Investing heavily in school computers and classroom technology does not improve pupils' performance, says a global study from the OECD. The think tank says frequent use of computers in schools is more likely to be associated with lower results.The OECD's education director Andreas Schleicher says school technology had raised "too many false hopes". Tom Bennett, the government's expert on pupil behaviour, said teachers had been "dazzled" by school computers. The report from the Organisation for E...

The Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) is being urged to launch an investigation into the current student loan system to find out whether it provides value for money for both students and taxpayers. Set up to investigate the impact of changes to university tuition fees and loans in England three years ago, the Independent Commission on Fees (ICF) published its latest report which warned the Government to be wary about increasing tuition fees – or removing the cap on them completely. Inclu...

Middle-class children benefit from a "glass floor" protecting them from slipping down the social scale in Britain, a report has said. The Social Mobility and Child Poverty Commission said better-off families managed to provide educational and social advantages to stop their slide. It found less able, richer children were 35% more likely to become high earners than brighter, poorer peers. The government said its reforms were helping disadvantaged pupils catch up. Read More.

A new linking tool enables schools and colleges to identify their National Network for Collaborative Outreach (NNCO). The HEFCE-funded networks co-ordinate the outreach of partner institutions and ensure that all state-funded secondary schools and colleges in their locality have a clear access route to information about outreach events and activities. By entering their postcode in the linking tool, schools and colleges will receive the name and contact details for their nearest network. Read Mor...

Grants given to the poorest university students could be cut as part of savings the Department for Business has to find, BBC Newsnight understands. Proposals to start phasing out grants, worth up to £3,387 a year for students from less well off households, were first drawn up in 2013. Back then, Nick Clegg, the ex-deputy prime minister, blocked the proposal. But ministers are reconsidering the idea as they seek to find savings ahead of the Budget, Newsnight understands. One source familiar with ...

The Office for Fair Access is to review how much poorer students benefit from financial support while at university. The university access watchdog has commissioned a research team led by Sheffield Hallam University’s Centre for Education and Inclusion Research to look at how, and to what extent, financial support helps students to stay on their courses, achieve a good degree and gain a graduate job. Re Read More.

With the price of university halls or digs doubling in a decade, we look at the pros and cons of living with your parents while studying. For Abla Klaa, one of the main perks of living with her parents while studying is that the fridge is always stocked. “I’m saved from worrying about grocery shopping or choosing between a greasy takeaway or cooking dinner – if I knew how to,” says Klaa, a second-year broadcast journalism student at Leeds University. The downside is she has to help do the dishes...

Banning mobile phones from schools has the effect of giving pupils an extra week's education over the course of an academic year, researchers say. The study, published by the London School of Economics, looked at schools in four English cities and found test scores increased by more than 6% in those which banned phones. Low-achieving and low-income students improved the most, researchers claim. More than 90% of British teenagers own a mobile phone. Read More.