Monday

Head teachers should publish staff turnover figures, pupil exclusion rates and numbers of applications per place to make it easier for parents to select a school for their child, a leading education adviser said. Sir Cyril Taylor said that choosing a good local school was a challenge for many parents.

The internet is “shifting the goalposts” on spelling, with blogging and e-mails particularly to blame, a language expert claims. David Crystal said that modern technology was fuelling a tolerance of alternative spellings that could lead to chaos.

Tuesday

A new drug resistant “super flu” may pose a serious risk to hospital patients, scientists have warned. A mutation of H1N1 influenza, a virus that causes seasonal outbreaks, has spread rapidly round the world.

Faith schools should be stripped of their power to choose pupils, according to research that suggests some secondary schools are flouting rules designed to prevent middle class pupils dominating the best comprehensives. Researchers at the London School of Economics found some schools were operating a form of backdoor selection by asking for personal information from parents.

Wednesday

Local services face a wave of privatisation across England, with Conservative councils putting contracts worth billions of pounds out to tender. Essex County Council is one of a number of mainly Tory-led authorities that plan to outsource schools management, social care, roads and libraries to save funds.

Thousands of children are expected to miss out on a place at their chosen primary school this year and some councils are having to use temporary classrooms to house pupils. A rise in the birth rate and an influx of people into some urban areas means that there could be 12,000 five-year-olds without school places over the next six years, according to the London Councils' campaign group.

Thursday

The Audit Commission's performance league tables show that the standard of children's services (which includes education, social care and child protection) fell across England last year. Of the 149 councils assessed, only 13 showed an improvement and at 22 standards fell, with 40 providing inadequate or minimal services.

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