• David Cameron will today use the Queen's Speech to promise 500 secondary schools and 1,700 primary schools will gain academic status this summer. The Department is still examining whether free schools, set up by parents or charities, can be created without legislation or by planning changes. David Laws is known to be sceptical about the impact of academies. Guardian
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• Peter Harvey, the teacher cleared of attempted murder after striking a pupil with dumbbell, has said he does not feel guilty for the attack because he feels that it could not have been prevented unless something is done to ease teachers' stress. This leads to many teachers being 'ticking time bombs'. Telegraph
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• A report by the Prince's Teaching Institute suggests that a shift in schools towards a 'social rather than educational agenda' risks leaving children unprepared for the intellectual demands of university. In Labour's flagship Every Child Matters document, only 2 of the 25 priorities focused on education. Telegraph


• Adam Walker is the first teacher to appear before the General Teaching Council accused of racial intolerance. BNP members such as Mr Walker are not banned from becoming teachers and the GTC presenting officer emphasised the case was not about Walker's membership of the party but about the question of whether he had brought the profession into disrepute. Telegraph


• In a survey of children and parents conducted ahead of National Family Week, it transpires that parents spend on average 49 minutes a day with children. 68% of parents state lack of cash as the biggest barrier to spending time with family, seeming to value activities that cost money as proper family time and leaving kids to their own devices at other times. Telegraph


• The schools tackling 10:10 - Action Aid is the charity responsible for the schools initiative and currently 1,638 schools have signed up. While time and money are in short supply, the greatest investment is an energy monitor which presents energy use in a way pupils themselves can analyse, and consequently address. Guardian


• The Responsive College Unit (RCU) carries out interviews with students to assess satisfaction, as part of the wider drive to improve college standards. Citing the four star toilets at South Birmingham College, state of the art facilities often mean pupils will respect their environment. Evidence does show however that two years after refurbishment, student satisfaction figures dip as pupils take their surroundings for granted. Guardian


• The Bristol school admissions system gives Zachary, about to start primary school, a place at the 26th nearest primary school to his home. Telegraph


• A nursery worker has been arrested over the allegation that she sexually abused a child under 13. The attack took place at a house in Poole, not the nursery, which has been closed in line with police enquiries. Telegraph

• Scottish Education Secretary Michael Russell has said that despite the financial difficulties facing Scottish universities, he will attempt to stop the funding gap between Scottish and English institutions widening using measures to be set out in a Green Paper in the middle of next year. These are expected to focus on the institutions working more closely with wider society. Times


• An investigation by Oxford student paper the Cherwell has found that the dropout rate for disabled students at the university more than doubled to 16% in 2008/09. Earlier this year the National Audit Office published a damning report on the Student Loans Company's handling of Disability Students' Allowance - by the end of 2009, only 4,000 of 17,000 applications had resulted in payments. Guardian


• The Office for Fair Access's new report includes more damning evidence about the low access children from deprived backgrounds have to higher education and how existing measures to improve access have utterly failed. George Monbiot advocates Peter Wilby's solution - Oxford and Cambridge should offer places to the top one or two pupils from each school, regardless of grades. Guardian

• In guidelines published today, the National Institute for Clinical Excellence (NICE) is to state that pharmacies should be able to offer the morning-after-pill in advance, particularly for those under 25. Currently, this can only be purchased across the counter after questioning confirms it was an emergency visit; NICE says the issue of whether women could buy in bulk had not yet been addressed. Times
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• George Osborne has warned that the worst is yet to come as he announced cuts with David Laws in the Treasury garden. Education will this year reduce its budget by £670 million and Communities and Local Government by £780 million. The government will cease future contributions to Child Trust Funds and scrap the pledge of work or training for any individual unemployed for over six months. Times
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• There have been numerous criticisms of the Old Bailey trial which saw a 10 and 11 year old boy accused of raping an eight year old girl. The NSPCC has raised its concern that the eight year old was too young to cope with cross examination and Kidscape that the trial should have been held in camera. A the judge ordered the boys to sign the sex offenders register, he said 'I am not sure how it applies to children of this age'. BBC
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• Two social workers involved in the Baby Peter case have both admitted failing to follow child protection procedures on his file. A General Social Care Council conduct committee heard how they may have exposed him to greater risk by not ensuring his childminder was replaced; the childminder had reported unexplained injuries and become 'very frustrated' when nothing was done about her concerns. BBC
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• Young people age 18-34 are more like to worry about being isolated than older adults: 36% state they worry about being alone compared to 17% of over 55s. The number of children calling a helpline because they are lonely has risen by 60% in five years. Guardian
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