• Education spending could be cut by as much as 25% over the next four years, the Chancellor stated that all departments would be hit by average cuts of this figure but that not all would receive the same rate of reduction. Teachers and lecturers face a two year pay freeze from 2011 but the government has protected frontline spending on schools for a year. BBC
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• A new report from the Institute of Education assesses the impact of Sweden's free schools. It finds that the biggest beneficiaries are those children from more highly educated families, the impact on children from low educated and immigrant families is close to zero. It suggests that any advantages gained by pupils at such schools fails to translate into 'greater educational success' beyond 18. Telegraph
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• The number of vocational qualifications awarded has increased by 11% over just one year to four million - the biggest rises were in travel and tourism, leisure, engineering, manufacturing and construction. Lord Baker, chairman of Edge, insisted that the traditional 'snobbery' surrounding practical courses was being eroded. Telegraph


• A joint report by the chief inspector of prisons, police and probation finds strategies to tackle gangs as patchy and often counter-productive, and calls for an integrated national strategy on the issue. Schools were seen to have 'the ability to make a significant contribution' to prevent 12 and 13 year olds developing a gang culture and ideology. BBC


• Five Scottish sixth formers have completed an expedition to Columbia, a country renowned for its dangers and drugs. The students flew out to witness firsthand the devastating impact of the narcotics trade in a trip arranged through the Columbian Government's Shared Responsibility campaign which aims to show outsiders the devastation that global demand for cocaine has caused. Times


• Many schools and businesses will shut early to allow pupils and employees to watch the crucial England match at 3pm. Schools have brought forward their finishing times; rearranged school buses and put TVs in the hall to allow pupils to watch a match which they feel would distract them anyway. The TUC called on bosses to let staff watch the match. Telegraph


• Britain's greenest schoolchildren: are growing food, sorting rubbish, saving batteries and recycling clothes. Telegraph

• The proportion of 16-18 year olds in school, college or training reached its highest ever level last year at 82.7%. Yet among those not in education or training, more than half of those are out of work - the highest level for 15 years. Only 47% had a job. The proportion of the age group classed as NEET has fallen slightly back to 9.2%. Guardian


• Last year, the Student Loans Company lent out £5.05bn, a rise of a fifth on the £4.2bn in 2008/9. The rise is seen to indicate the growing number of parents unable to fund their children's university due to the recession. Of this £2.1 bn was taken out to pay tuition fees; 3.2 million students are borrowing money. Telegraph


• Paul Marshall, head of the 1994 group of universities has anticipated an expansion of private universities. With record numbers of students missing out on university places and the government promising greater flexibility of provision, he felt private providers would enter higher education to its benefit, adding competition and driving up quality. BBC


• Harrods is to become the first retailer in Britain to offer a BA Honours degree. The two year degree in the 'art of selling' would only be available to employees and include modules on human behaviour, psychology and business enterprise. MacDonalds too offers qualifications equivalent to GCSE and A-level for work at the fast-food outlet. Telegraph

• Budget 2010: the losers. The government will reduce tax credits for those with a household income of over £40,000; child benefit will be frozen for three years; the baby element of the child tax credit removed; the £190 Health-in-Pregnancy grant and £500 maternity grant to poor mothers scrapped. Lone parents will also be expected to look for work when their child starts school. The government has also put caps on housing payments which could make some properties unaffordable. Guardian


• Scotland's Commissioner for Children and Young People has said that investment in services such as parenting classes and nursery care provided society with the best possible return for child development and that it was 'a short-sighted step to neglect our early years'. He commented that the UK spends 0.5% of GDP on early years and childcare compared to the European recommendation of 1%. Times


• A case study of the impact of the budget on a workless single mother in Sheffield. Guardian


• Medical experts have said that rapists are not being convicted because doctors are not conducting effective examinations of victims. Doctors will debate the motion at the British Medical Association's annual conference next week. The evidence gathering of forensic physicians can prove crucial in court cases but training is not given at medical school and recruitment is difficult. http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/2010/jun/22/rapists-going-free-doctors-errors

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