ISC Daily News Summary

The debate as to whether mobile phone use should be restricted in schools continues in the press. The Express reports that Amanda Spielman, chief inspector of Ofsted, is expected to use a talk today at the Festival of Education at Wellington College to give her backing to headteachers who ban mobile phones to prevent bad behaviour. By Michael Knowles. The article quotes Helen Jeys, headmistress of Alderley Edge School for Girls.

The newspaper also features a commentary on the issue of mobile phone use in schools by Richard Cairns, headmaster of Brighton College.

Jane Prescott, headmistress of Portsmouth High School GDST, has written to The Telegraph on the topic, saying smartphones can aid classroom learning if used intelligently. Scroll down to read the letter.

A head of history writes for Tes about the 'facade' of teaching the new GCSE, claiming teachers do not yet really know what a grade 4 looks like. By Laura Tilley.

Think tank Reform has said that grade inflation could be tackled by the introduction of national assessments for particular degree subjects. By Eleanor Busby, The Independent.

The Guardian features an opinion piece claiming disadvantaged students are being failed by the university admissions process. By Grace Holliday.

Carole Easton, chief executive of Young Women’s Trust, writes for The Times about the need for women to be given greater access to IT, construction and engineering apprenticeships.

According to FFT Education Datalab, statistics show that thousands of students failed to take their GCSEs after being taken out of state schools. By Richard Adams, The Guardian.

Minds Ahead, a social enterprise working to improve mental health in schools, and think-tank LKMCo, which aims to ensure all schoolchildren receive the support they need, have released a report calling for Teach First-style schemes to be introduced in order to train school mental health specialists. By Alix Robertson, Schools Week.