Daily roundup 19 November: School governors, pupil attainment, and childhood bereavement

Ofsted has launched a review of school governance in light of concerns about quality. The inspectorate is seeking the views of serving governors and trustees, teachers and parents on how improvements to school governance can be made. Launching the review, Ofsted chief inspector Sir Michael Wilshaw, said: "In the last academic year alone, there were nearly 500 schools [of a total of 5,000 inspections] where inspectors were so concerned about the performance of the governing board that they called for an urgent external review of governance."


Pupils at isolated state schools, often in deprived areas, do worse in exams than those in areas with a choice of schools, research has found. A study by head teacher training charity Future Leaders Trust found schools less than 1km apart saw almost 68 per cent of pupils overall achieving five A* to C GCSE grades. But even a slight increase in the distance between schools saw a sharp drop in grades for poorer pupils, reports the Independent.


Figures from the Childhood Bereavement Network suggest almost 40,000 children and young people faced the death of a parent last year. The network hope the data will help local services understand the scale of the support needs of bereaved children. The figures mark Children’s Grief Awareness Week (19 to 25 November 2015).


Britain’s young people admit to feeling “stressed” for almost five hours a day, according to a new report published by Sea Cadets. The report, produced for Anti-Bullying Week, revealed that 12- to 18-year-olds are exposed to a number of worries and fears on a daily basis, including having too much homework, potentially being laughed at for what they are wearing and "just not fitting in". Additional worries include having to stand up in front of the class and talk, missing a homework deadline and having spots.


Head teachers have the chance to make an impact on a "great scale" in tackling mental health problems in young people, the Duchess of Cambridge has said. Speaking at Place2Be's head teacher conference, the duchess spoke about the role of schools in tackling mental health problems early in life.


More than 230 young people will take on roles across Norfolk as the county hosts its annual takeover day event this week, pioneered by the children's commissioner. Young people will work in roles across 30 organisations, including the council, a hospital, a zoo and a school for the day.