Daily roundup: School admissions, access to GPs, and teaching assistants

Analysis by the Sutton Trust shows nearly one in six of the top state-funded comprehensive and academy schools are more socially exclusive than neighbouring schools. Of the top 500 state-funded English secondary schools based on GCSE results, the uptake of free school meals is half the rate of the national average of 16.5 per cent. The Trust is calling for a change in admissions policy, with a proportion of places being allocated randomly or to those from disadvantaged groups rather than purely on proximity to a school.

The National Children’s Bureau is calling on government to ensure GP reforms put children’s health first by providing better paediatric expertise in GP practices and opening hours that meet the needs of working parents and their children. Opening the door to better healthcare highlights evidence that young people have a poorer experience of GP services than adults and that parents are turning to hospitals because they feel GPs cannot meet their child’s needs. Attendance at A&E by under 16-year olds has risen by a third in the last five years, because many GP services are not accessible for working parents, it adds.