• In Ofsted's first investigation into school meals after legislation set out minimum health standards for meals in schools, the inspectorate advised that schools should do more to help parents on low incomes who do not qualify for free meals but cannot afford to provide a healthy packed lunch. They suggested that schools, families, councils and retailers should encourage local shops to stock healthy options and advice should be given to parents about what constitutes a healthy lunch. Times


• The number of five to 11 year olds in England is expected to rise by 13.5% by 2018 - in London the increase will be 16% - a phenomenon expected to put a huge strain on primary school places. The anticipated rise comes as the Coalition announces that up to 25% would be slashed from the education budget and funds to rebuild schools are likely to be redirected elsewhere. Telegraph


• The Department of Education has said an announcement about the Building Schools for the Future project is 'likely, but not certain' to come next week. Ministers have criticised the scheme as bureaucratic and a poor use of money but more than a third of English secondary schools are involved in the project. BBC


• The First Story organisation is a collaboration between Katie Waldegrave and William Fiennes set up to recompense for the lack of creative writing and visiting authors in state schools. Drawing on the enterprises of Dave Eggers and Roddy Doyle in the US and Ireland, First Story takes experienced, published writers into challenging schools to conduct year long projects with the children. The Guardian will be following their efforts. Guardian

• The number of students could drop by nearly 100,000 over the next five years - representing a fifth of all undergraduate places. 481,000 students were admitted to universities and colleges last year, according to Ucas. Telegraph


• Libby Brookes investigates the craft renaissance; a recognition that our relationship with the material world is detrimentally altered by the knowledge economy? The market in craft goods is booming, but this not crude consumerism: 21% of people who buy a craft good have themselves practised a craft activity in the last six months and 70% of makers are also employed in community or educational settings. Guardian

• The Council of Europe will tomorrow debate whether to ban the mosquito devices, which emit painful, high-frequency sounds audible only to children and young adults. 25% of UK councils use, or have used, the devices - the most recent model has a range of 40 metres and can be set to ring continuously. The Council called them 'degrading and discriminatory'; the health implications are unknown. Guardian


• Teenagers in better-off areas are more likely to consume alcohol, as a study by the National Centre for Social Research finds that there is more of a drinking culture in schools where lower proportions of students were eligible for free school meals and from ethnic minorities. Teenagers whose parents were unemployed or whose mothers had no qualifications from the UK were less likely to drink. Guardian


• An expect commission has found that the human foetus cannot feel pain before the age of 24 weeks. Before this stage, the nerve connections to the cortex in the brain, which deals with pain and higher mental functions, have not yet formed fully. David Cameron had supported a reduction in the abortion limit to 20 weeks in 2008 but has said that his view will be shaped by scientific evidence. Times


• More than one in three British children aged 5-13 are overweight or obese, and the figure is forecasted to shoot up by 2.1% a year through to 2014. This is far higher than the 1.3% annual rise projected for the US. British children are also spending more than £222 more on sweets and chocolate a year than US peers. Telegraph


• The Bank of England's Financial Stability Report has warned of an looming 'insolvency crisis' in the UK. It warns that lenders are writing off record numbers of credit card borrowings as thousands of individuals spiral into insolvency. Mail


• Women Like Us is a free service which seeks to find women part-time jobs. Its founders were shocked to discover the lack of high-skilled part-time jobs and with 30,000 UK women losing their jobs every year for being pregnancy, they set out to argue the business case for flexible work. With a turnover last year of £1.2 million, they have come a long way towards realising it. Guardian


• The military covenant is to be enshrined in law for the first time, announces David Cameron. This would allow Service personnel to take legal action against the government over inadequate housing, education for their children or healthcare. Times


• Care homes are in jeopardy as the average proposed payment increase from councils (who fund 170,000 elderly people to be looked after in private care homes in England) is just 0.5%; the costs of providing care are expected to rise by 2.1%. Telegraph


• The Boaz Trust works in and around Manchester to help failed asylum seekers, who are often left destitute. The Guardian meets Raza, from Iran, who has been offered a room by young singer-songwriter Hannah. Guardian

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