• Michael Gove has rapidly renamed the Department for Children, Schools and Families the Department for Education, although universities will remain the responsibility of the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills. The Conservatives had nicknamed the former DCSF, the 'Department for Curtains and Soft Furnishings' after revelations about millions of pounds spent on refitting its interior. Guardian
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• Gove has written to civil servants within his department to set out his priorities for education. He stated that 'free' schools and academies would be the focus for change and that he hoped to liberate teachers and heads across the country. He also mentioned an exam system which would allow schools to offer different qualifications and smaller class sizes, a top priority of the Lib Dems. BBC
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• Figures from the Department of Education show that infant class sizes have hit their highest level for 12 years. In 2009, the average class size for 5-7 year olds was 27 pupils and 31,640 under sevens were in classes of over 30, despite Labour having banned classes of this size for children aged 5-7. Telegraph
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• School inspections in Scotland will be halted for five months from August this year. Inspection staff will be redeployed to help teachers implement the new Curriculum for Excellence (CfE) and to visit schools to ensure it is being taught properly. Scotland's biggest teaching union said the move 'absolutely made sense'. Times
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• Another indication of how families have been hit by the recession is the rise in the number of pupils eligible for free school meals for the second year in a row. 18.5% of primary school pupils are eligible, compared to 17.1% the previous year. In secondary schools, the figure is 15.4%, up from 14.5% in 2009. Telegraph
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• 7.5% of secondary age children from the most deprived backgrounds were classed as 'gifted and talented', leaving them eligible for extra tuition. Among their peers, it was over double this, at 15.9%. In primary schools, 8.9% of pupils were 'gifted and talented' - among white British pupils, it was 15.2% and of those from Chinese families, 25%. Telegraph
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• Figures from the Department for Education show that almost 21% of pupil under 16 have some special educational needs. A senior government advisor spoke recently of 'perverse incentives' for schools to claim that children who were dropping behind had educational needs, so as to protect their position in the league tables. Telegraph


• One in six children in primary schools speak another language at home - the number of children not speaking English as a first language has risen 5% in the last 12 months. In secondary schools, 11.6% of children speak languages other than English at home. In 15 council areas in London and South East, the majority of primary school pupils speak English as a second language. Telegraph


• A selection of Guardian writers pick the best books for 0-2 year olds, 2-4 year olds, 5-7 year olds, 8-12 year olds and for 12 years and over.

• The Russell Group told the Browne Review of Higher Education funding that graduates should pay back their loans at a higher rate of interest. It warned that under the current system, the sustainability of institutions was 'severely at risk' and could face a deficit of £1.1bn by 2012-13 and would haemorrhage their top academics. Guardian


• Leeds university is witnessing a dispute in which the question of what to do with a comment intimating anti-Semitism has come head to head with a commitment to free speech. Guardian

• Iain Duncan Smith spent five years working out the answer to how to put Britain back on track from inside his thinktank, the Centre for Social Justice, before he was put in charge of the department which includes social security this week. A controversial figure, known for his pro-marriage, pro-family outlook and radical proposals for benefit reform, one policy analyst acknowledged that he is not the ruthless cost-cutter the Conservatives could have appointed. Guardian
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• In new details of Treasury cuts, the government has published an agreement to end the existing welfare to work programmes and create a single welfare to work programme to help unemployed people back to work. Receipt of benefits is to be contingent on 'willingness to work'. The IFS suggested cuts to the social security budget would be one of the three key pillars of deficit reduction. Guardian
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• A study of 3,500 couples after the birth of their first child has found that the more husbands helped with housework, shopping and childcare, the lower the incidence of divorce. The lowest risk of divorce occurred when the mother did not work and the father was highly involved in unpaid, home-based work. Times
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• The Mail suggests that families will face a VAT rise which will cost the average family £425 a year. 24 of 29 economic advisors to the Treasury who were polled, expected VAT to rise to 20% before the end of 2011. Mail
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• High Street chains Mothercare and the Early Learning Centre have removed two buggies from sale over concerns over safety. It follows the recall of 2.5 million buggies by the original toy company in America. The long handle for adults to hold can detach from the buggy itself. Times
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• Has the oral contraceptive been misguidedly shackled to the sexual revolution of the 1960s? First the preserve of married couples, the pill received state subsidies to prevent overpopulation in some countries and tackled the unavoidable pregnancies which made women ill, economically inactive and socially secluded. Only latterly did it come to revolutionise the possibilities of relationships outside wedlock. Guardian

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