Daily roundup 14 May: Exam stress, Somerset investment, and medical research

Numbers of children complaining about exam stress has trebled in the past year, according to ChildLine. The Independent reports that of the 34,454 counselling sessions with children complaining about school and education problems – 58 per cent were about the impact of exam stress, up 200 per cent from the previous year.


An additional £6m is being invested in children's services in Somerset to recruit 100 new social workers for the authority. The BBC reports that the extra staff will help reduce social worker caseloads from "25 plus" to 14. In March, Ofsted rated the service as “inadequate”.


There must be a culture shift in medical research to make sure more children can take part, a report has found. The BBC reports that a study by the Nuffield Council on Bioethics found that unless changes are made, children's medicine will lag behind adult care. The organisation wants children to help shape future studies.


Coventry Council’s director of children’s services is leaving the authority, it has been announced. The Coventry Observer reports that the reason for the departure of Brian Walsh – who was executive director of the council’s people directorate – is unclear. Coventry's children’s services were rated “inadequate” by Ofsted last year.


England’s children’s commissioner has called on the new government to put the welfare of and aspiration for children at the heart of its work. Anne Longfield said the government should “develop and deliver a truly coherent vision for England’s 12 million children which places their interests at its very heart and makes their welfare a top priority over the next five years”.