A GCSE qualification in construction and the built environment can help tackle the UK's skills "famine", says government envoy Sir Digby Jones.

The former CBI chief was launching a construction training centre at an academy in Bury, Lancashire.

The two-year pay settlement for teachers in England and Wales could be reviewed because of rising inflation.

The independent body which advises the government has asked for its permission to reconsider the current pay deal. Ministers are considering the request.

Senior examiners are reportedly giving teachers tips on maximising their students' exam grades - for a price.

Seminars run by private firms or exam boards are said to include telling pupils months in advance questions and answers for French oral exams.

A business leader has said it is "a national disgrace" that half of young people leave England's schools without at least five good GCSEs.

The system was in the "last chance saloon" after "endless" government initiatives, said David Frost of the British Chambers of Commerce.

Teachers want an investigation into whether there are any health risks from wireless computer networks in schools.

The PAT teachers' union is writing to the education secretary for a clarification on wi-fi safety.

Schools are being told they have a "fantastic opportunity" to tackle inequality between the sexes.

The Gender Equality Duty, which came into effect from April 07, applies to all public bodies - of which the biggest single group is schools.

Changing head teacher in a struggling school is not likely to lead to major improvements, suggests research.

Although the government has placed much emphasis on school leadership, research from a think tank says the impact of changing head teacher is limited.

Children in England are growing up in a "terrifying" world of pressures and dangers, says a parenting expert.

The need for good parenting advice, with the decline of the extended family, has never been greater, says Mary Crowley of Parenting UK.

The British Dyslexia Association (BDA) heard one morning, that journalist Julie Burchill on Radio 4’s Today programme, said “dyslexic” is just another word for stupid.

Unfortunately this is a common myth held by many people when it comes to their understanding of dyslexia. Dyslexic people are not stupid.

Schools are a "ticking time bomb" of growing racial segregation waiting to explode, the race watchdog has claimed.

Britain risks becoming a "mini America" dominated by racially determined schools, Commission for Racial Equality policy director Nick Johnson warned.

Unisex lavatories – with blurred glass walls – could help in the battle against school bullies, government guidelines for England suggest.

The recommendations for new secondary schools also include putting toilet blocks close to staffrooms or offices for subtle supervision.

The proportion of children in England's schools who do not have English as a first language is rising.

About one in seven children at primary school in England and one in 10 at secondary school speak a language other than English at home.

Secondary schools are to teach lessons in "emotional intelligence" - in an attempt to improve classroom behaviour.

From the autumn, the "social and emotional aspects of learning" (Seal) project will be available to secondary schools in England.

The almost daily stream of news reporting the pressures surrounding the UK educational system raises concern of the possibility of any solution. It seems the process of education has become embroiled in a struggle to evolve in line with changes in our culture.

Schools have been reduced to "exam factories" by ministers' obsession with league tables and targets, a National Union of Teachers conference has heard.

And whenever they fell short, the government threw new policies at schools, with head teachers counting 58 separate initiatives, academics said.

Most head teachers and teachers have faced false allegations from pupils or parents, a head teachers' union says.

The problem is under-played and incidents are less unusual than some claim, according to the National Association of Head Teachers.

The government is urging teachers to use more praise than criticism in the classroom and even suggests using prizes as an incentive to get pupils to behave. These latest recommendations from Education Minister Alan Johnson have been made at the same time as legal powers came into force last month allowing teachers to restrain physically violent pupils, following an increased number of complaints from the profession about spiralling violence in the classroom.

Do you want to organise a fun event for your school or club? Do you want to keep your kids active and encourage them to think about others? If so then CLIC Sargent, the UK’s leading children’s cancer charity, has got just the thing for you. Throughout May and June the charity runs a campaign called ‘Kick for CLIC Sargent’, the fun football event for children of all ages and abilities.

All the children are studying with the Nisai Virtual Academy and are unable to attend school. The awards were given by Lady Elizabeth Anson, Patron of The Young ME Sufferers Trust.

Opened in late Autumn 2006, The Devonshire Primary School in Blackpool embraces an innovative design concept which is an adaptation of BDP’s generic multi-level vertical exemplar school, and which incorporates FOAMGLAS® cellular glass insulation for its roof areas.

At the Library & Information Show in April, 3M, a leading supplier of systems for libraries worldwide, announced its sponsorship of the 2008 campaign to “Get London Reading”. The campaign, led by independent charity Booktrust, aims to encourage Londoners to make more time for reading and to promote London as an international centre for books.

Independent educational charity, The Smallpeice Trust offered 400 aspiring engineers the fantastic opportunity to attend a number of residential courses over the Easter holidays, all designed to provide a taste of what a career in engineering might be like.

KSB, the Loughborough based international pump manufacturer, has launched a new sporting challenges brochure for those seeking equipment specifically for sports applications of all types and sizes.

Servis has announced the launch of a design competition to encourage children and art students to express their feelings about tackling climate change. Budding artists will be set the challenge to design the exterior of a fridge freezer with an illustration that expresses what being ‘green’ means to them.

Students and teachers at Arnold Hill School & Technology College on Gedling Road, Nottingham are celebrating after receiving £10,000 sponsorship from Portakabin, the UK’s leading modular building supplier.

The average British secondary school uses 67 different software packages and the Computers for Pupils initiative puts schools at risk of breaking licensing laws, according to new IT Vision research.

25% of software in the UK is illegal and FAST has vowed to take headteachers to court if they have unauthorized software.

The Paul Hamlyn Foundation today granted Scottish Ballet’s education programme a gold star in the form of a £148,000 award. This major new partnership supports a crucial shift in focus and period of growth in Scottish Ballet’s education programme by funding two specific projects: DanceWise, a new programme designed especially for pupils in secondary schools, and Outside-In, a range of special matinees and lecture demonstrations.

Mitsubishi Electric’s Visual Information Systems division, a leading manufacturer of innovative, high quality display solutions has announced the introduction of a new deinstall/reinstall warranty for both the education and public sector on the XL9U standard and Orange XL9U ultra portable projector.

In the last month a number of innovative ways of tackling the child obesity issue have been reported in the national press. These include reviews of the ways in which children eat at home, as well as the way they are taught sports in schools. But whatever the approach taken – the bottom line seems to be education – a greater understanding of why 30 per cent of Britain’s children are obese and what can be practically done about it.

If recent newspaper reports are to be believed, then a great many people in this country, especially children and the elderly are actually malnourished.

Steve Logan, Quality Assurance Officer for the London Borough of Tower Hamlets, has an extremely responsible job, helping to ensure hot, healthy and nutritionally balanced menus for the 110 schools in the borough – not an easy task!

Leading French bread manufacturer Délifrance UK Ltd is targeting schools and colleges with a range of healthy eating breads ideal which ensure that mealtime pleasure goes hand in hand with nutrition.

3G Food Service & Seafood Solutions, the specialist distributor of chilled and frozen foods to the food service sector, is helping Knowsley Schools meet the requirements of the Government’s National Nutritional Standards for school lunches.

Available in muted or dynamic colours to blend into a rural or urban landscape, the system is ideal for under and around play equipment, as well as for free play and general recreation areas whether on flat surfaces and irregular mounds or slopes.

Vending machine management specialist boxlogix are bringing healthy drinks to the nation’s young people – just in time for the new government legislation, coming into force from September 2007.

There’s a new world of healthy fun at Victoria Primary School in Pontypool, thanks to Playforce, the premier provider of school playground equipment, and a grant from the Welsh Assembly.

Resilient floorcoverings such as vinyl and rubber have been a feature of the educational environment for more than half a century - but the variety of options available today for junior and secondary schools, colleges and universities is a far cry from the bland utilitarian sheet vinyls of that distant past.

Building and refurbishment work in the education sector has never been higher on the agenda. But will the materials you choose for your school stay looking good all day long, asks Linda Briffett of interior surfaces specialists Altro?

Sharp Electronics (UK) Ltd has today launched the EL-W531B/GB WriteView calculator aimed at secondary school students.

The calculator encourages students to fully understand problems they are solving by displaying lines of formula in correct text. The screen displays up to four lines of text simultaneously and the ‘multi-line playback’ facility allows students to scroll back through previous calculations and recall previous answers.

ramsac, the Surrey-based IT consultancy, is offering its experience of working with ICT departments to assist the 86% of UK schools signed up to the 2007 Tesco Computers For Schools scheme to maximise the investment from their vouchers. The 2007 scheme closed on 14th May and schools have until 7th July 2007 to redeem their vouchers and order equipment.

Constantly improving standards and initiatives such as extended schools are heralding a “new dawn” for education, according to the leader of the one of the country’s biggest teaching unions.

Mick Brookes, general secretary of the National Association of Head Teachers, told a top-level education gathering that the overall climate in schools had changed overwhelmingly for the better in recent years.

Europe’s market leading commercial refrigeration manufacturer Foster Refrigerator is celebrating yet another green milestone with the sale of its 10,000th Hydrocarbon cabinet.

Don’t miss new star buys and remarkable offers on audio visual and IT products in the Summer edition of SchoolsVision from Saville Audio Visual, all covered by a ‘lowest price or moneyback’ guarantee.

The new Signature Flooring GymDeck, part of a range of school equipment available from Lamata Contract Furniture, makes protecting school gym floors easy. The temporary flooring has been specially designed to protect wooden or polyurethane gym floors and is ideal to use for school exams, speech days, drams and music productions, even the annual PTA ball!

Young people aged 4-19 are invited to take part in the Young Pavement Artists Competition – an national artbased initiative where young people get the chance to create masterpieces on a novel canvas – the pavement. The theme for the competition is the Arctic and Antarctic.

Schools and community and youth groups can take part by holding their own exciting creative pavement event to help raise funds for the charity – the Muscular Dystrophy Campaign.

Veterinary charity, PDSA, has launched its first web-based education tool. Schools PDSA www.schoolspdsa.org.uk, encourages primary and secondary school children to develop key skills, while learning in a fun and interactive way about pets, their health care and roles within the charity.

New generation cast iron boilers from Clyde Energy Solutions are providing a modern heating and hot water solution for an historic school in Stratfordupon- Avon. King Edward VI School dates back to the fifteenth century, and it is generally believed that William Shakespeare was among its past pupils.

Easy and quick to use, the new non-invasive Draeger DrugCheck Drug Testing Kit enables the simultaneous, qualitative detection of up to six classes of illegal substances in a single sample of oral fluid.

Duplo International has extended its digital product range by adding two new A3 models to its Duprinter stable: the DP-S850 and DP-S550. Capable of running at 150 copies per minute, the new Duprinters offer a versatile and cost-effective alternative to photocopiers and are ideal for councils and educational establishments when producing jobs such as parental newsletters, school stationery, posters, direct mail/flyers, exam papers, invitations and classroom handouts.

Kent-based Swale Borough Council has recently increased its in-house finishing capabilities by investing in an Ideal 7228-06 LT Guillotine, from leading independent finishing equipment supplier, Total Print Finishing Services (Total PFS).

The tradition of success on the river that is enjoyed by pupils of Latymer Upper School in London has now been enhanced by the latest installation at the site by Link Lockers. The new facility, at the famous school’s riverside boathouse, provides personal storage for staff and pupils as part of a major refurbishment at the premises on the banks of the Thames.

Bewator’s award winning Entro access control system, already renowned for its reliability, value for money and scalability, has now evolved even further with the release of Version 5.3. Entro Version 5.3 now facilitates access control integration with the Siemens Building Technologies Sistore digital video recording (DVR) range.

Onestop-locks.com, the fast growing international online supplier of locking and security products, has added over 100 new lines to now offer its largest selection ever.

Gradus Wall Protection has introduced eleven new colours to its InPro range. The broader choice for specifiers will help achieve suitable colour contrast in order to aid access around a building for visually impaired people to meet guidelines in Approved Document M, in line with the Disability Discrimination Act (DDA).

A new low-profile, slipproof, fixed-frame matting system that can installed around oval, circular and curved sales displays, such as floral displays, news-stands and fresh produce units, has been launched by fixed flooring specialist Gripfit. The product is designed to both enhance the visual appeal and safety of curved display areas by absorbing dirt, moisture and spills and providing an attractive `walkway' to draw customers in to the point of sale.

A new website dedicated to the education sector has ‘gone live’, providing local education authorities, headteachers, bursars and window fabricators with the latest news and information on the specification of windows and doors for schools.

Gopak, the UK’s leading supplier of lightweight aluminium folding tables and chairs, has further expanded its market leading range of products to include modern and colourful classroom storage solutions.

Contract carpet manufacturer Burmatex has recently completed its contribution to an £8 million extension of a Bradford school. The Yorkshire firm has worked with designers from SMC DTR:UK, a Manchester based architectural and interior design company, to create a dynamic performing arts centre at Parkside School, replacing the 1970's teaching block previously occupying the site.

Secondary school pupils up and down the country can for the first time experience the unique feel of a live performance of Shakespeare’s play ‘Much Ado About Nothing’ without having to visit the theatre.