Daily roundup: The Technical Baccalaureate, food banks and school sports for disabled children

Labour leader Ed Miliband is set unveil proposals for a new qualification for 18-year-olds at his party’s conference today. The BBC reports that Miliband will pledge to help the "forgotten" 50 per cent of young people in England who do not go to university. Central to his plans will be a new qualification – known as the Technical Baccalaureate. "We cannot succeed if we have an education system that only works for half the country,” he will say. Miliband will also propose improvements to the way apprenticeships are run, by offering businesses more control. 

Some disabled children are being left out of physical education lessons and don’t get an opportunity to take part in school sports events, it has been claimed. ITV Tyne Tees reports that students and coaches in the North East have warned that there are teachers who think it's too much trouble to include young disabled people in activities. One pupil from Newcastle said he had been left out of school sports “many times”, instead being told to “sit and watch”.

The number of families in receipt of support from food banks in Wales has reached a record high as average incomes have dropped by £80 a month in the space of a year, according to official statistics. The BBC reports that average household income in Wales is now 12 per cent lower than the UK as a whole, while the number of food parcels given in the country has reached 23,000. The Trussell Trust, which runs a number of food banks, said they are extending their services to help families struggling to make ends meet.

Parents are being urged to talk to their children about the issue of running away from home after a survey revealed that nearly half of British parents have never broached the subject. Research by charity Railway Children found that while 47 per cent of parents have never discussed the subject, 95 per cent would feel perfectly comfortable doing so. Andy McCullough, head of strategy and policy at Railway Children, said many parents don’t think that their child could run away until it’s too late. “Simply talking to your children about the topic of running away from home may be all it takes to prevent them considering it,” he said.

Schools should improve their monitoring of careers advice, the education inspectorate in Wales has said. A report by the watchdog Estyn found most secondary schools in Wales provide pupils with good information but do not “consistently evaluate or monitor the long term impact of this help and guidance”. Ann Keane, chief inspector of education and training in Wales, said: “Schools need to assess pupils’ skills and knowledge and use data more effectively to see if pupils are doing well and following through with the choices they have made.”