Daily roundup: Heart surgery, Ofsted statistics, and measles outbreak

Children's heart surgery will restart at Leeds General Infirmary next week, health bosses have confirmed. The BBC reports that the announcement comes a week after surgery was halted over claims that data showed higher-than-usual death rates at the hospital. The quality of the data was questioned by doctors and medical experts. Maggie Boyle, chief executive of Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust, said: "I am extremely confident that this service is safe and effective and should recommence at the earliest opportunity.”

Ofsted has been asked to clarify statistics showing that one in 12 daycare centres have been rated as inadequate by the watchdog. The Pre-School Learning Alliance has described figures showing that eight per cent of settings in England inspected under Ofsted’s new framework between September and December 2012 as “potentially very worrying”. The figure compares to one per cent in the sector overall. Neil Leitch, chief executive of the alliance, said: “We would urge Ofsted to clarify what the previous inspection grades were for the settings inspected in this cohort in order to clear up any uncertainty about what these figures really mean.”

Special vaccination clinics have been opened for children in Swansea as a measles outbreak continues to grow. The BBC reports that so far 541 people have been diagnosed with the disease, with up to 20 new cases a day being reported by GPs. It is estimated that around 3,800 children in the Swansea area have not had the MMR vaccine. Special vaccination clinics have been arranged for this weekend.

Coventry Council is to shut a pupil referral unit condemned by Ofsted for the extent of truancy, violence and both racist and homophobic bullying. The Coventry Telegraph reports that Chance Extended Learning Centre, which Ofsted deemed inadequate last May, will shut its doors in August. The council is still drawing up plans for alternative provision for the students currently attending the unit, which caters for 40 pupils aged 14 to 16.

Children who cannot read standard print are set to benefit from a free resource being launched by the Royal National Institute of Blind People and Dyslexia Action. The Load2Learn resource, available online, will provide alternative textbooks for registered users. Members can now access more than 1,900 textbook titles and 1,000 images.