A Teachers website recieved more than 21,000 hits on Christmas Day, reports the Schools Standards minister Estelle Morris at a North of England Education Conference. This is more than 5,000 hits that were recorded on the same day in 1999.

The National Union of Teachers are reported as saying that this shows how overworked teachers are, that the only time they have to catch up on new professional developments are at these times of the year, when they are supposed to be able to rest.