ISC Daily News Summary

Schools minister Jim Knight has been heckled at the annual conference of the Association of Teachers and Lecturers (ATL) after he said that teaching pupils in classes of 70 was 'acceptable'.

Minister jeered by teachers over tests and class sizes (Independent)
Schools minister heckled at teachers' conference for backing large class sizes (Guardian)
Minister: Classes of 70 are acceptable (Daily Telegraph)
Teachers jeer the minister who finds classes of 70 ‘acceptable' (Daily Mail)
Class sizes of 70...who are you kidding? (Daily Express not online)
70 per class 'ok' (Sun)
Classes of 70 ok with me (Daily Mirror)
Teachers tick off school minister (BBC News Online)

Other issues arising from the conference.

Teachers to blacklist serial false claimers (Times)
Marking on screen 'flawed' (Daily Telegraph not online)
Charge students 'over false allegations' (Daily Telegraph)
Teachers demand blacklist of pupils making false allegations (Independent)

The Conservative Party has claimed that more than 10% of students are damaging their long-term prospects by taking 'soft' subjects at A-level.

Too many easy A levels, say Tories (Times)

Teaching union NASUWT has expressed concern over a scheme in Walsall that offers pupils financial incentives to get better exam results.

Cashing in on exams (Daily Mirror)

The Financial Times has learned that about a third of city academy school proposals backed by Gordon Brown have included the local authority as a 'co-sponsor', as town halls fight to regain influence over the supposedly independent state schools.

Town halls seek to recapture academies (Financial Times)

A number of newspapers report on a study by Universities UK, which predicts that the number of school-leavers will plummet over the next 10 years leaving 70,000 university places unfilled. The report also states that universities' plans to build their increasingly crucial market in part-time students will be threatened by the government decision to withdraw funding for second degrees. Research by the London School of Economics (LSE) suggests that boys are overconfident in their academic abilities but fewer go to university than girls.

Universities face big drop in school-leavers next decade (Guardian)
Universities told they must diversify to thrive (Times)
Boys 'overconfident in academic ability' (Times)
Funding blow to part-time students (Financial Times)
Uni's up the pole (Sun)

A study commissioned by the Department for Children, Schools and Families (DCSF) to improve numeracy standards in primary schools has recommended that parents should join in children's mathematics lessons to improve their own numeracy skills.

Parents can help pupils by learning new styles of maths (Daily Telegraph)
Parents should join in children's mathematics lessons to improve their own numeracy skills (Times)

The Daily Telegraph reports that the earliest Easter since 1913 is playing havoc with the holiday plans of thousands of families because of the colder weather and recent changes to the school year.

Families' holidays ruined by earliest Easter in 90 years (Daily Telegraph)

Bob MacQueen from the Open University discusses recent reports on dyslexia in a Guardian response column.

Early support for dyslexic pupils could prevent two million failures (Guardian)

'Cyberbullying is a serious offence that no teacher should have to endure at the hands of pupils or parents. However, technology may be a vehicle for the abuse, but it should not be blamed for the crime.'

Teachers and classroom discipline (Times letters)

Today's Independent Education supplement includes articles on league tables, the homework 'crisis' and the overseas student market.

The Famous Five have undergone a radical 21st century makeover for a new Disney cartoon series.

Famous Five go high-tech in new books and film for Disney Channel (Times)
No more ginger beer as Famous Five updated (Guardian)
Enid Blyton's Famous Five reborn as cartoon (Daily Telegraph)
Gosh Julian! Look what Disney's done to the Famous Five (Daily Mail)
Famous Five getting a makeover for the 21st century (Daily Mirror)