil Foden's offending may have started decades earlier than first thoughtA paedophile head teacher may have abused pupils for more than 40 years, with four times as many victims than previously thought.Neil Foden was jailed for 17 years for sexually abusing four children in north Wales between 2019 and 2023.But a BBC Wales investigation has heard allegations going back to 1979, and from two
Summarize this content to 1000 words Parents have reacted angrily to a school's policy of refusing to authorise sick days related to period pain unless parents provided "related medical information".Neale-Wade Academy in March, Cambridgeshire, also said it was no longer accepting explanations such as "unwell, poorly or ill" for it to authorise student absences.Some parents criticised the move on social media, with one mother saying that her endometriosis, a condition
Summarize this content to 1000 words BBC/Brijesh PatelThere are fewer pupils starting secondary private school this year, according to the body that represents most independent schools in the UK.The Independent Schools Council (ISC) says some members reported a 4.6% fall in Year 7 pupils in September, in figures seen exclusively by BBC News.Experts say the declining birth rate and cost of living could be having an impact - but the
Summarize this content to 1000 words The education secretary has said GCSE students should continue to be given formula and equation sheets to help in their exams.This year had been the final year students were expecting to receive that post-Covid support.But in a letter to England’s exams regulator, Ofqual, Bridget Phillipson said it should continue for at least the next three years.Teaching unions welcomed the move and said it would
Summarize this content to 1000 words BBCTourette's syndrome does not affect someone's ability to learn - but parents said suppressing tics leaves kids exhausted and unable to focus in classParents of children with Tourette's syndrome are warning that a lack of support and understanding in schools could wreck their chances of an education.The BBC spoke with 18 parents from the south of England, most of whom shared similar stories.Almost all
