Daily roundup: School league tables, apprenticeships, and serious case review apology

Head teachers in England want to publish their own school league tables that will include information on things such as music and sport as well as exam results. The BBC reports that the proposals for alternative league tables, to be published on a free website, are being put forward by the Association of School and College Leaders, the National Association of Head Teachers and the United Learning group, which runs academies and independent schools. Brian Lightman, general secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders said the current league tables "do not tell the whole story".

More than one in three students in London awaiting their GCSE or A-level results have considered an apprenticeship instead of going to university, a survey has found. The Evening Standard reports that 40 per cent of London teenagers questioned in a poll commissioned by British Gas said they were considering a vocational route instead of higher education, with most saying they were tempted by the opportunity to “earn while you learn”.

The family of a young boy who died from head injuries has received an apology after a serious case review report was not discussed with them before it was published last December. The Oxford Mail reports that Oxfordshire’s Safeguarding Children Board released an updated report on the investigation into the death of a toddler, known as “Child Y”, in 2010.

The number of applications for children in England to be taken into care has hit an all-time high. In July 2014, the Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service (Cafcass) received a total of 1,013 applications a 16 per cent increase compared to those received in July 2013.

Students from poorer backgrounds should be made to pay less in university fees than those from more affluent families, a charity report has suggested. The Times reports that a commission set up by the Sutton Trust suggested there would be public support for fee discounts for undergraduates from low-income families.

Labour has promised to halt government efforts to overhaul A-levels, and will carry out a thorough review of the system if it gains power at next year’s general election. The Financial Times reports that shadow education secretary Tristram Hunt believes reforms pushed through by former education secretary Michael Gove have “turned back the clock” on social mobility.

And finally, Barnardo's has launched a pioneering initiative on the Isle of Wight that will see local community services including probation, schools, youth offending teams and family services work together with families where a parent or sibling is in prison. The Guardian reports that the project builds on a pilot scheme – Community Support for Offenders' Families – set up in 2013 to support prisoners' children and their families.