Question: Is the memorandum of understanding between the Department for Education and the Church of England/Catholic Church a legally binding document? Can church schools become stand-alone academies or do they have to become part of a diocesan-led trust? Read more
The traditional ‘three Rs’ are on the decline in England, analysis has revealed, with over a quarter of adults having literacy levels so low that they may struggle to read a bus timetable or a wage slip. Five million adults lack basic reading, writing and numeracy skills required in everyday life and to carry out a job, research by the Joseph Rowntree Foundation found. Read more
A concerning number of today’s four-year-olds are not physically ready to start school, new research has revealed, with children’s mobility levels said to be at an all-time low. Early-years specialists monitoring children of school age found a higher number experience problems with their balance and coordination than previously thought, ultimately affecting their ability to learn in class. Read more
Where in Europe would you expect to find the highest concentration of graduates? Would it be a particularly earnest quarter of Oslo? Or an erudite corner of Finland or Germany? The answer – by a considerable distance – is London. In parts of London, more than two in three adults of working age, have a degree or higher education equivalent. Read more
The target set by world leaders for all children to have at least a primary education by 2030 is likely to be missed on current trends, warns a report from Unesco. The UN agency says at the current rate of progress it will take until 2042. The Unesco report suggests there are 61 million children of primary age who do not have access to school. Read more
The University of Toronto’s School of Public Health led a study that found elderly men and women who had close family ties were more likely to live longer than those who were not particularly close to their family. Even those with close friends did not fare as well as those with positive family relationships, lead researcher James Iveniuk found. Read more
About 43% of state school teachers have offered private tutoring outside their main work as demand continues to rise, a report has revealed. The number of state-educated 11 to 16-year-olds in England and Wales who have been privately tutored rose by more than a third over the last decade, according to research by the Sutton Trust. Read more