IN BRIEF

• Pharmaceutical giant GlaxoSmithKline has undertaken to pay off the tuition fee debts of its graduate trainees when university fees rise in England. The company said it would cover the fees of about 100 graduate recruits, with a support budget of £3 million a year.

• The government could save money if it put more effort into supporting young offenders leaving custody, according to children’s charity Barnardo’s. Children as young as 13 are caught in a cycle of homelessness and reoffending, it says, but the taxpayer could be saved as much as £67,000 per child over three years if they had safe accommodation to go to after release.

• More universities in England could be put at risk of bankruptcy as a result of cuts and changes to funding, the National Audit Office has warned. A report from the financial watchdog says some universities will benefit from the changes but some will have less money.

• Research on the neurological basis of learning should play a greater role in education policy, according to a report from the Royal Society. The society also suggests that brain biology should form part of teacher training.

• A long stint in education is good for people’s blood pressure, according to researchers in the United States. The study, which looked at 30 years of data, found that people with a high level of education had an average blood pressure significantly lower than those who spent less time in education, with the link stronger in women than in men.

Booktrust funding cut by 50 per cent

INSPIRING READING

The government has confirmed that it will continue funding Booktrust, the charity that gives free books to children in England, but that annual funding will be reduced by half.

The announcement comes two months after fears over the future of the programme led to protests from authors and claims that the government had been pressured into a partial U-turn. The charity had been told it would lose all of its government grant for book-gifting.

The Department of Education said that it would spend £13.5 million over two years on Booktrust. The charity will receive £7.5 million in 2011-12 and £6 million in 2012-13 to deliver its national book-gifting programmes, Bookstart, aimed at babies and toddlers, Booktime, aimed at reception year children, and Booked Up, which delivers a free book to every child starting secondary school.

Viv Bird, Chief Executive of Booktrust, welcomed the guaranteed funding, though she acknowledged she would face some ‘tough decisions’ about the future shape of the programme.

‘We are pleased that the Department for Education is to continue its strong partnership with Booktrust and publishers in funding the book-gifting programme,’ she said.

‘This announcement reflects our shared aspiration to inspire a love of reading, and to offer more choice and support to the most disadvantaged children and families.’

Education secretary Michael Gove said: ‘I am extremely confident that Booktrust, with whom we’ve worked closely to secure an excellent funding package over the next two years, will use their wealth of experience and expertise to deliver a book-gifting scheme that makes a real difference to children and families, and is sustainable in the longer term.’

NIACE’s annual policy conference, Enriching lives, inspiring learners: Culture, community and inspiration in informal adult learning, takes place on Tuesday 17 May at the British Library, London.

The conference, which is being held during Adult Learners’ Week 2011, will explore how the concepts of culture and community can inspire and motivate adults to become active learners and consider how informal and non-formal learning help adults to enrich their own lives and the lives of those around them.

It will also highlight ways in which providers of uncertificated learning opportunities are innovating in respect of curriculum design and delivery by focusing on four themes: digital technology; inclusive communities; an open knowledge economy; and health and wellbeing.

Go to: www.niace.org.uk/events

UK listed companies in the FTSE 100 should be aiming for a minimum of 25 per cent female board member representation by 2015, according to an independent review into Women on Boards, led by Lord Davies of Abersoch.

Lord Davies’s report recommends that FTSE 350 companies set their own, challenging targets and expects that many will achieve a much higher figure than this minimum.

The report says that companies should set targets for 2013 and 2015 to ensure that more talented and gifted women can get into the top jobs in companies across the UK.

Lord Davies also called on chairmen to announce these goals in the next six months and chief executives to review the percentage of women they aim to have on their executive committees in 2013 and 2015.

Ten new Quick Reads titles were published on World Book Day, Thursday 3 March.

Bestselling authors James Patterson, Sheila O’Flanagan, Terry Jones and Mike Gayle, poet Benjamin Zephaniah and footballer Charlie Oatway are among the Quick Reads authors for 2011.

Quick Reads are short, fast-paced books, written by established authors and celebrities, designed for adults who are new to reading, out of the habit or who find reading tough. The scheme has been running since 2005, during which time dozens of bestselling authors have contributed titles to the series.

Read Ed Melia’s interview with Terry Jones, one of this year’s authors, on page 30. To find out more about Quick Read go to: www.quickreads.org.uk.