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Next year’s rise in tuition fees will be just the latest in a long line of financial burdens for students. But there are ways of making ends meet – even without parental support. Ruth Tierney meets six can-do undergraduates who are funding their education with part-time jobs

By Ruth Tierney
Last updated at 8:09 PM on 28th May 2011

Promotional work pays for my PR course’
Claire Thomas, 21, relies on promotional work to fund herself through a degree in public relations at Leeds Metropolitan University.

I’m from a very working-class family in Middlesbrough who can’t spare anything towards my university costs, so if I didn’t work, I wouldn’t be here. My mum’s a kitchen assistant at a school and my dad works for a compensation firm, but he’s been made redundant from three jobs in the past six years. When I decided to go to uni, I assumed a student loan would pay for everything. But despite the fact I get a loan for tuition fees, a maintenance loan of £1,000 a term, and a full grant of £900 a term, that still doesn’t cover the cost of living in a city like Leeds. My £250 average monthly wage is essential for bills, shopping, bus fares and driving lessons.

Source: DAILYMAIL

Supply teacher who tried to prove authority was ‘menacing’

By Mail On Sunday Reporter
Last updated at 10:18 PM on 28th May 2011

A supply teacher who wore a traditional mortarboard and gown to prove his authority has been banned from the classroom for two years for being ‘menacing’. David Austin, 56, wore the outfit again when he was found guilty of unacceptable professional conduct at a General Teaching Council hearing. Two schools where Mr Austin worked complained to Faith Education, the West Midlands supply agency that employed him, about his ‘abrupt and demanding’ teaching style. Mr Austin went to both schools to respond to the complaints, and police were called over what one of the head teachers called his ‘menacing’ behaviour.

Source: DAILYMAIL

As a 16-year-old boy is jailed for the £200 contract killing of a young mother, Patrick Sawer reveals why gangland bosses are recruiting children.

By Patrick Sawer 7:00AM BST 29 May 2011

The young mother was hoping the knock on the door was her son. It was, after all, the eve of his ninth birthday and she was desperate to hand over his present. Instead, Gulistan Subasi was confronted at the door of her mother’s maisonette in Hackney, east London, in March last year, by a figure clad in a white boiler suit brandishing a shotgun. Before she could react, he fired his weapon, blasting a fist-sized hole in her chest. Miss Subasi slumped to the floor, dying in her mother’s arms as her killer fled. When detectives watched CCTV images of the shooting, they assumed the assassin was a professional hitman, such was the calculated nature of the killing. Instead, he turned out to be a teenager.

Source: TELEGRAPH

Bernie the kangaroo joey brought back to life by his rescuer with a kiss

By Ted Thornhill
Last updated at 7:57 PM on 27th May 2011

A baby kangaroo was brought back from the dead after being given the kiss of life by a wildlife carer. So young that it hadn’t even grown hair yet, the joey – the name given to baby kangaroos – was rushed to a rescue centre after it was found lying lifeless by the side of a road near Melbourne, Australia. The tiny pink animal was cold to the touch, but Lisa Milligan didn’t give up hope. She breathed air down its nose and mouth and massaged its heart until it suddenly came to.

Source: DAILYMAIL

A burglar from Nottingham has been freed from jail on appeal so he can care for his five children.

27 May 2011 Last updated at 18:34 GMT

Wayne Bishop, 33, was jailed for eight months for breaking into a rugby club and crashing into a police car. He argued the judgement breached his human rights and the Court of Appeal agreed not enough attention was paid to the effect on his children. Mick Taylor of Nottinghamshire Police Federation said he felt Bishop had been “let off” by the court. Bishop, of Southchurch Drive, Clifton, who raided Mansfield Rugby Club along with three other men in September 2010, apologised to his victims after being released from Ranby Prison.

Source: BBC NEWS

A car thief mowed down a pregnant woman and her friend as he made off with her Audi A3 after answering an advert to buy it, Scotland Yard say.

By Daily Mail Reporter
Last updated at 5:55 PM on 27th May 2011

The 33-year-old needed hospital treatment and her 54-year-old female friend remains in a critical condition after being hit by the car in Merton, south London, on Tuesday evening. The thief had answered an ad offering the car for sale, but as he viewed the silver Audi at her home he locked himself in the car before driving off – knocking the horrified pair down in the process.

Source: DAILYMAIL

A woman and a man have been jailed over a plot to sell an 11-month-old girl in north-east London.

27 May 2011 Last updated at 14:45 GMT

The 29-year-old woman was jailed for seven years and the man, 48, was sentenced to nine years for conspiracy to commit child cruelty and holding another person in slavery. The pair, of north-east London, who cannot be named for legal reasons, were jailed at Inner London Crown Court. They were arrested after an undercover News of the World investigation.

Source: BBC NEWS

A mother who offered to sell her baby to a childless couple for £35,000 in a case of modern-day slavery sobbed as she was jailed for seven years today.

By Daily Mail Reporter
Last updated at 3:50 PM on 27th May 2011

The married Indian woman, who cannot be named, was ready to abandon the 11-month-old girl with the buyers in a hotel room when police swooped. A Pakistani businessman acted as a middleman, brokering the sale and promising a name-change with a fake birth certificate for the new parents. But the purchasers turned out to be undercover reporters from a Sunday newspaper, Inner London Crown Court heard.

Source: DAILYMAIL

A mother who was jailed for smothering her infant daughter almost 30 years ago was cleared yesterday.

By Cordelia O’Neill

Appeal judges found that Jennifer Liehne, 47, suffered a miscarriage of justice in 2006 when she was convicted of killing seven-month-old Jacqueline. It was ruled that the judge had not explained properly to the jury some of the medical and legal issues involved in the case. This amounted to a “material misdirection” according to the judgment. The Crown Office has confirmed that it would not seek a retrial.

Source: INDEPENDENT

Abandoned cubs saved from starvation by stand-in mother

By Daily Mail Reporter
Last updated at 9:19 AM on 26th May 2011

Cats and dogs usually fight like the proverbial… cats and dogs. But these touching pictures show that maternal instincts can conquer all prejudices. These two rare cubs born to a male lion and a female tiger are being nursed by a dog after they were abandoned by their mother.The cubs, known as ligers, were born earlier this month at Xixiakou Wildlife Zoo in Shandong province, eastern China. Their parents mated naturally after living together for six years.

Source: DAILYMAIL

Dogs can help reduce stress in parents of children with lifelong developmental disability autism, a study suggests.

By Anna-Marie Lever Health reporter, BBC News

The University of Lincoln compared 20 families with dogs with 20 without. Daniel Mills told a Royal Society of Medicine conference early results suggested any breed could improve communication and relationships. The veterinary behavioural medicine professor hopes to use video footage to show how dogs can improve child eating, sleeping and tantrum behaviour. At a three-day Parents’ Autism Workshops and Support course, the families listed more than a thousand ways their dog had helped – from developing language and establishing a routine to using the pet to request action in a non-confrontational way. The Saunders family decided to get Boogie, an 18-month King-Charles-cocker-spaniel cross, because of four-year-old son Oak’s close connection with animals.

Source: BBC NEWS

A teacher at an Enfield school who told one boy he had a “face like a baboon’s arse”, restrained another by the collar, and pulled a girl’s hair calling her a dog has been spared a teaching ban.

10:33AM BST 25 May 2011

The General Teaching Council’s Professional Conduct Committee found Trevor Goode guilty of unacceptable professional conduct” whilst employed at Lea Valley High School, Enfield. But rather than banning or suspending him from teaching, it ordered him to go on a behaviour management course. The Committee found that he told a male student that he “had a face like a baboon’s ar*e” on 17 November 2009, and restrained the same pupil by the collar on 11 June 2010, causing him to fall backwards to the floor and experience a sensation of choking, as well as insulting him by calling him “big nose”.

Source: TELEGRAPH

GCSEs and A-levels are in decline as more teenagers turn to practical courses in subjects such as food safety, sports coaching and health, official figures show.

By Graeme Paton, Education Editor

The number of traditional qualifications taken by schoolchildren in England, Wales and Northern Ireland dropped by almost six per cent last year, it was revealed. Over the same period, entries for alternative courses soared by 11 per cent to a record 6.8 million. A report published by Ofqual, the exams watchdog, said the shift was linked to the “broadening of the curriculum” and the rising number of new qualifications being offered in schools.

Source: TELEGRAPH

A teenager who dressed in dark clothing and stabbed her mother five times as she slept has walked free from court after claiming she was possessed by the spirit of her dead grandma.

6:25AM BST 25 May 2011

Lorraine Mbulawa, 19, escaped jail after judge Mr Justice Keith accepted the girl had such strong beliefs in witchcraft and evil that she was acting upon what she was told to do by spirits. The pretty A-level student was cleared of the charge of attempted murder during a trial earlier this year, but was convicted of the lesser charge of unlawful wounding.The court heard how all her family, including her mother, believe in the occult and did not blame her for what she had done.

Source: TELEGRAPH

Taking your children along can make the festival experience even more rewarding, says David Taylor

24 May 2011

One of the highlights of last summer was watching my three-year-old son Krishan’s rapt expression as the children’s procession wound its way around the Womad festival site on the Sunday. The rainbow-coloured ribbon of smiling toddlers and teens, parents and helpers was accompanied on its twisting tour of the festival by a variety of musicians, oversized puppets and cheering crowds.

Every child who had made something in the myriad of free workshops over the weekend was invited to join in the parade with their artwork. And you couldn’t help but get caught up in the moment. It’s a real celebration of the festival – and childhood – and perfectly illustrates why a festival can be the ideal place for a family holiday.

Sadly, there are always going to be bitter naysayers and armchair critics out there who criticise parents for daring to take their family to a festival. Even a cursory internet search for “festivals and children” reveals a surprising amount of vitriol aimed at anyone who has the temerity to suggest that summer festivals and children can go together like strawberries and cream.

Source: INDEPENDENT

Teenagers’ classroom behaviour is getting better rather than worse, according to a global study that places Japan at the top of the league.

By Sean Coughlan BBC News education correspondent

A report from economic forum the OECD found there was less disruption in classes in 2009 compared with the results of a previous study in 2000. Pupils in the UK were better behaved than the international average. But Asian countries and regions dominated the top places in this good-behaviour league. The OECD has produced an analysis of behaviour statistics gathered as part of its international PISA study, which compares the performance of education systems.

Source: BBC NEWS

Carla Bruni-Sarkozy is expecting a boy, a close friend of Nicolas Sarkozy has confirmed, just days after the French president’s father let slip his daughter-in-law is pregnant.

By Henry Samuel

23 May 2011

Jacques Séguéla – an advertising tycoon who brought the presidential couple together in 2007 at a dinner party – disclosed the sex of the child in an interview with a Belgian newspaper.

He told Brussels daily Le Soir: “I have it on good authority that the baby will a boy.”

It will be the couple’s first child. France’s 43-year-old first lady already has a nine-year-old son, Aurélien, with the media philosopher Raphaël Enthoven.

Mr Sarkozy, 55, has two sons, Pierre, 25, and Jean, 23, from his first marriage to Marie-Dominique Culioli, who he divorced in 1996. He has a 13-year-old son Louis from his second marriage to Cecilia Ciganer-Albeniz, who he divorced in 2007.

This is not the first time Mr Séguéla has filled the public in on the presidential couple’s private lives. In 2009, he gave a blow-by-blow account of how they met at an impromptu “blind date” soirée, describing the scene as an “unexpected game of seduction between two wild beasts”.

Source: TELEGRAPH

Recent study reveals ‘hidden army’ of 700,000 carers under 18

By DAILY MAIL REPORTER

22nd May 2011

A four-year-old girl is thought to be Britain’s youngest carer responsible for looking after her family when she is barely out of nappies.

The child from Gloucester, who has not been named, has taken on the burden of looking after her parent despite barely being able to take care of herself.

The shocking revelation was made last week by Jan Stubbings, chief executive of Gloucestershire Care Services, who also said she knew of other carers as young as six and seven.

Speaking at a conference on NHS reforms, Ms Stubbings said: ‘We have got 20,000 young carers and the youngest carer in this county is four years old, caring for somebody else.’

The news has alarmed social car experts who say it illustrates the lack of funding for services for sick and disabled adults who live at home.

They are increasingly being forced to rely on family and friends to perform for them such vital daily tasks as washing, shopping and feeding.

So far about 175,000 young people in the UK have been officially identified as providing care to a family member but charities believe the true figure is far higher because there are many cases that go unreported.

Source: DAILYMAIL

The e-Learning Foundation says pupils whose families have a computer are likely to achieve a higher grade

By Daniel Boffey, policy editor

A million children’s exam results will be on average a grade lower than their peers this year because they do not have internet access at home, according to a leading charity.

The e-Learning Foundation says that children without access to a computer in the evening are being increasingly disadvantaged in the classroom. Research suggests that 1.2 million teenagers log on to revision pages every week and those using online resources were on average likely to attain a grade higher in exams.

The charity cites BBC research in which more than 100 students used the BBC Bitesize revision materials before their GCSE examination. The children were found to have achieved a grade lift compared to those who did not use the online revision guides. The BBC study says: “This is compared to factors such as teacher influence, which was found to produce no significant difference.”

Source: GUARDIAN

Only four out of 10 newly qualified teachers in Wales land substantive jobs in primary or secondary schools after training, according to new figures.

20 May 2011 Last updated at 05:55 GMT

The General Teaching Council for Wales (GTCW) said almost the same proportion of new teachers (37.5%) were having to rely on supply work. In 2003, nearly seven in 10 (66%) secured a first job after qualifying. The Welsh Government said teacher recruitment and the use of supply teachers was a matter for schools. The GTCW said the number of new teachers landing their first job had dropped 6% over the previous year and was the continuation of a falling trend over the past decade.

Source: BBC NEWS

Michael Gove, the Education secretary, will give the green light for the UK’s first fully free state run boarding school today, The Daily Telegraph can disclose.

By Christopher Hope, Whitehall Editor

It is thought to be first time that a state primary school has ever bought its own boarding school to educate its children. The joint venture between the Government and the Durand Education Trust will see inner city children from south London educated at a the school in Sussex. The Government has committed up to £17.34 million phased over four years to contribute towards the capital costs, with significant investment already made and committed to by the school’s foundation for the remainder.

Source: TELEGRAPH

Employers that offer generous maternity pay packages could land themselves in legal hot water if they fail to extend the benefit to fathers, experts have warned.

By Louisa Peacock,

19 May 2011

Under Government proposals announced this week, mothers and fathers would be able to share parental leave from 2015, with men able to take up to five and half months off work to care for their child.

Couples would be entitled to take time off together, rather than separately, and parents could request to take leave in blocks throughout the year. Currently, men and women must take any parental leave in one continuous period.

Employers would not be obliged to pay “enhanced paternity pay” to fathers under the new rules but those that only award women the perk could have to justify their actions at a tribunal, lawyers said.

In a generous workplace maternity leave scheme, mothers can be offered as much as six months off at full pay, with another three months at half pay.

Setting aside 22 weeks of leave, which must be reserved for the mother under the new rules, the employer in this scenario would pay an extra 14 weeks of enhanced pay to the woman – nine months in total.

Source: TELEGRAPH

Joanna Page, the star of Gavin & Stacey, says the ‘time is right’ for her to have children with her husband, the Emmerdale actor James Thornton.

By Tim Walker

19 May 2011

After winning over David Cameron with her beguiling turn in Gavin and Stacey, Joanna Page, the star of the BBC series, tells me that she is now turning her attention towards motherhood.

“I’m going to take at least the rest of the summer off and hone my baking skills,” the 33-year-old actress tells Mandrake with a wink at the Marie Claire Inspire & Mentor party at the W hotel in London.

She says that, with her husband, the Emmerdale actor James Thornton, 35, she wants children. “Careers, when they take off, can take your mind off babies temporarily, but I think it always comes back to when the time is right,” she says.

Only the lonely

Poor old Chris Huhne. The beleaguered Liberal Democrat walked in halfway through Prime Minister’s Questions in the House of Commons on Wednesday and stood behind the Speaker’s Chair, rather than take his place on the Government front bench.

Source: TELEGRAPH

Mothercare has said it will close more than a quarter of its UK stores over the next two years as part of its plans to reduce its High Street presence.

18 May 2011

The company also reported a slump in full-year profits as UK sales fell due to bad weather in the run-up to Christmas and increased competition.

This meant the group had to cut margins to shift unsold stock.

Pre-tax profits for the year to 26 March were £8.8m, down from £32.5m a year ago.

By March 2013, the company said it planned to have reduced its total store numbers to about 266 from 373.

The closures form part the group’s continuing strategy of reducing its High Street store portfolio and focusing more on out-of-town stores, and on its online and wholesale businesses.

Source: BBC NEWS

The Government will allow fathers to take up to five and a half months paid paternity leave under new proposals. We outline key questions and answers for businesses.

By Louisa Peacock

16 May 2011

What’s changing?

Currently, mothers can take 52 weeks in total, of which 39 weeks are paid at the statutory rate. Fathers get two weeks statutory paternity pay.

Under the proposals, mothers will automatically recieve 18 weeks of paid leave. The couple can then allocate the remaining 34 weeks – 16 of which is paid leave – between them.

Fathers will continue to get an extra two weeks statutory paternity pay after birth and an extra four weeks paid paterntiy leave, making six weeks in total.

Source: TELEGRAPH

Almost half of all parents admit to taking their children on holiday during term time in order to save money, a survey has found.

By Laura Roberts 7:04AM BST 16 May 2011

Government spending cuts have reduced families’ holiday budgets with 53 per cent spending less this year than in 2010, according to a poll by the travel website TripAdvisor. However, 46 per cent said that they had already taken their children out of school in order to get cheaper deals. Of the 54 per cent of parents who have not done so more than a third (36 per cent) said they would consider absenting their children in the future. The survey of 2,000 parents across the UK found that 44 per cent claimed that government budget cuts would directly impact their holiday plans for 2011.

Source: TELEGRAPH

A drama teacher who took advantage of a vulnerable pupil and had a lesbian affair with her has been jailed for three years.

11:58AM BST 13 May 2011

Caroline French, 38, stepped in to save the girl from bullies at the school where she was head of the drama department but committed a ”gross breach of trust” when she encouraged an intimate relationship between the pair. Sentencing her, Judge Stuart Baker said French was ”well respected” by colleagues and pupils at her former school in Blackpool, Lancashire, and had excellent career prospects in education but on the other hand was ”manipulative” and ”vindictive”. French, of Darlington, had denied indecently assaulting the teenager and told her trial in March she was not gay despite contrary evidence from pupils and staff at the school.

Source: TELEGRAPH

A 12-year-old girl who was raped and murdered by her uncle in Manchester was failed by child protection agencies, an independent inquiry has found.

13 May 2011 Last updated at 07:49 GMT

However, the murder of Tia Rigg was not predictable or preventable, the serious case review said. Ongoing harm to Tia, due to poor care from her mother, could have been prevented, it added. John Maden, 38, killed Tia at his home in Cheetham Hill on 3 April last year. He was jailed for life last October. Mr Justice Keith, at Manchester Crown Court, told Maden – who had lured Tia to his home on the pretext of babysitting – that he would never be eligible for parole.

Source: BBC NEWS

10-year-old climbed into a container beneath transport truck thinking it would take him from Andean highlands to Cochabamba, where his mother was jailed

By Rory Carroll, Latin America correspondent

Franklin Villca Huanaco ran away from home to be reunited with his mother but hid in a truck going the wrong way and wound up in a foreign country lost, frozen, ragged – and apparently successful. The 10-year-old clambered into a metal container beneath a transport truck thinking it would take him from Oruro in Bolivia’s Andean highlands to the city of Cochabamba, where his mother was jailed for three and a half years for transporting chemicals to make cocaine. Instead he emerged two days and 620 miles later on Chile’s Pacific coast. Famished and disoriented, wearing only trousers, a pullover shirt and battered shoes, Huanaco wandered the streets of Alto Hospicio, a poor community just outside the city of Iquique.

Source: GUARDIAN>> Read full article and comment

Testing hypotheses is the only way for pupils to understand concepts of what is true, argues the Nobel Prize-winning scientist Harry Kroto. So why are we neglecting this vital area?

Thursday, 12 May 2011

Let’s think about education and what our children should be taught as they grow up to face so many social and sustainability issues. One thing that is undeniable is that science education in Britain is dire. The percentage of our population with science, engineering and technology (SET) doctorates is less than one per cent, perhaps much lower, and yet on a global scale, it is the scientists and engineers who created the modern world. They have given us penicillin, anaesthetics, DNA fingerprinting, lasers, mobile phones, DVDs, computers, sewage treatment, bridges, and 747s, to name but a few. Pretty good value for the educational money, wouldn’t you agree? What other disciplines have provided anything like this return? None, by several orders of magnitude.

Source: INDEPENDENT>> Read full article and comment

The London School of Economics could become the first elite university in England to set tuition fees below the maximum level.

By Graeme Paton, Education Editor

In a boost to the Coalition, it emerged that the institution is considering charging £8,000 a year for a degree – £1,000 lower than all other top universities. The move has been welcomed by student leaders who have been hugely critical of universities that have “bunched” fees towards the maximum allowed under the Government’s reforms. It comes despite fears from some institutions that setting lower fees could make them appear “second rate”

Source: TELEGRAPH>> Read full article and comment

After his car crash David Beckham treats the boys to ice cream before chauffeuring pregnant Posh to dinner

By Andrea Magrath
Last updated at 6:59 PM on 11th May 2011

His ‘lucky escape’ last week from a multi-car collision on a busy Los Angeles freeway fortunately hasn’t scared off David Beckham from getting behind the wheel. The footballer was pictured taking two of his sons, Romeo, eight, and Cruz, six, out for frozen yoghurt in Studio City, California yesterday. A few hours later he chauffeured his wife Victoria to dinner at Matsuhisa restaurant in Beverly Hills.

Source: DAILYMAIL>> Read full article and comment

Teenagers are starting university unable to cope with the demands of degree courses after being “spoonfed” through school, a study suggests.

By Graeme Paton, Education Editor

Many new undergraduates are unable to write essays, carry out independent research or study on their own, it is claimed. A study by Cambridge University’s exam board published today found that more than nine out of 10 first-year students felt secondary education “could have prepared them better for the academic rigour” of higher education. Ann Puntis, chief executive of the Cambridge International Examinations, said: “With so much speculation about how best to prepare students for the rigour of university study, it is telling that young people admit to not having mastered important study skills during their school years.”

Source: TELEGRAPH>> Read full article and comment

Universities minister issues statement to clarify intentions as critics say proposal to let rich students pay premium fees to get places at top universities will ‘entrench privilege’

By Hélène Mulholland and Jeevan Vasagar

David Willetts, the universities minister, has insisted there is “no question” of wealthy students being able to buy a university place after facing criticism over proposals to allow teenagers from the wealthiest families to be able to pay for extra places at the most competitive universities. Willetts had earlier sought to stress that the move would free up more publicly subsidised places for undergraduates from poorer homes and improve social mobility. But critics said the move would entrench privilege and turn back the clock to a time when “breeding not brains” mattered, with the Liberal Democrat MP and party president, Tim Farron, warning that he would oppose any measure that gave the appearance of increasing university access for the rich.

Source: GUARDIAN>> Read full article and comment

Mobiles are commonplace in secondary schools, but can they be used for teaching? Find out on the Guardian Teacher Network this week

By Emma Drury

If there’s one thing you’ll find in the pocket or bag of every young person in secondary school, it’s some kind of mobile device.

From the smartphone to the iPad to the Nintendo 3Ds, the range of mobile devices is growing. The education secretary, Michael Gove, wants to ban mobiles from school. But while some see them just as entertainment, many teachers and educators know that they can be used in exciting ways in class.

Source: GUARDIAN>> Read full article and comment

Wealthy parents could be able to buy places for their children at the best universities under government plans to free up subsidised degrees.

6:49AM BST 10 May 2011

The proposals would allow universities to charge willing British students the same full–price fees as overseas undergraduates to ensure them a place. Teenagers who take up the places would not be eligible for publicly funded loans to help pay for tuition fees or any living costs, according to a report in The Guardian. It would mean that only students from the most privileged backgrounds would have the funds to take advantage of the scheme.

Source: TELEGRAPH>> Read full article and comment

Head teachers will be able to inflate their salaries by as much as 25 per cent under Government plans to reward
those
taking on more work.

By Graeme Paton, Education Editor

Schools leaders can earn up to £140,000 a year for teaching in tough areas or taking over more than one school, it was revealed. Classroom unions condemned the move, saying it was inappropriate at a time when many public sector workers are facing a pay freeze. The NASUWT also claimed individual state schools were already bending the rules on heads’ pay by awarding them generous perks such as private health care, additional leave, free cars and membership of private clubs on top of their salary.

Source: TELEGRAPH>> Read full article and comment

Girl gang leaders left residents too scared to sleep or go out

By James Tozer
Last updated at 1:57 AM on 10th May 2011

* Used Facebook to challenge rival ‘ladette’ gang to fights and sparked brawls involving up to 30 people
* One terrified man, 48, didn’t turn on lights and used glow of mobile phone to find his way around kitchen so gang wouldn’t think he was at home
* Daubed graffiti and anti-police slogans across the area

Two teenage girls terrorised their community so badly that they left one neighbour too terrified to switch on the lights in his home at night and a teenage boy frightened of sleeping in his own bedroom. Tori Duxbury, 15, and Amanda Holt, 16, were nicknamed the ‘Whitebirk Witches’ after leading a girl gang that spread misery through their neighbourhood. The teenagers caused brawls involving crowds of up to 30, hurled abuse at residents and daubed anti-police slogans on walls.

Source: DAILYMAIL>> Read full article and comment

A quarter of parents of young children in the UK admit using the television as a babysitter, research suggests.

9 May 2011 Last updated at 00:04 GMT

Some 70% of the 1,000 mothers and fathers polled as part of the national year of communication say they do not feel guilty about allowing their children to watch TV. And 42% think it is a great way for children to learn, the poll suggests. Experts say parents need to watch TV with their children if it is to be a good learning opportunity. In this way they can spark off conversation and introduce new words to their children, they say. It also means children should watch programmes appropriate to their age and specifically designed for them.

Source: BBC NEWS>> Read full article and comment

More than half of parents allow pre-school children to watch “adult” television programmes such as EastEnders, despite fears over unsuitable content.

By Graeme Paton, Education Editor

Research published on Monday suggests thousands of parents regularly use TV as a “babysitter” for under-fives and most fail to monitor their choice of viewing. The disclosure follows claims from teachers that unsupervised access to television may be leading to a decline in discipline standards as children mimic bad behaviour seen on screen. According to the latest research, some 54 per cent of parents admit to allowing children to watch programmes considered to be orientated towards adults.

Source: TELEGRAPH>> Read full article and comment

Almost half of companies are holding remedial courses in the three Rs for their recruits, a survey shows.

By Sarah Harris
Last updated at 8:58 AM on 9th May 2011

Businesses are being forced into the drastic measures because youngsters leave school without a proper grasp of the basics. They are struggling with tasks such as calculating percentages, working out change or composing coherent memos. Teenagers also fall short in terms of team-working, problem-solving, dealing with customers and showing a positive attitude.

Source: DAILYMAIL>> Read full article and comment

Survey of over 500 firms shows many employers dissatisfied with school leavers’ numeracy and use of English

By Jeevan Vasagar

Almost half of all employers have paid for remedial training for school and college leavers who lack a basic grasp of English and maths, according to the CBI. Companies also find school leavers lacking in the broader attributes required for work, with 69% saying school leavers have inadequate business awareness, and more than 50% finding shortcomings in their ability to manage themselves. The survey of more than 500 firms shows that 42% are dissatisfied with school leavers’ use of English, and more than a third are concerned about numeracy. Twelve per cent of employers provided remedial literacy training for graduates. The government is expected to announce this week that teenagers failing to get good GCSEs in English and maths should be required to pursue these subjects after 16. At present, 4% of such teenagers go on to achieve this by the age of 19.

Source: GUARDIAN>> Read full article and comment

Teenagers in Florida are set to be banned by law from wearing low-slung jeans that reveal their underwear.

By Jon Swaine, New York 2:47PM BST 08 May 2011

Teenagers in Florida are set to be banned by law from wearing low-slung jeans that reveal their underwear. Senate Bill 228, also known as the “Pull Your Pants Up” Bill, was last week overwhelmingly approved by the state legislature. It is expected to be signed by Governor Rick Scott this week. The measure prohibits students from wearing clothing that “exposes their undergarments” or “indecently exposes their body parts” while they are at school.

Source: TELEGRAPH>> Read full article and comment

The head teacher of a troubled high school has been suspended after teachers went on strike over the support they were being given to tackle bad behaviour by pupils.

11:49AM BST 07 May 2011

Staff at Darwen Vale High School in Darwen, Lancashire, staged a one day strike last month amid anger at management and the head teacher Hilary Torpey over their policies on disciplining children. Teachers were said they lacked of backing from Mrs Torpey and school management when they confronted unruly children.

Source: TELEGRAPH>> Read full article and comment

Michael Rosen and Alan Gibbons line up to reject proposal for primary schools floated by national curriculum panel

By James Meikle

Children’s authors are gearing up for a fight over whether schools should be given government-approved lists of books that children should have read by the time they reach a certain age.

Authors Michael Rosen and Alan Gibbons appear first in line in the latest round of what has almost become a national sport in England over the last 25 years – criticising ministers for seeking to prescribe what they see as the best texts.

The idea of replicating in primary schools what already happens in the first three years of secondary schools is being floated by a small panel of experts set up by the education secretary, Michael Gove, to review the national curriculum for five to 16-year-olds, according to the Times Educational Supplement (TES).

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Hundreds of worthless qualifications face the axe under a Government shake-up of vocational education.

By Sarah Harris
Last updated at 12:11 AM on 7th May 2011

Ministers believe too many ‘Mickey Mouse’ courses are failing teenagers as they do not lead to higher education or stable jobs.In a major crackdown, ministers are expected to implement the findings of a review which found that up to a third of the non-academic GCSE courses introduced under Labour were pointless.
Many of these ‘soft’ courses will be banned from counting towards schools’ GCSE league table positions, while others will fail to be accredited in the first place.The Government is set to urge regulator Ofqual to take a tougher stance and oversee a fall in the number of poor-quality, non-academic courses being accredited in schools and colleges.

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Hundreds of thousands of students will be forced study English and maths up to the age of 18 under Government plans to improve basic skills.

By Graeme Paton, Education Editor

Teenagers who fail to get good GCSEs in the three-Rs will carry on with the subjects until they reach a decent standard, the Coalition will announce next week. It is believed the move could affect up to half of students in colleges, sixth-forms and work-based training. The proposal will be outlined as part of a sweeping overhaul of vocational training in England.

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Two teenagers who claim their disabilities were caused by heart treatment as babies in Bristol have been awarded £1m in compensation.

6 May 2011 Last updated at 13:33 GMT

Kristian Dixon and Jessica Johnson were both awarded £500,000 each. Ms Johnson, 18, who has brain damage, had operations in 1993 and 1995 at the Bristol Royal Infirmary while Mr Dixon, 19, had heart surgery in 1992. United Bristol Healthcare NHS Trust said the settlements had been reached without admission of liability. Sarah Paneth, counsel for the trust, said they hoped the compensation would allow the pair to have “secure and fulfilling” futures.

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A furious father pulled his son out of a cyber cafe by his hair, stripped him naked and dragged him home by his feet after the game-addicted teenager disobeyed a computer ban.

By Daily Mail Reporter
Last updated at 1:00 PM on 6th May 2011

Lu Tan, 39, said he had warned son Xiaomeng, 14, dozens of times not to play computer games, adding: ‘I chucked the computer in the bin because he spent all his time in his room doing no work – but then when I came home from work I found he had gone to the internet cafe.’
He stormed into the cafe at Hechi city, in Guagnxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, in southern China and dragged his son out in front of his friends.

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Lauren Peberdy was stunned when she gave birth to an 8lb 7oz baby – as she had no idea she was pregnant.

By Daily Mail Reporter
Last updated at 3:33 PM on 6th May 2011

In fact she’d been to the doctor for a contraceptive pill check-up just a fortnight earlier, and the doctor had said her weight and blood pressure were fine.Lauren, a size 8 beauty therapist, was using the lavatory at her boyfriend’s house when her waters broke and little Dylan-James made his surprise arrival.‘I didn’t know what was happening at first. I thought I was dying’, said Lauren, 20, from Deeside, North Wales. ‘By the time the paramedics arrived five minutes later I had given birth on the bathroom floor,’ she said.

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