Schools shake-up in crisis as costs rocket

Daily Mail

The cost of the SNP’s troubled new school curriculum has soared to as much as pound;110 million. The latest estimate of spending on CfE is based on a leaked Scottish parliament briefing note. Remarkably, the Scottish government is unable to give a figure for the final bill for introducing CfE as no central record of expenditure has been kept.

Charity issues warning on fostering crisis

The Herald

A charity is warning of a foster-care crisis after the number of children needing support rose by almost one-fifth in three years. The Fostering Network said that during 2011, 24,000 children in the UK were put into care and needed to be fostered - a 17 per cent rise on the number for 2008.

Posh schools receive pound;35 million handout

The Sun

Cash-strapped parents are being bailed out by their kids’ posh private schools as they struggle to pay fees, it has emerged. More than pound;35 million has been handed out to skint mums and dads - more than double the amount paid just three years ago. Edinburgh’s Fettes College gave pound;1.4million to help 151 pupils remain in the pound;27,000-a-year school.

Niger is worst country to be a mother, says report

The Guardian

Niger is the worst country on earth in which to be a mother, according to a report by Save the Children. The charity’s annual Mothers’ Index uses statistics covering female and child health and nutrition, as well as prospects for women’s education, economic prosperity and political participation in its assessment of 165 countries.

The mothers of the British film industry

The Times

The lead producers of two of the three British feature films selected for the Cannes Film Festival this year live on the same North London street and have children in the same class at the local school. Lyla Tashima, 4, and Jake Park Lavering, 5, attend primary school in Upper Holloway. Lyla’s mother, Dixie Linder, is the driving force behind Broken and Jake’s mother, Nira Park, is behind Sightseers.