ISC Daily News Summary

The government is expected to announce new restrictions on social media access for children within weeks, as the prime minister, Keir Starmer, vowed on Tuesday to act "very, very quickly". Age limits or changes to allegedly addictive design features – or a combination of both – would come into effect before the end of the year, and could affect a range of social media platforms, gaming sites and messaging services. By Robert Booth and Jessica Elgot, The Guardian. 

The NAHT union has warned that a blanket social media ban for under-16s would not be a "panacea" in its response to the government's consultation on children's use of digital technology. The union's submission argues that the "potential benefits" of social media, not just the risks, should be taken into consideration, adding: "NAHT members have raised concern about solely focusing on a ban, at the expense of wider safety measures and restrictions, highlighting that it could create a false sense of safety while pushing children into less regulated online spaces." The NAHT's position is more nuanced than that of the NEU and the NASUWT, which have both called for a statutory social media ban for under-16s. By Cerys Turner, Tes.

The Times offers a guide for parents on the different social media platforms, their age limits, the risks of harm and the controls available to keep young people safe. By Mark Sellman. 

A-level students in several countries, including the UK, have had their exam papers voided after it emerged they had been leaked online. Cambridge International Education said it had "moved quickly to put alternative measures in place for impacted students", with some receiving "assessed marks" based on how they did in other parts of the course. The exam board says it is mostly international students who are affected, but the papers are also sat by some students in independent schools across the UK. By Hayley Clarke, BBC News.

The National Fire Chiefs Council has urged parents to tell their children about the dangers of open-water swimming after five teenagers drowned during the latest heatwave. The Royal National Lifeboat Institution also issued a warning, reminding people that open-water swimming can lead to hyperventilation, a spike in heart rate and blood pressure as the body reacts to cold water: "While the air temperature is warm, the seas are still cold and cold water shock remains a very real risk. With many schoolchildren enjoying half-term, we urge everyone to stay safe." By Lily Shanagher, The Telegraph. 

Writing in The Times, former prime minister Rishi Sunak calls for numeracy to be treated in the same way as other fundamental life skills, warning that a lack of financial literacy is "holding our economy back". "Building better financial literacy is one of best things we can do for social mobility in the UK. If we can teach people the basics in school, we can have a more financially confident population who know how to be smarter with money," he writes. 

All undergraduates at the University of Manchester will be required to do work placements even if they are taking purely academic degrees, The Times reports. The university is starting to roll out the requirement across its programmes under the direction of its vice-chancellor, Duncan Ivison, who believes no student should graduate having done solely three years of academia. "A big ambition for us at Manchester is wanting every single student to have a chance to put their learning into context: an internship, a placement, a joint project or an exchange. When they’re with us, we need to pull into our students’ experience more of what they would have normally got in that traditional first job out of uni – practical, diverse experiences," he says. By Nicola Woolcock.