• Michael Gove will today tell MPs that Labour's Building Schools for the Future scheme is to be wound down. 700 projects to build or renovate school sites are likely to be scrapped; 500 with work at a more advanced stage will likely undergo the conversion. This will hit schools in Conservative areas particularly hard. Telegraph


• Gove is to double funding for Teach First, meaning the Government grant will top £4 million. The scheme places high-flying graduates in under-performing schools - 8% of final year students at Oxford applied to join this year. Telegraph


• In contrast with the estimate of Chris Woodhead - former chief Inspector of schools - that there are 15,000 incompetent teachers in service, it is discovered that the General Teaching Council has struck off only 18 teachers for incompetence across its decade lifespan. Telegraph


• In the first seven months of this year, the heads of the three major exam boards - AQA; Edexcel and OCR - have all left. Such a loss of expertise concerns many during a year which sees the introduction of new harder exam papers, a new A* super grade and first results of the controversial 'diploma' courses. Telegraph


• Schools could be breaking the law by asking support staff to teach lessons while qualified teachers are absent, the National Union of Teachers has claimed. Classroom assistants are less costly than supply teachers but are unlikely to have teaching qualifications. BBC


• Michael Gove has said that he wants sixth form learning to involve 'fewer, more rigorous exams' and 'a revival of the art of deep thought'. He is to consult universities about how exams can be remodelled to replace the modular approach at sixth-form level. Telegraph


• An expert has claimed that a hard-line approach to discipline fails because children do not retain what they are being taught when they are fearful. Instead, the paediatric neurologist argues that a system of rewards and close personal attention for pupils is more efficacious. Telegraph


• The headmaster of a prestigious private school speaks out about the flaws he encountered during 13 years as headmaster of a state school - namely that poor schools make excuses for their failure and the Government must accept that schools cannot solve the ills of society. He approves of the direction of the academies project, commenting that 'local authorities as a mechanism for improvement was never going to work'. Telegraph


• A report initiated by the Scottish Executive has called for scrums in rugby to be scrapped over the health and safety risks they carry: secondary school pupils who play the sport have a 12% risk of getting injured over the course of the season and concussion is under-reported, with serious long-term consequences. Mail


• Parents who allow their five and eight year old children to cycle one mile to school unsupervised have been warned that they could be reported to social services. The children's head teacher told their parents he had a legal responsibility to notify the council if the school fear the children's safety is being put at risk. Mail

• Employment statistics show worrying signs that graduates males are seriously under-performing in the jobs market: in December, 17.2% were unemployed compared to 11.2% of young women. Men hold just 44% of graduate jobs. Despite this, starting salaries for men were on average 11% higher than for women. Telegraph


• With prospect for graduates glum, the 'Manchesters Masters' scheme funded by the Northwest Regional Development Agency, the National Endowment for Science, Technology and the Arts and Manchester City Council remains a glittering opportunity for ten students and a way of keeping the best graduate talent local. Guardian

• The latest edition of the Social Trends report has shown that far more people are living alone (single occupancy accounts for nearly a third of households), marriage and divorce rates are at dramatic lows but single parent families are now four times more common than in 1961. The gap between female and male employment stands at only 7% - in 1971, it was 30% and females now make up 57% of the education rolls. Guardian


• 30% of 10-14 year old children have said they are scared when their parents drink; half of the 1,234 surveyed said they had seen their parents drunk. Childwise Research director Rosemary Duff advocated better and earlier education on the dangers of alcohol, pointing out that 'each generation takes their cues from their parents'. BBC


• A controversial manual detailing how force can be used to restrain child prisoners is being made public for the first time. One technique described is 'distraction', which deliberately inflicts pain to control young prisoners. The Ministry of Justice commented that restraint was always used as a last resort. BBC


• Barnardos is calling for professionals within the police, educational and social services to be specially trained in spotting when a child may be being groomed, in order to reduce the number of children exposed to these risks. They currently work with more than 600 exploited children. BBC 


• The City Parochial Foundation and Trust for London, two charitable funds which between them have tackled poverty and inequality in London for more than a century, have this week merged. The new fund, Trust for London, will distribute £6m in grants each year. Guardian

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