Here is the latest news on Education from the BBC.
Education reform needs ‘open mind’
Philanthropist and businessman Sir Tom Hunter warns against a “one size fits all” approach to education in a BBC documentary.
Secondary school places ‘undeliverable’
The legal duty of councils in England to ensure every child has a school place could soon become undeliverable, say local authorities.
‘Trojan Horse’ teacher spared class ban
A maths teacher found guilty of misconduct after telling pupils “Islam is the true religion” can continue to teach.
Is university free speech under threat?
Is free speech at universities under threat?
Warning over ‘teacher brain drain’
Ofsted’s chief inspector warns thousands of teachers are being lured to work in schools abroad while England is gripped by a recruitment crisis.
Rough sleeping up by 30% in a year
The number of people sleeping rough in England increased by 30% in a year, new figures show.
Fall in numbers of young jobless
Numbers of young people not in education, employment or training (NEET) at lowest for the time of year since 2001, UK-wide figures show.
Harvard abolishes ‘master’ in titles
Harvard University in the US is going to remove the word “master” from academic titles, after protests from students who clamed the title had echoes of slavery.
London pupils ‘behind global rivals’
London’s schools are falling behind many global competitors, according to an analysis of international tests.
Playgrounds ‘shut to disabled children’
Inaccessibility and prejudice bars disabled children in England and Wales from playgrounds and playgroups, a charity report warns.
Privately educated ‘dominate top jobs’
Leading British actors are more than twice as likely as stars in the music industry to have attended fee-paying schools, says the Sutton Trust.
Nursery fees ‘steady after steep rises’
A report says nurseries have resisted fee hikes for the first time in years amid concerns they will price parents out of the market.
Lily Cole challenges MPs on illiteracy
Model and actress Lily Cole is spearheading a campaign calling for a global drive to tackle illiteracy.
Child tracker firm in ‘hack’ row
Child tracker firm uKnowKids has accused a security researcher of hacking its database after he told them that children’s details were accessible online.
Poor GCSEs ‘risk Northern Powerhouse’
Failing schools risk causing plans for the government’s so-called Northern Powerhouse to “splutter and die”, the Ofsted chief warns.
Stoke pays maths teachers’ tuition fees
Stoke offers to pay off maths’ teachers tuition fees to attract talented graduates and improve GCSE results
A-level maths standards down on 1960s
Students who achieve a B in A-level maths today would only have secured an E in the 1960s, suggests research.
26,000 to leave primary as poor readers
Around 26,000 children may leave Welsh primary schools unable to read well over the next five years, a campaign group claims.
Heroines fight off heroes in book poll
Heroines and female villains outnumber heroes and male baddies in a literary poll of memorable children’s novel characters, to mark World Book Day.
Islamic school scandal teachers banned
Two teachers who worked at the school at the centre of the “Trojan Horse” scandal have been banned from the classroom for life.
Primary test deadline returns to June
Ministers have pushed back the deadline for schools to submit writing assessments for 11-year-olds, after bringing the dates forward a month ago.
Border licence students demand refund
International students have asked London School of Business and Finance for their money back after it lost its border licence.
Troops to Teachers sees just 28 qualify
Just 28 veterans have qualified as teachers on a flagship scheme to bring ex-servicemen and women to England’s classrooms.
VIDEO: Words key to school performance
New research has found children with poor language skills at the age of five are less likely to do well by the time they leave primary school.
Kenyan teacher on $1m prize shortlist
A Kenyan business studies teacher who speaks out against terrorism is in the shortlist for $1m prize for the world’s best teacher.
Early language skills ‘key to success’
Research shows poor language skills can have an impact on attainment that lasts at least until the end of primary school.
Hundreds of students hit by data breach
The University of Greenwich apologises after it published personal details about hundreds of its students.
London maths teacher in world’s top 10
A maths teacher from a London comprehensive has reached the top 10 finalists for a million-dollar global teaching prize.
Investigations into 21 illegal schools
Labour accuses the government of inadequate action to close down illegal schools, after it is revealed there are 21 institutions being investigated in England.
Warning over nursery free hours plan
Half of nurseries in England will struggle to offer extended free care for pre-schoolers, a survey by the National Day Nurseries Association suggests.
Sex attack report system launched
TED Fellow Jessica Ladd announces a website-based system that lets college students report sexual assaults.
Teacher training option for oil workers
Oil and gas workers who lose their jobs amid the industry downturn could be given the opportunity to retrain as teachers.
Parents ‘using cannabis’ at school gates
Some parents have been seen “using cannabis” while dropping off and collecting their children from a primary school, a deputy head teacher reveals.
Porn site age check plans reviewed
A public consultation over plans to implement age checks on pornography websites is launched by the UK government.
School buildings in ‘deplorable’ state
A generation of school buildings have leaking roofs, poor windows and cold cramped classrooms, a head teacher says.
Should Ofsted get a US boss?
What lessons could Ofsted learn from the US?
Fears for free lunches in small schools
Head teachers of some small schools in England say they might have to use teaching budgets to help fund school lunches after a grant ends in July.
Simon Hughes to join Open University
Sir Simon Hughes, former deputy leader of the Liberal Democrats, is taking up a post with the Open University.
VIDEO: How children cope with ‘tough times’
Pupils at Marton Primary Academy in Blackpool have lessons on how to handle what they refer to as “tough times”, to build their resilience in the face of challenges to their mental health.
Labour’s 100,000 apprenticeships pledge
The Labour party would create 100,000 apprenticeships if it wins May’s assembly elections, Carwyn Jones will say.
‘US search’ for next Ofsted head
Education Secretary Nicky Morgan is understood to be looking to the US for the next head of England’s schools inspectorate Ofsted.
VIDEO: School support staff ‘taken for granted’
The majority of classroom support staff claim they have done the work of a fully-qualified teacher, according to a survey.
MSPs call for return of post-study visa
Holyrood’s devolution committee calls on the UK government to reintroduce post-study work visas which were cancelled in 2012.
Abuse whistle-blowing helpline launched
A whistle-blowing helpline for employees in England to raise concerns about child protection failures – run by the NSPCC with £500,000 of government funding – is to be launched.
Support staff ‘do teachers’ work’
Teacher shortages mean support staff are having to pick up work normally done by qualified teachers, suggests research by a union.
VIDEO: What’s the point of an expensive MBA?
Bill Gates, Steve Jobs and Mark Zuckerberg all made fortunes despite being college dropouts. So why bother with the time and cost of a business degree if you can make it without one?
College lecturers in strike ballot
The EIS is to ballot college lecturers across Scotland over whether they should take industrial action in a dispute over their pay.
Plaid offers to write off student debts
Students who stay in Wales to study or return home to work after graduation should have £6,000 a year of debts written off, Plaid Cymru says.
Reception tests ‘disrupt school starts’
Research for a teaching union suggests new tests for four-year-olds are unreliable and disrupt children’s start to school.
Website offers advice for older drivers
A website advising senior citizens how to drive safely for longer – and when to stop altogether – is launched by the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents.
University A-level ‘safety net’ offers
A UK university is competing for students by promising places even if applicants miss by one A-level grade.
VIDEO: Why UK adults are going back to school
Why millions of UK adults are going back to school. For some, it’s an opportunity to learn a new skill, for others it’s an avenue back into the world of work.
‘Iron Boy’ granted superhero wish
A young Australian boy with cystic fibrosis was given the chance to save Sydney from a super villain on Thursday.
Playground-urinating pupils warned
Parents are told to warn their children against urinating in a playground by the school’s head teacher.
More than £500,000 to ‘fraud’ college’
More than half a million pounds in tuition fees, loans and grants is awarded to a private college at the centre of a fraud investigation.
Most P1 pupils learn a foreign language
The majority of pupils in Scotland are learning an additional language in primary one, says the Scottish government.
Sex education ‘will not be compulsory’
England’s education secretary rejects MPs’ calls to make sex-and-relationship education compulsory in all schools.
Student loan repayment avoiders targeted
Graduates in England and Wales who fail to repay their student loan in time could be prosecuted, ministers warn.
Universities to target poor white boys
More students from white working class backgrounds are to be targeted in a university recruitment drive
VIDEO: The dance teacher with Down’s Syndrome
Hannah is one of the few dance teachers in the UK with a learning disability
University bosses’ pay ‘inflation-busting’
Vice-chancellors at UK universities receive average salary packages of £272,000 a year, the University and College Union says.
VIDEO: Apprenticeships boost the workforce
Germany has Europe’s lowest rates of youth unemployment, partly because of its traditional apprenticeship system, which allows young Germans who don’t go to university to train and qualify in companies.
Parents urged to boycott VTech toys
A range of cybersecurity experts warn parents to beware of buying VTech’s electronic toys following its handling of a recent hack attack.
Teacher shortages confirmed in England
The government has missed its teacher recruitment targets for the last four years amid growing teacher shortages, says the official spending watchdog.
Is South Africa’s education system really ‘in crisis’?
Why are South Africa’s schools in such a mess?
Is the UK really in Scandinavia?
Is the UK really part of Scandinavia?
Rhodes statue is part of global protest
Oxford’s statue row is part of global student protest
E-books versus paperbacks in schools
How e-books are making a difference to children
Does Cameron’s university claim stack up?
Are there really more black males in prison than in universities?
Are economics degrees fit for purpose?
Are economics degrees fit for purpose?
VIDEO: School place system ‘terrifyingly complex’
The National Association of Headteachers has strongly criticised the school planning process – saying that it is fragmented and confusing for parents.
VIDEO: ‘We will invest in student ambition’
Tuition fee grants from the Welsh government would remain in place after May’s assembly election if Labour retains power, BBC Wales has learned.
VIDEO: Investing in South African schools
South Africa is investing more money in nursery schools. But, with the economic challenges the country faces, it’s hard to determine whether these programmes will eventually be successful.
VIDEO: Entrepreneurship in village schools
India has become a hub for start-ups in recent years. Most investment has been focused on cities, but as a majority of Indians live in rural areas, what difference would teaching entrepreneurial skills to village students make?
Tim Peake asks for help in plant test
British astronaut Tim Peake asks schoolchildren to help him with one of his scientific experiments.
Inspiring letter for NI school children
A County Antrim primary school sent a moving letter to children who received their transfer test results on Saturday.
Could time travel really take place?
Universities examine whether time travel is really possible
France plans elite mega-university
A new university in Paris wants to create a “knowledge hub” competing with Silicon Valley.
Seven big myths about improving schools
Seven big myths about why some countries are good at education
Can Lithuania turn brain drain into brain gain?
Can Lithuania reverse loss of young and talented?
South Sudan’s struggle for schools hit by abductions
Pupils preparing for exams are abducted, as South Sudan tries to re-open schools
University feeds 270,000 taking refuge from Boko Haram
A university in Nigeria is trying to help a rising tide of people displaced by Boko Haram violence.
Emergency plan to help teach Syria’s refugees
Emergency plan to help teach Syria’s refugees
Stanford to open entrepreneur course in London
Silicon Valley’s Stanford University to start teaching in London
Term-time holiday father fined again
A father at the centre of a High Court legal battle for taking his children on school term-time holidays, is fined for a second such trip.
Labour warns on curriculum ‘diktat’
Labour is calling for England’s school curriculum to be based on the needs of a modern economy, rather than the political “pet projects” of ministers.
Heads hit out over English Bacc ‘tables’
The government is accused of shelving a new measure of school accountability in England before it is introduced.
Oxbridge admissions ‘intimidating’
The admissions process for Oxford and Cambridge universities is confusing and complex and should be simplified, the Sutton Trust charity says.
Teachers ‘bump up A-level predictions’
The head of the university admissions service says teachers are boosting pupils’ predicted grades.
Academy chain ‘failing too many pupils’
The biggest academy chain in England has been accused by Ofsted of “failing too many pupils”, particularly poorer young people.
Private college loses border licence
Some 350 international students at a private London business college have been told they must leave the UK by the end of next month.
State schools ‘gaining on fee-paying’
The UK’s state schools have improved so much that some private schools may be put out of business, the editor of the Good Schools Guide says.
Leopard mauls six in Indian school
A male leopard enters a school in the Indian city of Bangalore, injuring six people before being captured and released.
New campus plan after China TV deal
Plans to launch a media school in Cardiff are unveiled after a deal was struck with a Chinese television firm.
Heads warn over pupils’ mental health
Head teachers issue a warning over their struggle to deal with children’s mental health problems at primary schools in England.
Starbucks employee wins dyslexia case
A woman with dyslexia wins a discrimination case against her employer Starbucks after she was disciplined for falsifying documents.
Young ‘ignore social media age limits’
More than three-quarters of 10 to 12 year olds in the UK have social media accounts, even though they are below the age limit, a survey for CBBC Newsround suggests.
Academy chain schools ‘not good enough’
Ofsted has warned the E-Act academy chain that the quality of education for too many pupils is “not good enough”.
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