- The Welsh Assembly Government has committed £60m over the next two years to fund the introduction of the Foundation Phase as part of its latest budget. www.wales.gov.uk
- The government has rejected advice from the Social Security Advisory Committee and decided to push ahead with plans to force lone parents to seek work. The decision was greeted with disappointment by the charity One Parent Families - Gingerbread.
- The Conservative Party has called on the government to hold a public inquiry into the delays in giving young people their educational maintenance grants, which thousands of teenagers across the country are still waiting to receive.
- The Scottish Government has put forward legislation to give the parents of children with additional support needs more choice about where their child goes to school. The legislation is part of the Education (Additional Support for Learning) (Scotland) Bill.
- The British Association of Social Workers has formed a mental health committee to look at ways of improving links between social workers and mental health services in England.
- The Advertising Standards Authority has banned an advert for the soft drink Oasis after complaints that it condoned teenage pregnancy. The TV advert featured a character called the Cactus Kid who runs away with his pregnant teenage girlfriend.
- An anti-violence campaign in Stockton, formed after the death of 30-year-old assault victim Gavin Robinson, is calling for compulsory attendance at Sure Start centres for the children of problem families.
- Three underperforming schools are to become academies, Children's Secretary Ed Balls has announced. The schools, in Northamptonshire, Poole and Portsmouth, were all part of the government's National Challenge programme.
- The Department for Children, Schools and Families is to hold talks with Ofsted and private school inspectors about how best to monitor standards of overseas British schools.
