Daily roundup 23 April: Education Secretary, drugs seizures, and nursery protest

Nick Clegg has said he wants a Liberal Democrat Education Secretary in any future coalition after the general election. Asked at an event whether education was the cabinet post he wanted if his party formed another coalition, the Liberal Democrat leader said: “I would, particularly having wasted a lot of time dealing with a lot of zany, ideological gimmicks from Michael Gove and his team." The Times reports that Clegg made the comments as he announced that the Lib Dems were the “party of education”.


Hundreds of school children, among them a pupil of only eight, have been caught with drugs on school premises, new figures show. Class-A drugs such as heroin and crack cocaine were among the illegal substances seized, according to the data from police in England and Wales. There were more than 2,000 incidents dating back to 2011, suggest figures from 34 police forces, reports the Times.


Parents, toddlers and housing protesters have occupied a north London community nursery closed to make way for new homes. The nursery – which was shut at the end of March, leaving 15 pre-school children with nowhere to go – has become the focal point for protests against Barnet council’s plans to demolish council homes on the Dollis Valley estate, sell off the land and build a mix of private and social housing, reports the Guardian. Residents say Barnet council promised that the nursery, Valley pre-school, would remain open until the end of the summer term, with a private nursery opening its doors in September.


Play England has written to parliamentary candidates standing for election in England outlining four key play policies it wants to see implemented by the next government. Its "Four asks for play" calls for better recognition of the importance of play, the Department of Health funded street-play scheme to be extended to every major English city, better play opportunities created in deprived communities, and more support for innovative staffed play provision. The "asks for play" are based on findings from 2014 research by play expert Tim Gill.


A £144m fund to pay for 52,000 apprenticeships in Wales is to be announced by the Welsh government. The majority of places will be targeted at 16- to 24-year-olds and will allow people to earn a wage while learning new skills through training providers in areas including IT and construction. It is being funded by £73m in EU funding on top of Welsh government money, reports the BBC.


Volunteering charity CSV is calling for the next government to acknowledge the value of the volunteering sector and warning against continued public sector austerity. It wants to see volunteering, social action and work experience included on the school curriculum, and for the future government to do more to remove the barriers to volunteering faced by many citizens.