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The Guardian - UK

National

Frederika Whitehead

Cribsheet 11.11.11

Out and proud Kurt (centre) is confonted by in-the-closet jock bully Karofsky (right) in Glee. Photograph: Planet Photos

Education news from the Guardian

• Despite the high profile of young characters such as Kurt and his boyfriend in TV show Glee, two-thirds of gay teenagers are still bullied at school. Charlie Condou, who plays a gay character in Coronation Street, considers why – and what is being done to stop it.

• While Dave Hill, the Guardian's London blogger, asks will Ken Livingstone pledge to replace the EMA in London?

Education news from around the web

• Turner prize winning potter Grayson Perry is defending his old art school against cuts, reports Portsmouth.co.uk. Glass, metal and ceramic arts workshops in University of Portsmouth's fine art faculty face closure and 16 jobs are on the line. The university plans to focus instead on the digital arts, but Perry is vehemently against the proposals, which could save the university £526,000 a year in staffing costs:

Computers are a great gift to craftsmen but only in combination with practical skills. People who haven't had their hands dirty are useless because they don't have a practical ingenuity.Computers will only do what you ask them to do, whereas quite often materials fight back.

The consultation closed on 31 October and the University will announce its response shortly.

• Research suggests that parents' reading habits are the "single most important factor in children's literacy and reading", according to the National Institute of Adult Continuing Education (NIACE). NIACE are urging schools to organise family reading sessions at lunchtime, after school, or over the weekend. They have created a family reading break toolkit with worksheets and handouts to help schools plan reading sessions.

• The news these past few weeks has been one relentless tale of global financial and social meltdown so Cribsheet was greatly bolstered yesterday when she idly asked GuardianEdu's twitter followers what they were up to. It's good to be reminded of how much valuable work is done every day that is barely acknowledged. Cribsheet salutes you unsung teaching heroes. Here's a snapshot of some of the great things you got up to yesterday.

@Angela_Roe was on a "y5 visit to Belmont community school for an afternoon of russian culture with our teachers visiting from Russia"

@planetscience We're writing two articles on quantum physics for 14 year olds, to feature in tomorrow's newsletter. Ambitious?! That's us!

(@wildschools) were "creating a book for our Wild Avon project for schools near Bath

@wlv_uni Uni of Wolverhampton. We're launching a €500,000 project to help medical staff to learn a European language

@heiwpresearch John Rose-Adams, Writing a critique of contemporary debates of Fair Access and Social Justice with OU colleagues against backdrop of protests

@AxDxAx Cián O'Leary I have chosen to do my 2nd Year Degree presentation (today) on "Free Schools" Is this the start of a 2 tier educational system?

On the Guardian Teacher Network

For Armistice Day the network has sourced these videos of war veterans which capture the poignancy of the event, and this audio of George Bayliss, who was in the Pioneer Corps during world war two, reading a moving poem about remembrance.

Innovation in Education conference

How can we keep creativity alive in schools in an age of austerity and traditionalism? At this one-day event for school leaders and policy-makers, to be chaired by Judy Friedberg, we'll discuss the implications of cuts and curriculum changes with speakers including Russell Hobby, Jim Knight, Graham Stuart, Mick Waters and David Puttnam. Latest info on the Innovation in Education page - and @InnovateEducate on Twitter.

Education seminars from Guardian Professional

The Guardian Teacher Network runs training sessions for teachers throughout the year in Yorkshire and London. Upcoming courses include:

Protecting young people in a digital age

Led by school digital safety experts, this one-day course will provide safeguarding policy and Ofsted criteria updates, as well as looking at social media and offering practical advice to help your school develop its digital safety policies. February 1, 2012 in London. February 8, 2012 in Yorkshire.

For a full list visit the Guardian Teacher Network