School books scandal

Daily Record

- Hard-up schools have been left with just 64p a week per child to spend on basic supplies. Councils across Scotland have been forced to slash their budgets for necessities such as textbooks, jotters and pencils. And in one, East Dunbartonshire, the cuts have left schools with just 64p a head to buy the supplies.

Pupils urged to look into benefits of research

The Herald

- A top Scottish university is to launch an innovative project to encourage secondary school pupils to see the benefits of research. Academics and students from Strathclyde University, in Glasgow, will work with teachers and pupils from three Glasgow secondaries in a unique initiative funded by the UK Research Council.

Paediatrician warns about falling care standards

The Herald

- The future of children’s wards in as many as four Scottish hospitals should be reviewed amid safety concerns, a senior paediatrician has warned. Dr Peter Fowlie, Scotland officer for the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health, says it could be better for children to travel than rely on an unstable service nearer home.

SQA under fire for deal with regime in Bahrain

Scotland on Sunday

- A Scottish government education agency has been criticised by campaigners for signing a lucrative contract with a Middle East regime accused of gross human rights abuses. The Scottish Qualifications Authority signed a deal with Bahrain in 2010, shortly before a pro-democracy uprising was brutally crushed. But a further contract was signed last March.

Q: How healthy is the food at your child’s school? A: It depends where you live

Sunday Herald

- Children in Scotland are facing a postcode lottery when it comes to nutrition in schools. An investigation has uncovered huge variation when it comes to the access pupils have to free fruit and milk at school. It was also uncovered that just one council provides free school meals beyond the standard national eligibility criteria.