Daily roundup 18 April: Pupil monitoring, mental health and Brexit fears

Parents are being told not to supply information on their children's nationality and birthplace, amid fears that the information could be used to enforce immigration laws. The National Union of Teachers' annual conference passed a motion condemning the Department for Education's attempts to record pupils' nationality and country of birth in the national pupil database because they say details could be passed to the Home Office and police, reports the Guardian.


The Duke of Cambridge has warned that not talking about feelings can endanger mental health. Prince William said he wants his children to grow up able to express their feelings, the BBC reports. It comes after Prince Harry revealed he sought help after nearly 20 years "not thinking" about the death of their mother, Diana, Princess of Wales.


Half of teachers fear that Brexit will distract the government from tackling problems with the education system. A poll of 800 British teachers for the NASUWT union also found that 41 per cent of teachers said they were worried that Brexit will have a negative impact upon the education system, while a fifth reported hearing about or experiencing foreign born colleagues being verbally abused about their nationality on school premises since the Brexit vote.


Children from poorer homes in England are nearly half as likely to attend an "outstanding"-rated primary school as richer children, research finds. The Guardian reports that only 15 per cent of children from the poorest 30 per cent of families currently go to outstanding primary schools, compared with 27 per cent of children from the richest 30 per cent of families, a study by education charity Teach First suggests.


Almost £140m has been "wasted" on free schools and other new types of school, which either closed early or failed to open at all, says the National Union of Teachers. The union said the money was spent on 62 free schools, university technical colleges and studio schools which either closed, partially closed or did not open, reports the BBC.