Poorer children who fall behind in reading at an early age earn around 20% an hour less in later life, according to a study commissioned by the Read On. Get On.campaign, which says poor-quality nursery provision is letting the most disadvantaged children down. Campaigners say the quality of private nurseries – which make up 75% of England’s provision – is too variable and weakest in the most disadvantaged areas. Read More

Too many children are starting school in England unable to speak in simple sentences or control their behaviour, a study says. The Early Intervention Foundation's analysis found a fifth of children lacked the expected personal, social and emotional development by age five. A quarter of children were unable to communicate at the level expected for their age, it added. Read More

The often-maligned subject, media studies, has survived a cull of A-level subjects as England's qualifications watchdog moves to toughen examinations. Ofqual is scrapping home economics, citizenship studies and communication and culture A-levels. GCSEs in catering, digital communications, expressive arts and home economics are also being axed. Read More

Almost half of English universities plan to expand their student intake over the next five years, with some setting ambitious targets to increase recruitment by as much as 50%, a survey by the Guardian can reveal. Of the 70 universities that responded to the Guardian’s survey, 32 plan to take advantage of new funding rules that allow institutions in England to recruit an unlimited number of home and EU undergraduate students. Some 29 institutions do not plan to expand undergraduate numbers, whil...

Language teaching is facing a "difficult climate" in England's schools, researchers say. A report by the CfBT Education Trust and the British Council highlights low uptakes of language GCSEs and A-levels as particular concerns. It found that language teachers felt attracting pupils to study languages after the age of 16 was a "challenge". Read More

Bright students from disadvantaged backgrounds are falling behind after their GCSEs and are almost half as likely to achieve three A-levels as their better-off peers, according to research published on Tuesday 17th March. Poorer youngsters’ life chances are further compromised as they are considerably less likely to study the sort of A-levels that will help them get into leading universities. Read More

The HEA's Undergraduate retention and attainment across the disciplines report examines how students from a variety of backgrounds perform against the key indicators of retention and attainment within different disciplinary contexts. The report presents an analysis of data from the Higher Education Statistics Agency, relating to undergraduate students participating in the academic year 2010-11 and includes all students who were taking a degree in a single identifiable discipline. Read More

The report, ‘Young participation in higher education: A-levels and similar qualifications’ (HEFCE 2015/03), examines the rates of young participation in higher education for all Key Stage 5 pupils from English schools and colleges achieving a Level 3 qualification between 2006 and 2013. It also examines the extent to which a pupil’s school and background affect their likelihood of progressing to higher education at the ages of 18 or 19. Read More

The Office for Fair Access (OFFA) has today [Thursday 26 February] published its new strategic plan, setting out how it will work with universities and colleges to improve fair access to higher education. The plan, which covers the period 2015-2020, sets out ambitious objectives for improving the rates of disadvantaged students entering and succeeding in higher education, and seeks to close the participation gap between the most and least advantaged. As well as seeking progress across the sector...

Allowing some universities to charge tuition fees above £9,000 a year would “create further inequity” in higher education funding, a university group has warned. Under a scheme believed to have been under consideration by policymakers, some universities would be able to charge additional fees above £9,000 by providing a “top-up” loan themselves. Read More