Daily roundup: Bedroom tax, DfE spending, and school safeguarding

Disabled children that are unable to share a room because of their disability will not be forced to do so under the so-called bedroom tax benefits regulations, the High Court has ruled. However campaigners plan to appeal after their legal challenge to block the changes for all disabled people, which will see tenants in social housing lose part of their housing benefit entitlement if they have an unoccupied room, was rejected yesterday. Charity Contact a Family chief executive Srabani Sen said the decision was extremely disappointing.

The Labour Party has accused the Department for Education of overspending on consultants, marketing, ICT and recruitment by more than £114m. An inventory of the department's spending by Labour found the amount paid to consultants and contractors has risen by £350,000 since April, while payments to agency staff have grown four-fold. Recent approved "exemptions" to Treasury rules also included £8.2m spent on buying in ICT services.

Ofsted has admitted failings in its inspections at a Hampshire school for children with special educational needs which was criticised at a previous education tribunal for the way it dealt with a pupil's rape claim. An Ofsted review of its handling of safeguarding failings at Stanbridge Earls school found three inspections failed to get "underneath concerns". The school is due to close, but Ofsted has said changes are being implemented as a result of the case, the BBC reports.

A growing demand for degree-level technical skills will not be met by traditional university courses alone, argues a Confederation of British Industry report. Instead the CBI says more young people should take shorter or part-time degrees and advanced apprenticeships, reports the BBC. The Tomorrow's Growth report predicts that by 2020 nearly half of all employment will be in "highly-skilled roles", with the challenge being to make routes into these roles appeal to individuals "for whom a degree may not be the best option".

The government is forgetting childminders in its discussions around childcare reform, the Professional Association for Childcare and Early Years (Pacey) has warned. The association’s chief executive Liz Bayram said: “We know childminders provide the most flexible form of childcare and that many families would choose nothing else for their children. It is dangerous not to consider the implications childcare proposals and plans may have on the childminding community.” Pacey is campaigning against plans to create childminder agencies that childminders will be encouraged to join and waive individual Ofsted inspections.

And finally, conversation at mealtimes helps to boost children's communication skills, a study by the National Literacy Trust has found. The BBC reports that a poll of 35,000 UK children found that those whose families sit and talk during meals are more confident. The findings suggested that sitting in silence at mealtimes is worse for children's confidence than not sitting down for family meals at all.