ISC Daily News Summary

All national newspapers
The DCSF have published a new education white paper, which contains a series of measures designed to sound tough on ‘poor teachers, poor schools and poor teachers’.
These include plans to create a “license to teach” for teachers to work in state schools, which will have to be renewed every five years, and pupil and parent guarantees that will be “legally enforceable”.
Critics have questions about how much these measures will change quality of teaching and learning in reality.
Balls talks tough with 'license to teach' (Financial Times)
Teachers face the sack in 5-year license plan (Independent)
The law of the classroom (Independent)
Teachers face regular tests to get 'license' (Daily Telegraph)
Commons sketch: Ed Balls has hints of Wackford Squeers (Daily Telegraph)
Balls plans five-year licensing system in attempt to rid schools of bad teachers (Guardian)
Difficult lessons (Guardian)
A new plan for schools - but who pays, and who will be the enforcer? (Guardian)
Licensed to teach: staff could be retested every five years (Times)
MOT for teachers (Sun)
Teachers' MoTs every five years (Daily Mail)
Teachers will be put on a five-year license (Daily Express)
Poor teachers to get expelled (Daily Mirror)

Financial Times, Independent
According to new research, recruitment by 100 leading graduate employers has fallen by 13.5 per cent this year, retreating back to “roughly 2005 levels”. Sectors that have been hit hard include investment banking, information technology and engineering.
Graduate recruitment by top employers falls to 2005 levels (Financial Times)
Class of 2009 facing the worst job market 'in two decades' (Independent)

Daily Telegraph
According to research by Million Plus, the number of university places awarded through the clearing system will fall by almost two-thirds this year. Only 16,000 places will be available on A-level results day, compared with 43,000 in 2008, because of this year’s surge in demand, it is claimed. Million Plus have advised that extra funding should be provided to supply more places and thus save taxpayer money through a reduction in benefits for the long-term unemployed.
Shortage of university places will leave thousands on benefits (Daily Telegraph)

Daily Telegraph
According to new research by Cambridge Assessment, the number of pupils studying foreign languages has dropped to its lowest level in twenty years.
Language GCSEs fall to 20 year low (Daily Telegraph)

Times
The Times features a comment piece on the growing trend of parents hiring personal tutors for their children.
Tutors steal children's time and our money (Times)

Scotsman
It has emerged that schools in Scotland deemed to be in the poorest condition will not be guaranteed a priority in the latest school building programme.
Thousands of Scots pupils 'face decade in crumbling old schools' (Scotsman)

Scotsman
Scottish qualifications have been given a boost as the project element of the new baccalaureate, in schools from August, has been rated as the equivalent of half an Advanced Higher by Ucas.
Boost for Scottish education as exam gets thumbs up (Scotsman)

Scotsman
The Scottish Government has announced plans for a groundbreaking “two for one” deal to boost the recruitment of apprentices in the country’s life sciences sector.
'Two for one' plan to hire 100 apprentices (Scotsman)

Daily Mail, Daily Express
Parents have been warned by the BMA not to take their children to ‘swine-flu parties’ in the hope of getting them immunised from the virus. According to the parental website mumsnet.com, some mothers have suggested deliberately exposing children to the virus now before it mutates into a more potent strain.
Don't send children to any 'swine flu parties' (Daily Mail)
Parents warned over 'swine flu parties' (Daily Express)

Guardian
A local government ombudsman report has ruled that a girl who lived with her mentally ill mother was “effectively written off” by social workers and never attended secondary school. The girl, now 20, deemed bright and able to learn, will be awarded money by her local council for a deposit to put down on a home as well as to fund an educational programme.
Cheshire county council 'wrote off' girl who never went to secondary school (Guardian)

Daily Telegraph
The Daily Telegraph features a comment piece on speech day season.
'I'm thinking of starting a school prize for under-achievers' (Daily Telegraph)

Independent
One parent writes about their experience with a dyslexic son, choosing to educate him at home.
Schools fail to help dyslexic children (Independent)

Daily Telegraph
The Daily Telegraph has published a letter about the reliability of maths Sats.
Satisfactory Sats (Daily Telegraph)

ISC sent the following letter to the Financial Times in response to its article 'Top schools raise fees in excess of inflation' (FT June 20/21) - http://www.isc.co.uk/publication_4_0_0_33_621.htm

As part of our commitment to continue to develop and improve the ISC Daily News Summary, our political monitoring team will be contributing a weekly summary of parliamentary news of interest to the education sector:

Schools Secretary Ed Balls has presented an Education White Paper, Your child, your schools, our future. Key points include periodically reviewed teaching licenses for staff, tougher home-school agreements, school report cards, accredited school groups and new progress check in Year 7.

This week the Government has published their Draft Legislative Programme as part of the overall “Building Britain’s Future” programme. As a result, key Bills to look out for over the coming year will be the Improving Schools and Safeguarding Children Bill, in which elements of the new education white paper will be implemented, and the Child Poverty Bill.

In written statements, Sir Jim Rose has presented findings and recommendations from his dyslexia review. 4,000 teachers will be funded to train in specialist dyslexia teaching over the next two years - one for every local group of schools.

Ed Balls has addressed recommendations from the School Teachers' Review Body. He will be implementing the teacher’s pay award and pay ranges for excellent teachers, but he will not place a cap on the wages of those heads responsible for the largest federations of schools.

In another statement, Ed Balls announced news regarding the future of Partnerships UK and its role in the delivery of Building Schools for the Future.

The Learning and Skills Council has announced thirteen further education building projects.

In the House of Commons there have been debates on safeguarding children, the skills gap and appeals against school governing bodies.

In the Conservative party, Shadow Universities and Skills Secretary, David Willetts, has accused Labour of creating a "lost generation" after new figures revealed that opportunities for young people to become apprentices are decreasing.

Finally, Liberal Democrat Shadow Children’s Minister, Annette Brooke, has tabled a question asking about the cost of ContactPoint.