Child star’s break

Daily Record

A Scots schoolgirl has been invited by Sir Elton John to support him in concert. Tallia Storm, 13, gave the superstar’s husband, David Furnish, a copy of her CD after spotting him while on holiday with her family in Hawaii. Tallia, of Killearn, Stirlingshire, was stunned when Elton phoned the next day and asked her to sing at his Falkirk show in June.

Pupils face losing out on grades, says union

The Scotsman

Fears have been raised that Scottish pupils could miss out on vital grades, with the introduction of controversial new exams and the tightening up of the appeals process. Teachers’ leaders have called for a delay in overhauling how appeals are handled, amid concerns that some children could lose out because of uncertainty surrounding the introduction of the new qualifications system. The country’s largest teaching union, the Educational Institute of Scotland, said the current system should be maintained as a “safety net” until after the new National qualifications are brought in.

Boy, 5, who lives as a girl

The Sun

A five-year old boy is living as a girl after telling his parents he is trapped in the wrong body. Zach Avery has blonde pigtails and is treated as a girl at his school, Purfleet Primary in Essex. His mum, Theresa, 32, said proudly: “Other kids haven’t batted an eyelid. There’s been no problems.”

Child campaigners call for parenting classes for all

Sunday Herald

Campaigners have called for education programmes aimed at improving parenting to become as routine as antenatal classes in order to give youngsters in Scotland the best start in life. The suggestion has been made following the publication of a report into the death of toddler Declan Hainey, who was killed by his drug addict mother.

Teachers take months off in stress epidemic

Scotland on Sunday

A headteacher who was signed off work for nearly three years with stress is among dozens of education staff who have been on long-term leave from Scotland’s schools, owing to mental health problems. Figures show that thousands of working days have been lost across the country in the past year to stress, depression, anxiety and mental fatigue. At one Aberdeenshire school, records show the headteacher was signed off for 981 calendar days with stress before returning to work.