A crack team of ex-army elite from Greater Manchester is being drafted in to schools across the UK. 'Commando Joes' based in Leigh have been awarded £600,000 by the governement to help hard to reach children.
The former commando's implement military style fitness and mentoring sessions to tackle truancy, poor attendance and health inequalities in some of the country’s most deprived areas.
Funding from the Department for Education means the company can train 30 new instructors.
I think why we engage young people so well is the instructors are all ex-military personnel – they are role models and kids look up to and aspire to be like them. When we go to a school playground children hang on every word."
FULL REPORT: Why children in Rochdale are getting teeth brushing lessons at school
Parts of Greater Manchester have some of the worst rates of tooth decay in the country, so the NHS is trying out a new idea, getting children to brush their teeth in class as part of their school day.
GCSE results: Manchester teacher claims students have been "disadvantaged and penalised"
A Manchester headteacher has launched a scathing attack on Government education policies.
Amanda Thain from Levenshulme High School said low grades for English Language papers are down to the Government altering the way external papers were marked.
Overall, students in the North West had the third highest proportion of top grades in all subjects - recording 12 per cent of A* grades, which accounts for 13 per cent of this year's entries.
But teachers are claiming English Language papers have been marked too harshly.
