42+ min ago (829+ words) Tory special needs reforms upended council finances, but Labour's plan to rebuild public provision won't come cheap if it's done properlyThe crisis over special educational needs and disabilities in England is not just a question of cash. Children and parents spend months and years battling for support to which the law entitles them, schools lack the funding to meet needs, and specialist provision is inadequate. An adversarial system shunts families towards tribunals that councils almost invariably lose.Tory reforms created obligations for local authorities but did not adequately fund them " allowing ministers to duck responsibility. The result has been financial chaos, with the overall overspend on special educational needs and disabilities (Send) predicted to reach "6.6bn by next March, and keep rising. Taking responsibility for funding away from councils and handing it to the Department for Education is the right move....

4+ hour, 30+ min ago (153+ words) More than 250 languages were spoken across Australia before British colonisation. Now only half are still in use as a result of policies that suppressed and prevented First Nations people from speaking their mother tongues.Indigenous affairs reporter Ella Archibald-Binge travels to two communities including her country to hear from elders, teachers and students about efforts to revive native languages and close the education gapYou can subscribe for free to Guardian Australia's daily news podcast Full Story on Apple Podcasts and SpotifyRead more: Continue reading... More than 250 languages were spoken across Australia before British colonisation. Now only half are still in use as a result of policies that suppressed and prevented First Nations people from speaking their mother tongues. Indigenous affairs reporter Ella Archibald-Binge travels to two communities including her country to hear from elders, teachers and students about efforts to…...

6+ hour, 43+ min ago (508+ words) My father, Phil Taylor, who has died aged 81, was head of several secondary schools in Greater Manchester and regularly appeared on television and radio in the 1990s to chastise successive education ministers for their meddling and lack of support. His first headship was South Manchester high school in Wythenshawe. He was a charismatic leader whose first acts as head from 1988 were to ban uniforms and the daily bell. The school also housed a farm that saw peacocks wandering around the corridors. One of his pupils was Jason Orange of Take That, who later told family members that Phil had been a positive influence on his life. Phil was born in Bristol, to Betty (nee Stanley) and Ron Taylor, a United Reformed Church minister. Phil later became an atheist, but nonetheless inherited a sense of social justice. As a boarder at Caterham…...

6+ hour, 59+ min ago (409+ words) Kernewek to have same protections as Welsh, Irish and Scots Gaelic so it can be used in education and legal hearings The Cornish language is due to be given the same status as Welsh, Irish and Scottish Gaelic after the government submitted it for greater protections under a European charter. Kernewek, spoken as a first language by 563 people according to the last census, has been recommended by the government for part III status under the European charter for regional or minority languages, the highest level of protection available. Languages protected under the charter must be actively promoted by government in education, courts, administration, media, culture, economic and social life, overseen by the Council of Europe. It means that citizens have the right to use their protected language in legal hearings and in education. The Cornish language has undergone a revival…...

23+ hour, 29+ min ago (11+ words) Continue reading... Quiptic crossword No 1,358 Crosswords are saved automatically....

23+ hour, 29+ min ago (1214+ words) An alternative state school in Melbourne's north that caters to at-risk students is turning lives around and providing a model for early invention outside the youth justice system By year 8 of high school, Britnie Magnani had racked up more than 50 suspensions. The emotions from her turbulent home life would sometimes spill out at school and she would verbally lash out. At other times, she says, she was suspended after hanging around with the "wrong crowd. "There were also times where it was just a cry for help, and it just led to suspension, she says. She was later permitted to attend her public school for only three hours a day. As a last resort, she was referred to an alternative state school in Melbourne's north " the Pavilion school " that caters to students disengaged or excluded from mainstream education. Its cohort…...

1+ day, 3+ hour ago (363+ words) Agreement will also end series of investigations of university over school's alleged failure to fight antisemitism Northwestern University has agreed to pay $75m to the US government in a deal with the Trump administration to end a series of investigations and restore hundreds of millions of dollars in federal research funding. Donald Trump's administration had cut off $790m in grants in a standoff that contributed to university layoffs and the resignation in September of Northwestern's president, Michael Schill. The administration argued the school had not done enough to fight antisemitism. Under the agreement announced on Friday night, Northwestern will make the payment to the US treasury over the next three years. Among other commitments, it also requires the university to revoke the so-called Deering Meadow agreement, which it signed in April 2024 in exchange for pro-Palestinian protesters ending their tent encampment on campus....

1+ day, 11+ hour ago (634+ words) Five multiple-choice questions " set by children " to test your knowledge, and a chance to submit your own junior brainteasers for future quizzes'Submit a questionMolly Oldfield hosts Everything Under the Sun, a podcast answering children's questions. Do check out her books, Everything Under the Sun and Everything Under the Sun: Quiz Book, as well as her new title, Everything Under the Sun: All Around the World. Continue reading... How big is an elephant's brain and why are cacti spiky? The kids' quiz Five multiple-choice questions " set by children " to test your knowledge, and a chance to submit your own junior brainteasers for future quizzes - 1.Ethan, 8, asks: how big is an elephant's brain? It weighs 1.4kg " the same as a human brain It weighs 5kg " the same as a bag of potatoes It weighs 10kg " about the same as a Welsh corgi It weighs 20kg " about…...

1+ day, 11+ hour ago (203+ words) From Charon, Styx and Nix to Dr Fink and Bobby Z, test your knowledge with the Saturday quiz1 Which famous portrait is claimed to be of Magdalena van Ruijven from Delft?2 Charon, Styx and Nix are satellites of which body in the solar system?3 What type of passport was abolished in 1996?4 Which Commonwealth capital was built by the Knights of St John?5 Which African-born influencer is the most followed person on TikTok?6 Whose Book of Household Management was a Victorian bestseller?7 Which Devon racecourse is the southernmost in Britain?8 Whose backing band included Wendy & Lisa, Dr Fink and Bobby Z?What links: 9 Derwent; Dove; Etherow; Goyt; Wye?10 Luton Town; Oldham Athletic; Preston North End; QPR?11 Crucifixion; assassination of Abraham Lincoln; signing of Belfast agreement?12 Ani Mikheeva; Bella Baxter; Evelyn Quan Wang; Tammy Faye Bakker?13 Lift; drag; thrust; weight?14 Singer Marc Almond;…...

1+ day, 23+ hour ago (11+ words) Continue reading... Quick crossword No 17,338 Crosswords are saved automatically....