A High Court judge has dismissed a Muslim pupil's claim that a policy banning prayer rituals at Michaela Community School was discriminatory. The judgment read: “The disadvantage to Muslim pupils at the school caused by the PRP [the school’s prayer ritual policy] was outweighed by the aims which it seeks to promote in the interests of the school community as a whole, including Muslim pupils.” Peter Chappell and Nicola Woolcock, The Times. 

Muslim leaders have expressed their disappointment in the ruling, saying the court "hasn't defended a very well-established British principle of freedom of religion". Imam Ajmal Masroor, a faith leader, said the decision reflected a “fundamental misunderstanding” of what it means to be a Muslim, after a judge concluded the ban did not interfere with the Michaela Community School pupil’s rights. Aine Fox, The Independent. 

Young people between the ages of 14 and 16 who spend a large amount of time online are more likely to miss school through illness or truancy, a study published in the Archives of Disease in Childhood has found. The findings suggest teenage girls are more likely than teenage boys to score highly on excessive internet use. However, a good amount of sleep and exercise - and a trusting relationship with their parents - appears to help reduce the effects of extreme internet use on absences in the classroom. By Andrew Gregory, The Guardian.

Sir Nick Clegg has said virtual reality headsets will not be used in schools under a new Meta scheme unless teachers can monitor what pupils are doing, amid growing concerns about child safety in the metaverse. Mr Clegg said: "This is not going to be used in the classroom unless teachers feel they have complete visibility and control of what's going on." As part of a new package announced by Meta, virtual and augmented reality would be used as immersive tools to enable pupils to visit museums, practise speaking different languages, and enter 3D versions of environments they otherwise could not access. By Arthi Nachiappan, Sky News.

One in every 52 children in Blackpool are in care compared with one in 140 across England, according to a report by Health Equity North. The findings have led researchers to call for more to be done to urgently address the widening North-South divide, brought on by "decades of underinvestment". Dr Davara Bennett, head of public health, policy and systems at the University of Liverpool, said: “Our report has exposed the deeply rooted social inequalities reflected in, and exacerbated by, the child welfare system. These need to be tackled head-on by policymakers.” By Robyn Vinter, the Guardian. 

Hundreds of thousands of families across England found out on Tuesday which primary school their child will be joining in September. Findings from a PA news agency survey of local authorities show a child's chance of gaining a place at their preferred school varies significantly depending on where they live, but overall a higher proportion of children are receiving their top choice. By Eleanor Busby, The Standard.

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