ISC Daily News Summary

Times
Pupils from St Martin’s School in Northwood have won The Times Spelling Bee. The paper provides a complete guide to the competition today.
Scribbling judges keep their heads down as spelling machineguns spray room with letters (Times)

Scotsman
The Scotsman reports on the first ever Scholar’s Challenge, which paired up teams from six schools with six Scottish entrepreneurs in a challenge to raise money for disadvantaged people in Scotland. The competition was won by Dollar Academy, with Lomond School and Merchiston Castle School also putting in great performances.
Pupils do the business as they rise to the charity challenge with aplomb (Scotsman – not online)

Independent, Daily Express, Sun, Daily Mail, Daily Telegraph
Heads of successful state schools could earn close to £200,000 a year if they help under-achieving neighbours. Schools Secretary Ed Balls wants schools to work together in 'chains'. High-performing state establishments would merge with struggling ones. Any that refused would be marked down in Ofsted ratings. Besides the academic benefits, Mr Balls believes that schools working together will enjoy a financial boost through shared costs. He plans to reject a recommended cap of £120,000 on the pay of head teachers, opening the way for salaries approaching £200,000 for those who agree to take on a 'superhead' role overseeing several schools.
Good schools to join bad in merger plan (Daily Express)
You won't improve schools by mixing the bad with the good (Independent)
£200k to be head of 'chain' schools (Sun)
£200,000 superheads (Daily Mail)
For bad, read good (Daily Mail)
Good schools ‘must not be made to take over stragglers' (Daily Telegraph – not online)

Independent, Daily Mail, Guardian, Times, Daily Telegraph
Children as young as five are being excluded from school for indulging in explicit sexual behaviour, a report by inspectors reveals today. A survey by Ofsted, the education standards watchdog, says more than one in five primary schools have reported "inappropriate sexual behaviour" by children aged four to seven. At eight schools, children had been excluded as a result of their behaviour. The incidents have raised fears about child abuse, although some teachers' leaders believe the "sexploitation" of children by commercial organisations could be to blame.
Nursery pupils excluded for being sexually explicit in class (Independent)
Primary schools should use 'calming tents' to cut expulsions schools told (Daily Mail)
Sexualised primary pupils worry Ofsted (Guardian)
Group therapy needed to control infants, says Ofsted (Daily Telegraph)
Teachers struggle with sex and aggression in children aged 7 (Times)
School's Out (Times)

Times
The Times provides a feature on one school that has taken a hardline approach to discipline, with impressive results.
Superheads: can they really save our sink schools? (Times)

Daily Express
Ann Widdecombe provides a comment piece, claiming that pupils are fooled by grades and assessments that bear ‘no relationship to reality’.
Students are fooled by this lax education system (Daily Express)

Independent
The entire governing body of a comprehensive school was sacked yesterday by Children's Secretary Ed Balls following a row over bonus payments to its head and senior staff. Mr Balls said he was "very concerned" about allegations of serious financial mismanagement at the school. These are now being investigated by the National Audit Office while the Head and the school's bursar have been suspended.
Balls sacks governors over £1.6m bonus payments (Independent)

Daily Telegraph, Times
Universities should be allowed to increase the £3,100 cap on tuition fees, according to Professor Paul Wellings, a leading academic, who said ministers had to make a "clear choice" between cutting student numbers or increasing funding.
Student tuition fees 'should increase', says vice-chancellor (Daily Telegraph)
Tuition fees ‘too low’ (Times – not online)

Scotsman
Britons are keeping their spirits up during the recession by singing in the shower. According to a new survey, eight out of ten people feel more positive if they start their day with a singsong. Monty Python’s Always Look on the Bright Side of Life is the nation’s favourite.
Always look on the bright side of the shower for good start to day (Scotsman)